Life in Tokyo was a wholly different affair when compared to that on a quiet little island like Shodoshima. Hiroyuki had once heard that New York was called the city that never sleeps. If that was true, then Tokyo was the Japanese brother of the American city. He had moved here only a few days ago, but so far the nights had been as bright and noisy as the days, if not more. He loved it though, every moment of it; the good<em>and</em>the bad. Sure, his apartment was a bit run down and barely larger than his bedroom back home, but he took it as part of the experience. No doubt he'd fondly look back at these times one day.<br/><br/>It was early in the morning. He had managed to get himself a part-time job as a waiter at a cafe the day before, but was not scheduled to start working until the day after tomorrow. It was a some sort of host cafe targetted at women. The easiest explanation was to simply call it a gender-swapped version of a maid cafe. It was not hard to figure out the exact reasons why they had hired him, but the pay was good, so he didn't really mind. In any case, this meant that he had two days to do what his heart desired!<br/><br/>After brushing his teeth and washing up, Hiroyuki dropped himself back onto his bed and reached for his cellphone, resting on the corner of the bed with the charger plugged into the side. The first thing he did was check some anime and manga news feeds. His ambition was to become a professional mangaka, so he was always tried to be on top of the latest news and trends. He hadn't really started looking for a publisher yet, choosing to secure a part-time job for a steady source of income first, but he was determinded to start looking soon, as well as work on improving his skills.<br/><br/>A few minutes later he decided it was time to check up on his only friend in this multi-million city, Nijima Shōgo. Selecting his number from the list, he pressed the cellphone against his ear as he rolled onto his back on his bed. His apartment was really small. The living room was also the bedroom, with a small table with cushions to sit on between the bed and the TV. There was also a small kitchen in the same room, with a bathroom and toilet down the small hall leading to the front door. It was just enough space for one person to live in. He would have gotten some place larger, but renting apartments in Tokyo wasn't exactly cheap. In the corner stood some moving boxes, piled up on top of each other. Most were filled with manga or anime DVD's from his collection, just sitting there to viewed or watched again some time. Maybe he could get a closet or something to store it all in.<br/><br/>Shōgo sure wasn't in a hurry to pick up, Hiroyuki thought, but eventually the call went through.<strong>"Yo, Sho-kun!"</strong>he greeted his friend with a cheerful tone.<strong>"Are you still busy unpacking your stuff?"</strong>He wanted to ask him if he wanted to hang out today, as Hiroyuki didn't feel like sitting on his butt all day when a grand city like Tokyo was sitting right outside his door, ripe to be explored. If possible, he wanted to explore Akihabara, which was a haven for any anime and manga fan, or otakus, as people called them these days.