While researching a story on a school for problem children, Nakahara meets Emi, a college volunteer with a compelling tale of her own. After overcoming her initial reluctance to open up to the writer, Emi talks about her busted leg and her childhood friendship with the chronically ill Yuka.

Naoto, the son of a wealthy family, suffers from Werner syndrome, a premature aging condition; Dai is an overweight child troubled by his penniless father's drunken violence; Jun, a gifted student, is the foursome's natural leader; and Tetsuro is average...