Happy New Year? BAH!

Private Nakamura was spending New Years Eve at the hospital, but due to being in the Japanese Self-Defense Force which gets no action at all, he wasn't inside nursing a bullet wound. The private was holding his jaw and flipping his finger at an air force pilot when a nurse finally came to see him.

"Finally, I wasn't sure if anybody would fix this jaw for me at-ARGH!" screamed the soldier as his other hand flew up to support the first one.

"Private, you only have yourself to blame for being in this mess. If you had just stayed quiet instead of joining that argument, you wouldn't have been hit at all." scolded the nurse.

"I couldn't just sit there while wanting to announce my opinion to those clowns! I-"

"You do realize that your health insurance in the self-defense force only pays for injuries on-duty? Since you were in the mess hall after your guard shift, the money for this appointment is coming straight from you private."

"Wha-The price for being here is going to leave me with barely enough to spend for my mother's birthday! Look, can't you take an "IOU" or something please? I'm begging you-"

"Sorry lad, but those are the rules."

An hour later, Nakamura left the hospital with his jaw feeling better, but anger boiling in his heart. He was mad that this was happening to him just because he wanted to object to how an air force pilot was talking about being born to immigrant parents. He had just felt he needed to speak up and had been surprised when he got a fist to the mouth.

"This has been such a fun year. I've been discriminated for being a soldier in a pacifist nation, people degrade me just because my parents were immigrants, and to top it all off the budget cuts to the SDF have left me with barely enough money to make it through next year. I just-I can't take this anymore!"

The next step Nakamura made ended with him stepping on something. He picked it up and examined the item closely.

"Heh, here I am hating my life and I come across this thing. Its like the world wants me to...well, I'll give until 12 to finally make the decision."

At 11:55 PM in a bar, Nakamura quietly pulls out the object he acquired from his pocket: A small pocketknife.

"Almost time. Almost time to end it all. Almost...can I go through with this? I mean, I'm talking about ending my own life here. Sure, its sucky and all that, but...can I do it?"

Five minutes later, Nakamura throws down the knife. He walks out as celebrations break out all over the world. One other patron whispers to the bartender after Nakamura is gone.

"Did that guy actually have a knife? Was he going to kill himself?"

"Looks like. He didn't stab himself, so I guess he chickened out. Lets not worry about him and focus on celebrating the new year!"

Screams start to echo from outside the bar and people rush outside to see what is happening. A crowd forms around a body on the ground. Nakamura lies there unconcius, blood seeping out from his slit wrists. Minutes later, an amubulance arrives. Paramedics rush the soldier inside and drive off, hoping and praying that they make it to the hospital on time.