Summary
It's a typical day at Ami's house, her mom yelling at her for sitting around and not taking responsibility. Not only will she not clean up after herself, but she has toys, clothing, and empty packaging from various food stuffs. She criticizes her daughters sloppiness while picking up the trash and warns her to dispose of it- she also wishes she would eat healthier things. Before leaving the room she reminds Ami to feed her parakeet, Piiko.
At the park Ami enjoys snacks with her friends while complaining about what happened. It's not like she's being an inconvenience; so what's the problem? As one friend recalls her messy desk at school Ami thinks about how difficult it is to stay clean. She doesn't understand how other people manage it.
Finished with their snacks the girls plan to dispose of them but find no waste bins nearby, so Ami tosses her empty bag aside. Her friends are unsure of this but she convinces them it's alright because everyone else does it, but after they set their items down the trio are quickly stopped by a pair of elderly women. The women scold their carelessness when one recognizes Ami -due to knowing her mom- and gently she tries to correct her behavior, explaining that only naughty people litter. Ami attempts to hide her trash as the women begin to complain about the increasing amount of waste, wishing the "cleaning man" would return.
Noticing the girls confusion, the women explain that he lives in this neighborhood. He comes to pick up the trash and everything is left sparkling clean. That's all anyone knows about him though, because he is very secretive and they have never met him.
As Ami returns home her mother stops her to bring up a promise she made earlier, and she hands her a brush and dustpan so that she can get to work cleaning her room and tending to Piiko. Ami complains and regrets ever wanting a pet in the first place, because back then she didn't know it would be so much work. As she continues to shirk her duties, Ami spots someone from her window cleaning the ground.
The following day everyone stands in admiration of the clean park. Ami overhears the women from the day before as they suggest the cleaning man came back, and Ami realizes this was probably who she saw that prior evening.
During break at school Ami and friends are stuck cleaning the courtyard, which is covered with fall foliage. Before they can start Ami spots the cleaning man out of the corner of her eye, and her surprised reaction alerts her friends. She tries showing them but seeing nothing, they grumble about their cleaning work; only to turn back to find the ground now spotless. Ami wonders if the strange man did something but they decide not to question it, choosing to play until a classmate has them come inside, where they find faculty and classmates surrounding a previously unused, filthy restroom now fresh and clean. Ami spots the cleaning man again, but nobody else can see him, causing her to wonder why this is.
In class, Ami overhears some boys chatting about the clean restroom until class resumes, where the Teacher comes in with a big tomato plant. She explains that for their assignment, anyone who has yet to study it can take it home to do so; unfortunately for Ami, she is the only person who needs to do that. Throughout her day she gets stuck lugging around that plant, wishing the Teacher would get rid of it. Recalling the cleaning man, Ami discards the plant in an empty lot at school hoping he will pick it up. To ensure he comes, she also drops some garbage. She thanks him for his help and runs off.
The following day Ami arrives to find everything missing, happily deciding that she can dispose of things she doesn't want- such as bad test papers, a mascot keychain her friend gave her, and she even throws the trash in her bedroom into bags, which she then throws out her window.
Her mom has never been more happy to see her daughter cleaning up her act, and she decides to reward Ami by making her favorite dinner. Her good mood is short-lived however, when she realizes she forgot about Piiko and finds he is deceased due to her lack of attention. While she feels remorse, Ami acknowledges it can't be fixed now, so she takes the little corpse to the lot at school and lays it down. She asks the cleaning man to properly take care of Piiko, unaware of a few cats looming nearby, along with the cleaning man...
Later, Ami's mother worriedly informs her of Piiko's disappearance. Ami is quick to say he must have run away after they notice his cage lock is broken, and her mom begins to feel worse as she recalls how much Ami "loved" Piiko. Ami attempts to assure her its fine.
The next day Ami arrives to school in a great mood until she notices everyone staring at her with looks of alarm and frustration. As everyone starts whispering and pointing fingers at her, even avoiding her, Ami happens to pick up a rotting scent and approaching her desk, she discovers a large mountain of trash covering it. She quickly tries picking up the items and hiding them, including Piiko's corpse and the keychain from her friend, but the damage is already done and everyone is very ashamed of her.
Ami runs outside in a blind panic, angrily wondering why the cleaning man would do this when his job was to make everything beautiful. When she spots him cleaning up she demands an explanation for what happened, and when he doesn't answer she grabs his shoulder. Suddenly, flies begin covering her hand and body as the man turns to her with a frightening smile. He opens a large bag in his hands and throws her inside.
Ami's mother is disposing of waste when she spots the cleaning man walk by. She tries greeting him but he says nothing in return, so she curiously observes him until recalling that Ami will be home soon, and she has to make snacks. She heads back inside, unaware of Ami's hand sticking out of the bag.
The cleaning man continues on, heading towards a cleaning facility in the distance.
Tropes
- Downer Ending: It's implied Ami will be killed when the Cleaning Man takes her to a garbage facility in the ending.
- Failed a Spot Check: Ami's mom got distracted when she saw the bags the cleaning man was holding, so she didn't see Ami's hand was sticking out of it.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Ami's abuse of the Cleaning Man rumor eventually causes him to dump all of the trash on her desk, damaging her relationship with her classmates and friends.
