Rei Tsukishiro always woke up before the sun could touch the tall buildings of Shibuya . At seventeen, he lived alone in a tiny one-room apartment, as quiet and orderly as his mind: empty of laughter, empty of memories.
His parents had disappeared when he was just a child. "An accident," the old police reports repeated. "An unsolved mystery," they whispered in the hallways of the orphanage where he was raised until high school. Rei learned early on that asking about his past only brought pitying looks and awkward silences.
That morning, as he brushed his teeth in front of the fogged-up mirror, he stared at his reflection with those brown eyes, serene but with something broken behind them.
"What were they like...?" he whispered, spitting out the foam with disdain. "Why can't I remember them well ...?" With mechanical movements, he put on his school uniform: an impeccable white shirt, a crooked tie, and Seiransame 's dark blue blazer . He combed his hair as usual: medium-length, somewhat unruly brown hair that he could barely tame with water. When he was ready, he paused for a second in front of the door.
"Being alone isn't bad," he muttered with a tired smile, slinging his backpack. "People wither away from depending on others... Not me."
His footsteps echoed on the building's staircase. Outside, Shibuya was beginning to wake up: packed trains, the smell of freshly baked bread, and billboards still glowing in the gloom. Rei moved through the crowd like a ghost: no one noticed him, no one stopped him.
That day, without quite knowing why, he decided to arrive at school early. "Maybe I'll be less bored," he thought, watching the mist disperse between the high walls of the campus.
His classroom was almost empty when he opened the door. He walked to his usual seat: by the window, in the back row. He threw his backpack onto the desk and slumped down, letting out a sigh so heavy it fogged up the glass in front of him.
—Today too... another day like this —he thought, as he leaned his forehead against the cold glass.
Classes began. The teachers spoke, the chalk squeaked on the blackboard, but for Rei it was all a distant echo. Sometimes she drew meaningless doodles in the corner of her notebook. Sometimes she lost herself staring at the gray Tokyo sky. Sometimes she slept with her eyes open.
The murmurs were always there: "It's Tsukishiro ... they say he lives alone" , "How scary... did you see how he stares into space? "
He didn't care.
When the lunch bell broke the routine, Rei blinked, stretching like a feline.
— Ahhh ... how annoying... —He checked his pockets and backpack. His expression changed from calm to pure frustration. — No... it can't be. Damn! I forgot my lunch again!
He tapped his forehead, snorting.
—Of all the things I could forget... right there, food. Well done, idiot.
He pushed his chair in, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and walked out into the hallway. He was greeted by a flood of laughter and voices. Groups of girls, perfect and radiant, whispered as he passed.
"Is that Tsukishiro ...?" one murmured, a curious gleam in her long eyelashes.
"They say he doesn't have a family... how sinister," another added, hiding her laughter behind a notebook of kittens.
Rei didn't even turn her head. Her footsteps echoed with an almost insolent calm.
"Say what you want... It won't change my hunger," he said to himself, walking down the stairs, dodging a couple of boys who were playing push-and-shove.
When he opened the door to the cafeteria, the murmur of trays and laughter surrounded him... until his eyes met a scene that made his stomach turn.
At the cafeteria counter, four thugs stood like starving wolves over their prey: a puny boy with crooked glasses and a wrinkled uniform, barely able to stand. His lunch, shredded on the floor, was mixed with puddles of hot soup.
The leader, a huge man with a broad neck and a greasy face, let out a laugh that broke the silence.
"No money again, trash?" he growled, spitting near her face.
The boy gulped, looking around for help. No student dared to intervene. They all pretended to check their phones or hid behind their trays.
It was then that Rei Tsukishiro stopped a few steps away. Her backpack slipped off her shoulder, hitting the floor with a dull thud . An electric hum ran through the cafeteria.
"Hey! Look! It's Tsukishiro !" someone whispered.
"What's he doing so close to them?" another voice murmured.
Rei narrowed her dark brown eyes , an icy calmness settling across her face. Her brown hair, slightly disheveled, fell over her forehead as she sighed in resignation.
— Tch ... Not my problem —he thought, lowering his gaze slightly.
But just as he took a step away, a burning pang shot through his chest. A hoarse, distant echo... almost a whisper in his head:
"Help him... don't ignore him..."
Rei clicked his tongue, closed his eyes for a second, and sighed long and resignedly.
— Hmph ... What a pain... —he muttered.
When he opened them again, his gaze was different: sharp, implacable. He took a step forward. Then another. Each step seemed to drain the oxygen from the room.
The leader noticed. He turned around, puffing out his chest like a gorilla.
—Hey, you! What are you looking at, you lonely piece of trash? Go away if you don't want me to...!
The threat didn't end. Rei continued walking, calm as a tiger. He stood in front of the big man, unfazed by his stench of sweat and stale food.
The bully opened his arms, mocking:
—Look at him! He doesn't even dare look me in the eye. You cowardly...
Suddenly, Rei walked past. Not a glance. The leader burst into a raucous laugh, spitting out laughter and saliva.
—HAHA! I thought so, trash. Run, coward...
A second later, there was the whump of a loud crash. Rei spun around like a hunting lynx and delivered a perfect kick to the thug's back. The big guy went flying, knocking over tables, trays, and chairs in his path. A roar of surprise was muffled in the throats of everyone present.
The three remaining thugs blinked, stunned. One recovered first and shouted:
—I'm going to...!
He didn't even finish his sentence: Rei ducked, dodging the punch, lifted him by his shirt, and threw him backward against the other. A clatter of broken dishes mingled with the groans of pain from both of them.
The third, with a war cry, raised a tray as if it were an improvised weapon and rushed towards Rei.
—DIE, BASTARD!
Rei tilted his head, his brown eyes so calm they looked like glass. When the guy tried to hit him with the tray, Rei blocked the attack with a swipe, bent the thug's arm back, and kneed him square in the stomach. The guy doubled over, spittle spewing, and fell to his knees, gasping for air.
The leader, red with rage and blood running down his eyebrow, stood amidst the scattered pieces of wood and spilled soup. He roared like a furious bull:
—TSUKISHIRO! YOU'RE A FUCKING DEAD MAN!
He launched himself with all his weight. A brutal punch, charged with pure rage. Rei barely deflected the enemy's wrist, grabbed his neck with her other hand, and slammed his forehead into her raised knee. The blow echoed throughout the dining room: THUD . The big man fell like a sack of potatoes, his eyes rolling back in his head.
Silence. A silence so heavy it could be cut with a knife. The bespectacled boy, still trembling on the floor, looked at Rei with a mixture of terror and gratitude.
Rei let out a soft yawn, crouched down in front of him, and murmured:
—Next time... learn to defend yourself.
Without waiting for a reply, Rei picked up her backpack from the floor, slung it over one shoulder with a slight tug, and walked through puddles of soup and the remains of overturned trays. Each step crunched pieces of plastic and trampled rice. Around her, the murmurs were a subdued murmur, as if the entire dining room was holding its breath.
The students—boys and girls in their perfectly ironed uniforms, tight ties, and uncreased socks—stood to one side, pressing themselves against the walls or hiding behind their desks, their eyes wide open. They watched him walk by as if they had suddenly discovered that beneath that quiet boy's facade lurked a hungry wolf.
When he finally reached the food counter, the gray-haired woman behind the counter looked at him with trembling hands. Rei, unperturbed, pointed to a simple combo of rice, fried fish, and green tea. Not another word. The old woman handed him the tray, almost containing a "Thank you for not breaking anything else."
With her steaming lunch in her hands, Rei turned on her heel and walked to the farthest table in the cafeteria: a corner by a large window fogged by the humidity of steam and hot air. The sun barely filtered its light through the condensation, casting pale highlights in her medium-length brown hair, messy from the fight.
He sank back into the chair with a tired sigh. He placed the tray carefully, rubbed his chopsticks together—crack, crack—and let out a short, almost imperceptible laugh:
—Finally... I can eat in peace.
Outside, the city mist seemed to bump against the glass like a curious ghost. Inside his chest, though, something different stirred: a slumbering beast, a roar that wasn't just hunger. Rei felt it writhing beneath his skin, clamoring to get out, reminding him that this was no ordinary boy from Shibuya .
He speared a piece of rice, held it up to his face, looked at it as if thinking of something else, and before bringing it to his mouth, he exhaled a whisper that was lost in the steam of his tea:
"I think I went a little too far..." A tired smile spread across her lips as the rice touched her tongue. "I'll have to control myself next time..."
The bustle of the cafe was beginning to revive around them, like a swarm of murmuring insects. But for Rei Tsukishiro , all that noise was as distant as a dream that no longer mattered.
He heard his stomach growl and shrugged.
—Well... no way now.
As soon as he tasted the rice, his eyes lit up as if he had tasted a divine delicacy.
—Ahhh ... that's so delicious! I was so hungry I could eat ten servings...
A few steps away, Kouji Yamazaki —the boy she'd defended—picked up his tray from the floor, still trembling. His dark green hair fell in long strands over his blue-green eyes, which now reflected gratitude and a hint of embarrassment. With timid steps, he approached Rei.
—U-uh... do you mind if I sit with you?
Rei raised an eyebrow, chewed calmly, and nodded without much emotion.
—Sit down. No one else is coming to this table.
"Thank you... really, thank you for helping me with those bullies. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even have any food today..." Kouji said , looking down and playing with his fork. "Oh, and I'm Kouji." Yamazaki . Though, if you don't mind, just call me Kouji . It makes me feel... less formal.
Rei looked at him for a second, shrugged, and continued eating.
—Okay, Kouji .
Kouji breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled.
—Hey, you know everyone recorded you, right? You're going to be famous at school.
Rei gave a short, almost mute laugh.
—Famous? No way. Besides, those guys deserved it. They weren't that strong.
Kouji almost choked in surprise.
—Weren't they strong?! They're the most feared bullies in the second year! No one dares to look them in the face.
Rei took a sip from her bottle of green tea and let out a soft sigh.
—Well, now they won't bother anyone.
Suddenly, the bell announcing the end of recess rang throughout the dining room. Kouji checked his wristwatch and sprang to his feet.
—Damn! It's sports time!
Rei stretched like a cat, slow and lazy.
—A few minutes late doesn't kill anyone...
"You talk like nothing's wrong!" Kouji complained , hastily gathering his tray. "I like to be on time, even if no one notices."
Rei rolled her eyes, closed her lunchbox, and yawned.
—Okay, let's go then.
They walked down the halls lined with announcements for the cultural festival and the athletics club. Kouji chattered away, while Rei only mumbled in response. In the locker room, Rei changed quickly, revealing a slim but well-defined physique. Kouji couldn't help but glance at him.
—I can't believe we're in the same class and he never spoke to you... You're like a fighting manga protagonist.
Rei shrugged.
—Don't exaggerate.
Already in the indoor gym, Rei let out a yawn so big that several classmates looked at him laughing.
—I'm so sleepy... I want to go home now.
After running, jumping, and sweating for the entire hour of sports, Rei and Kouji ended up lying face up on the wooden floor, breathing between giggles and complaints.
Suddenly, a soft shadow fell over Rei and Kouji 's faces as they lay on the wooden floor of the gymnasium, bathed in the filtered afternoon light. Rei cracked an eye open, barely bothered by the interruption... until he noticed the slender silhouette in front of him.
A girl with long, silky pink hair, held back by a white ribbon that trembled in the breeze from the fan, stood there. Her bangs fell like a delicate veil over her eyes, which shone, large, and trembling, fixed on Rei. Her cheeks, flushed so intensely they resembled two freshly blossomed cherry blossoms, contrasted with the paleness of her hands, which timidly held a bottle of cold water.
"Th-this... Tsukishiro -kun..." she stammered, almost swallowing her own words as she shifted her gaze to her white sneakers. "You look... very tired... So... I brought this for you..."
Her voice was so soft it barely managed to overcome the distant murmurs of the other students. A trickle of sweat trickled down her neck, disappearing beneath the collar of her neatly ironed blouse. Rei watched her, first confused, then fascinated by that genuine blush and the slight trembling of her fingers.
Without saying a word, he took the bottle with a slow, almost clumsy gesture. His hands brushed against hers: a touch so brief that she gasped, as if a bolt of lightning had struck her. Rei, distracted, drank in a single gulp, while a drop of cold water escaped from the corner of his lips and landed on his chin.
— Ahh ... —she sighed, letting all the warmth from her chest escape.— Thank you... it was perfect.
The girl, seeing him so close, covered her mouth with both hands to stifle a small, nervous moan. Her eyes seemed even bigger in the light playing on her pink hair, giving it an almost unreal glow. Not knowing what to do, she clasped her hands in front of her chest, bowed her head in a brief, shaky curtsy, and turned on her heels.
—B-See you later... Tsukishiro -kun...! —she stammered before running towards the exit, leaving behind a faint scent of fresh flowers and the echo of her hurried footsteps on the polished wood.
Kouji , who had watched the whole thing with his mouth open, gave a fake cough and sat up abruptly, pointing at Rei with his trembling finger.
—What?! Do you realize what just happened?! A cute girl with the prettiest hair in the entire school brought you water! Do you know what that means in our loser language?!
Rei, still staring at the empty bottle, blinked a couple of times, with no visible emotion, but with a slight curve of a smile hiding at the corner of her lips.
"It's not that bad..." he murmured, although inside he felt a rebellious, different heartbeat, as if his heart had remembered that it could still feel something more than loneliness.
Kouji rolled his eyes and dramatically dropped back onto the floor, letting out a groan of resignation that echoed throughout the gym.
"Impossible... you're impossible..." he groaned, between stifled laughs, before suddenly turning serious, turning his head toward Rei, his friend who, unknowingly, was beginning to become a legend. "Hey, Rei..." he said in a low, almost reverent voice. "I want to be strong like you someday... but I don't know how..."
Rei turned her head toward Kouji , with that serenity of hers that she rarely let slip. But this time, something different shone in her brown eyes: a soft, almost paternal gleam that mixed infinite calm with an affection that he himself couldn't recognize.
"If you don't try..." she said, letting each word hang in the air heavy with meaning, "...you'll never know, Kouji ."
Kouji listened as if those words were a spell. His breathing stopped for a second, and then, as if a weight had been lifted, he burst into a laugh so real it bounced throughout the empty gymnasium. His eyes, filled with a blue-green glow like the sea, narrowed with joy.
"You know what!" she shouted, pointing at him, trembling with excitement. "From today on... you and I... will be friends! And I won't accept a 'no'! It's decided!"
Rei froze, staring at him as if Kouji had just shown him a miracle. For an eternal second, his serious expression cracked. His lips curved into a wide, lively smile, so genuine that even his breathing sounded different: free. A pure, warm laugh escaped his chest, rumbling in his throat like a roar he'd been pent up for years.
—Hahaha! ...Okay... okay... —she replied, laughing, wiping away a tear of pure laughter she couldn't remember ever feeling. —We'll be friends. But I'm warning you... I'm terrible at socializing.
Kouji , unable to contain himself, jumped up, let out another infectious laugh, and slapped him so hard on the shoulder that it almost knocked him off his feet.
—Hahaha ! Perfect ! I'm not popular either, so we're a duo of outcasts. Two weirdos... What a great combo!
The echo of their laughter filled every corner of the gymnasium, mingling with the golden sunset light that streamed in through the high windows. Like two children rediscovering joy, they picked up their backpacks amidst jostling and joking, bumping shoulders and bursting into laughter every three steps.
To anyone who saw them, they would have seemed like two lifelong friends. But to Rei Tsukishiro , the loneliest boy in Shibuya , every word, every laugh shared with Kouji , was a reminder of something he thought was dead inside him: the hope of never being alone again .
Unknowingly, as they crossed the hallway lit by colorful school festival posters, Rei took his first step toward a friendship that would forever change the silent void that surrounded him.
— End of Chapter —
📖 Author's Comment ✒️
Every breath of the wind is an untold story;
Every word, a world to be discovered.
Thank you for joining me once again.
See you in the next chapter...
— 夢と雨と言葉の仙人
— Yume to ame to kotoba no sennin
— The Hermit of Dreams, Rain, and Words
— The Great Master Makoto-sama