The sun was beginning to set behind the skyscrapers of Shibuya , lacerating the horizon with splashes of burnt orange and deep purple. The neon lights, impatient, flickered on one after another like artificial fireflies competing with the twilight.
In the midst of this human crush, a boy walked slowly, almost dragging his footsteps on the sidewalk dampened by the afternoon humidity. Rei Tsukishiro had his backpack slung over one shoulder, the zipper half open, revealing a notebook crumpled by routine.
A soft sigh escaped from her chapped lips, invisible but laden with all the tiredness of an endless day:
"Ah..." he murmured, tilting his face to feel the evening breeze caress his sweaty forehead. "What a long day..."
His bangs, damp with sweat, brushed his eyelids as he closed them for just a moment, as if he could sleep standing up amid the blaring of horns and distant laughter.
When he opened them again, the crowd was still there, flowing like a nameless river that took no notice of him.
His hands, buried in his trouser pockets, trembled slightly as he remembered every blow, every laugh, every word he had bitten back to avoid saying out loud.
A karaoke sign flickered to her right; teenage laughter exploded behind an automatic door that opened, releasing cheap perfume. But Rei wasn't listening. Her mind, like a broken record, was immersed in the echo of that day:
Fists clenching on soft flesh. The tremble in Kouji 's voice as he thanked her. And the fleeting tenderness of a silently offered bottle of water.
He gritted his teeth, a nervous tic that barely moved his jaw.
— Hmpf ... —he muttered, barely audible, as his shadow lengthened between the ramen advertisements and the lanterns that were already being lit.
"It's not so easy to forget..." he said to himself, but he didn't know if he was talking about the blows... or what he felt for the first time in a long time.
And he walked on, a solitary figure dragging the afternoon towards the burning night of Shibuya.
Start of flashback:
Rei remembered the dining room, filled with murmurs and laughter, which was cut short when he decided to confront those four bullies. He saw the leader puff out his chest again, insult him, mock him... and how he ignored it, walking calmly, until he turned on his heel to launch a kick that sent him flying between tables and trays.
The other three followed immediately: clumsy punches, trays raised like weapons. Rei felt the weight of their fists, the crunch of broken plates, her knee connecting with a stomach, a punch swerving before slamming the thug's forehead into her raised knee.
Absolute silence, bodies writhing like defeated insects, and him, standing, barely breathing faster.
Amidst all the chaos, he remembered those trembling eyes behind smudged glasses. For the first time, Rei noticed that skinny boy who looked at him with a mixture of fear and gratitude.
He heard himself yawn, crouch down, and blurt out, almost emotionlessly:
—Next time... learn to defend yourself.
Then came the surprise:
—Th-thank you... really, thank you for helping me with those bullies... —Kouji's voice , broken with nerves, but full of relief. Rei had blinked, uncomfortable at such effusiveness, not knowing how to respond.
And then, walking together through the corridors crammed with posters for the cultural festival and the athletics club, Kouji chattering away, as if they were already lifelong friends... while Rei just listened, still wondering why, this time, he decided not to ignore everything.
End of flashback:
Back in the present, Rei walked alone across a narrow pedestrian bridge, his footsteps echoing hollowly in the flickering light of a lantern struggling to keep from going out in the humid night breeze. He reached into his backpack pocket and pulled out that plastic bottle. He held it before his eyes, turning it between his fingers as if it held a secret he didn't know how to unlock.
"What a... strange day..." he whispered, his voice muffled by the distant murmur of cars and the croaking of frogs by the river.
Inside the bottle, a few drops danced, gently hitting the transparent walls like liquid memories.
And then his mind pulled him back, like a silent flash of lightning:
The girl with the shifty gaze. Her small hands holding the bottle timidly. Her trembling voice that barely dared to touch his ear:
—Here... D-drink some... you look... very tired...
Rei felt a strange warmth creep from his stomach to his throat. It wasn't the water.
It was that small, simple gesture of care... so unknown to someone like him.
"What a... silly thing..." he corrected himself in a murmur, but his mouth formed a soft curve, something like a smile that died before it was born. He uncapped the bottle with a soft click and let the water slide over his tongue. A pure freshness that cleared his mind for a second.
She closed her eyes, letting the night breeze caress her face, light but cold, like a whisper she didn't know whether to embrace or avoid. The still-cold bottle rested in her hand, and for a moment, her gaze was lost in the reflection of the distant lights flickering on its surface.
He carefully covered it again. It wasn't just water. It was a gesture. A small spark that reminded him that there were still hands capable of giving... without asking for anything in return.
He packed it in his backpack with the same care one might take with an old letter or a forgotten amulet. And for the first time in a long time, a sigh escaped his lips. It wasn't a tired sigh... but something fainter. More human. As if something inside him... had begun to awaken.
And then he walked again, alone as always, but not entirely empty. His footsteps echoed against the concrete, and although the city still roared around him, there was something different about him: a tiny, almost imperceptible kindness that kept him standing amid the gathering darkness.
A dry, almost imperceptible laugh escaped his lips as he moved through the tide of people that were beginning to disperse through the streets lit by flashing advertisements and tired traffic lights.
Kouji 's face appeared in her mind like a badly glued postcard: His dramatic grimace. His shrill laugh, which broke any awkward silence. His clumsy way of saying thanks, as if he was afraid Rei would tell him to be quiet.
"That idiot..." he muttered, almost smiling as he walked past a vending machine that hummed softly in the drizzle.
But the smile quickly faded. Her head, always so full of voices, echoed back those words like a gnawing sound in her neck:
"From now on... we'll be friends." "A duo of outcasts..." "Two weirdos..."
Without meaning to, Rei slowed her pace. Her sneakers crunched softly on the uneven concrete, scraping leaves and gravel in the dim lantern light. Around her, the city was still vibrating: distant honking horns, teenage laughter coming from some konbini , red and blue lights flickering in shop windows like floating embers.
But inside him... everything was on pause.
As if the whole world revolved around him, oblivious to the silent current that swept through his chest. It wasn't sadness, not entirely. It was something more ambiguous. As if a small crack had opened beneath his usual calm, letting out... something.
He thought of Kouji . Of his silly laugh, of the warmth in his gaze when he said "thank you." He thought of the girl with the bottle, of her trembling, of that awkward sweetness that had disarmed him. For a moment, his steps became slower... more human.
And although the concrete was still beneath their feet and the lights still danced across the asphalt like urban fireflies, something in the air had changed.
Rei lowered his gaze, observing his own steps as if hoping to find an answer hidden among the cracks in the path. The breeze suddenly blew, thicker, more vivid... as if the city breathed with it.
A gust swept her bangs to one side, carrying with it the distant murmur of engines, voices, and rustling dry leaves. It was a wind heavy with foreboding. Not cold... but different. As if the world were holding its breath.
He stopped.
Not because of the wind, but because of the way something invisible seemed to brush against his back. Like a silent warning... or a silent call from the heart of the night.
"Friend...?" She tried the word, hoarse, incredulous.
"What does that mean to someone like me...?"
A cold gust passed through the alleys, stirring garbage bags and lifting damp papers that clung to her ankles. Rei took a deep breath, feeling the distant smoke from the ramen stands mix with her nostalgia.
He closed his eyes for a moment, letting the whole city breathe for him.
As he opened them, his gaze was fixed on the dark alley that opened a few meters away, a silent crack between two buildings spewing steam from their air conditioners.
Without turning around, he took a step toward that darkness. Then another.
"Today..." he muttered, letting the word sink into the wet asphalt. "Today I'll take a different route."
And Rei Tsukishiro was lost among shadows, weeping lanterns and the distant murmur of sirens, leaving behind the safety of her routine... forever.
The alley that twisted toward the old bridge was plunged into a gloom that devoured the last remaining light of the evening. Only a few neon signs, hanging from dilapidated buildings in the distance, blinked like sick eyes, silently watching.
A dry wind, permeated with the smell of dampness and rust, blew through cracks and corroded pipes, whistling between garbage bags left against the walls.
Rei walked with her head slightly lowered, her shoulders wrapped in the dark fabric of her coat. Her hands were numb, buried in her pockets, as if she feared they might escape into battle without permission. Each footstep broke the silence with a harsh echo on the cement stained with oil and stagnant water. Her breathing formed in short puffs that dissolved as quickly as her thoughts.
Halfway down the hall, he paused for a second. A flashing sign reflected his face in a puddle: deep dark circles under his eyes, a still gaze, brows tense as if bearing a weight no one else could see.
—...They always end the same... —he murmured, his voice raspy, almost incredulous at himself.
A stronger gust stirred her bangs and cooled the back of her neck. But Rei kept going, trailing her shadow like a hungry wolf sniffing out a danger it doesn't yet want to name.
The damp, cracked walls seemed to close in on her, devouring any distant noise from the city that shimmered alive outside. Inside, Rei Tsukishiro was just an echo walking... straight toward something she already knew, deep in her chest, she shouldn't ignore.
Friend...
The word repeated itself in his mind, empty and dense like the night that stretched over the city.
What the hell does that mean to someone like me?
Rei pressed her lips together, her face etched in the dim light from the distant streetlamps.
Her steps were slow and shuffling as she walked down the lonely street, her school uniform still immaculate, without a coat or protection from the biting cold.
"What am I supposed to do...?" she whispered, almost voiceless, letting herself be carried away by the muffled echo between the walls of old buildings and empty streets.
The wind blew hard, ruffling his dark hair and causing a few strands to fall over his forehead. He was in no hurry, nor did he need to speed up. He walked slowly, avoiding looking too closely at the dark puddles that reflected a leaden, threatening sky.
As he stepped out of the passage, the city unfolded before him under a blanket of heavy, dense clouds.
The arched bridge stood out against the gray background, a solid silhouette in the cold air.
Rei stopped walking. She raised her head and stared up at the overcast sky, letting the wind hit her face harshly, like a dull call piercing her skin.
"Friend..." he barely murmured, with a hint of doubt that seemed lost in the vastness of the night.
He closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath.
Ploc .
A cold drop slid slowly down his forehead, running along the curve of his eyebrow to stop at the corner of his lips, like an icy whisper that cut through his calm.
"Damn," he muttered, opening his eyes slowly, as if waking from a dark, heavy sleep. "They're always wrong with the forecast. They can never predict when it's actually going to start raining."
The cold air whipped at her skin, lifting unruly strands of her brown hair. There was no shelter nearby, only the echo of her footsteps and the distant murmur of the wind between buildings.
He calmly reached into his backpack, searching for something familiar, something that might offer him a modicum of shelter from the night that was growing colder and emptier.
He took out his midnight coat: a dark, dense cloak, as if the very shadow of the night could wrap itself in it. With a fluid, unhurried movement, he draped it over his shoulders, letting the weight of the fabric make him feel more solid, more prepared for what was to come.
There was no hood to hide his face, no mask to disguise his gaze. Only the coat, his cold, silent presence, and the murmur of his own thoughts, as dense and dark as the storm beginning to form on the horizon.
"All right... let the storm come," he said, his voice low, almost a whisper in the wind. "Let it fall in all its fury. I'm not running from it anymore. Not this time."
He stood still for a moment, feeling the cold bite into his skin beneath the thick fabric, and the air thicken with the threat of downpour.
It was a challenge, a silent pact with the night and with himself.
Because at that moment, beneath the dark sky, Rei Tsukishiro wasn't just another boy. He was a shadow that walked firmly, promising to never let anything defeat him.
He approached the bridge railing with silent steps, almost as if his body weighed more than his will. He placed a hand on the cold metal, an icy touch that reminded him of how empty the world could feel when nothing and no one warmed it.
He stood motionless, trapped between the whisper of the wind and the shadow of the clouds covering the sky. The moon, weak and pale, struggled to peek out through the darkness, like a hope too small to illuminate the night that seemed to swallow him whole.
"In the end..." His voice was a harsh, almost broken murmur. "I always end up alone, don't I?" He gave a low, dry laugh, so hollow it seemed to come from somewhere deep and painful, an echo that resonated in a forgotten corner of his soul. "A friend... tsk . What for? What's the point?" He shook his head with a slight gesture of contempt, as if rejecting an idea that refused to go away.
The first drops of rain fell timidly, splashing her bangs and further chilling the skin on her face. The wind picked up, turning the drops into a persistent downpour, soaking the cement beneath her feet and making the metal railing gleam like a sharp edge.
Rei leaned his head back, closed his eyes, and breathed deeply. The air was thick with the fresh, metallic scent of the storm about to break. In that instant, amidst the solitude and bone-chilling dampness, he felt something inside him begin to change.
"Maybe..." he whispered to the wind, as if challenging himself. "Maybe I'm not as alone as I think. Maybe a friend isn't a chain, but a strength. A light in the darkness I don't yet know how to find."
He approached the bridge railing with slow, measured steps, as if each movement were a farewell. He placed a hand on the icy metal, feeling the cold pierce his skin, a stinging contact that seemed to remind him how distant he was from any human warmth.
The moon, high and pale, reflected on the dark waters of the river, bathing the scene in a silvery light that made Rei's outline shine like a silhouette trapped between worlds. But little by little, dense clouds began to advance, covering that faint glow, as if the darkness itself wanted to envelop it.
The wind picked up, seeping through the cracks in the bridge, whipping her face in sharp gusts and making her hair dance. A few stray drops began to fall, small and cold, settling on her skin like a silent warning.
A distant thunderclap rumbled over the skyscrapers of Shibuya , shaking the air. Rei slowly opened her eyes, and for an instant, her brown gaze grew sharp, intense, as if it could cut through the storm itself.
"It doesn't matter," he whispered, his voice firm, but laced with icy melancholy. "I don't need anything or anyone. As long as I keep walking, no one will be able to catch me."
Without waiting for a reply, he turned on his heel and started walking away, leaving behind the moon disappearing under a blanket of clouds and the distant roar of the river running darkly under the bridge.
Each step of his echoed in the night, a solitary footstep that was lost in the wind and the shadows, as he went deeper and deeper into a dark, cold, and empty path.
Then, with a firm but silent step, he resumed his journey toward a destination he still didn't fully understand.
The night was alive. Not with the warmth of the people or the light of the city... but with the harsh sound of rain pounding the cement like a funeral drum. Each drop fell with a weight that seemed to mock Rei's hunched shoulders.
His boots, soaked and heavy, dragged through puddles that reflected dying streetlights and neon signs that flickered like weary witnesses.
His hands were buried in the pockets of his dark coat, his posture so motionless that he looked more like a shadow than a seventeen-year-old boy.
The wind pushed him sideways, whipped his wet bangs around, whistled through the metal teeth of the bridge. Rei didn't even blink: he moved forward, slowly, breathing in steam that dissolved into the night like his thoughts.
A thunderclap exploded above his head; he didn't even turn his face. His gaze remained fixed on a point that existed only for him: a silent, empty place, beyond any street or streetlight.
In his mind there was only a dry order, repeated like a hollow prayer:
"Get home... turn off the world... forget everything."
But each step was a silent confession that this was never going to happen. He clenched his jaw; a tiny tremor ran down the back of his neck, lost beneath the collar of his soaked coat.
He exhaled through gritted teeth, his voice raspy, barely audible through the rain:
—What a noisy silence...
And he continued walking. Slowly, without fear, with that calm that isn't peace but the resignation of someone who has already made peace with the night. The storm raged, but Rei was even quieter than thunder. A lone wolf walking without a trace, devouring his own rage so no one would hear him.
But then something tore through the night like a wet sheet of paper:
—LET ME GO...! SOMEONE...HELP...!
A broken voice, torn by terror and the rain, burst out amid the rumble of thunder. It was like an icy dagger straight to the chest.
Rei stopped in her tracks. Water ran down her forehead, slipping between her eyelashes, but she didn't bother to wipe it away. She closed her eyes for a moment, letting each heavy drop hit her face like a slap of reality.
He took a deep, slow breath. A faint vapor escaped from his parted lips. His right hand, hidden in his coat, clenched into a fist so tight his knuckles ached.
—...It's none of my business, but... —he murmured, his voice a whisper that the storm almost swallowed.
But something, inside that chest that swore it was dead, ignited again: a memory flickered behind her closed eyelids— Kouji 's awkward laugh , the trembling hand offering her a bottle of water, the absurd warmth of sincere gratitude.
The wind brought the girl's cry again, this time weaker, but full of desperation:
"S-someone... please...!"
Rei opened her eyes, heavy and dark like an endless storm. She turned her head slowly to the left. Under a dying streetlight, flickering with lightning, eight silhouettes swayed like vultures around a broken prey. The girl, soaked to the bone, had her uniform stuck to her skin; she struggled, but each pull was weaker, more exhausted. Her knees trembled, her breath a sob lost in the fury of the rain.
Rei frowned, a vein throbbing in her neck. Thunder rumbled. Her gaze hardened, cold as a newly forged blade.
"...Just one night of peace," he whispered, almost laughing humorlessly. "This damn world won't even give me that."
Slowly, he pulled his hand from his pocket. Rain trickled down his closed fist, washing away the rage that was beginning to boil in his veins. His lips curved slightly, a grimace that wasn't a smile or a threat... just the acceptance of something inevitable.
"What am I if I turn my back?" he asked himself, letting the answer float in his throat. "
...Nothing. Just a walking corpse."
A flash of lightning illuminated his silhouette. A wild gleam shone in his eyes, like a wolf about to strike again.
His boots crunched on the wet concrete. He took a step. Then another.
His shadow grew in the dying light, swallowing the girl's fear and the thugs' dirty laughter.
One of the men roughly pulled her arm, almost wrenching another scream from her throat. Dirty, sticky laughter mingled with the drumming of the rain:
—Don't scream, doll... No one's coming for you. Not a soul.
The girl let out a stifled sob. Her nails scraped uselessly against his sleeve, her voice breaking into a last whisper of hope that was lost in the lightning.
A few meters away, beneath the curtain of water that swallowed all the light, Rei felt something tear inside her chest. A sharp puncture, right in the center of her stomach. Her breathing stopped for just a second. She lowered her head. Her wet bangs covered her eyes, dripping as if the storm itself were crying for them.
His mind roared first, with the coldness of a stone wall:
"Stay out. Not another fight. Today was enough. It's not your problem. You're not a hero..."
Her lips pressed together. Buried rage ground between her teeth. But amidst that dull rumble of denial, a soft, almost childlike murmur emerged:
Kouji ... his stupid smile... his shaky voice thanking me...
That girl's small hand offering me water, without asking for anything...
A second of kindness I don't deserve...
A thunderclap tore through the sky and shook him from the inside out. Rei let out a whisper, almost in disbelief at hearing himself shatter his mask:
"Am I really that... soft...?" His voice trembled, a laugh muffled by the rain.
He clenched his fists inside his pockets, so tightly he felt his own knuckles crack.
A trickle of steam escaped between his lips, mingling with his labored breathing. A large drop of water—or perhaps an uninvited tear—mingled with the storm, rolling down his chin.
Something broke. Something woke up.
The wind seemed to roar, whipping her soaked coat against her legs. Rei raised her head slowly, very slowly... and a flash of lightning revealed her eyes: empty of fear, filled with a determination so icy it could cut through the entire night.
His chest rose and fell in one last exhalation, as if he were letting out a demon that had been bottled up for years.
He stared at the end of the bridge, just a few steps away. A few more steps and everything would disappear.
He could merge with the darkness, get lost among distant lights and faceless rain. He could remain a silent shadow in a city that swallows and spits out the lonely without a trace.
No one would blame him. No one would know anything. A secret buried beneath the roar of the storm. But then, a heartbeat. A single, raw, brutal one, that thundered in his chest like an unbidden war drum. His lips parted, the steam of his breath mingling with the icy rain.
—...Damn... —he whispered, a laugh breaking in his throat.
A spark burned in his stomach, coursed through his veins, reminded him of everything he hates... and everything that, despite everything, he's not willing to let die inside him. A memory: Kouji 's face , that awkward smile. The soft "thank you" of the water girl. The broken voice of the one who was now crying out for help.
A truth became flesh, stuck in his throat and came out like fire between his teeth:
"If I keep walking... if I don't turn around now... I'll never be able to look myself in the face again."
Rei felt her shoulders tense. Her fists clenched until they hurt. A roar of thunder exploded behind her like an explosion of suppressed rage.
He turned his gaze toward the lightning-split night. And with a single turn of his heels, his shadow shattered:
Rei Tsukishiro chose to roar, not flee.
He stopped on the edge of the abyss of his own cowardice. Suddenly, he spun around, water splashing in all directions, almost slipping on the storm-choked concrete.
The furious wind whipped across her face, plastering every soaked strand of her brown hair against her cold skin. But her eyes... her eyes burned like glowing embers in a freezing gale.
They locked onto those eight shadows devouring the girl.
They locked onto them... and refused to budge.
— End of Chapter —
📖 Author's Comment ✒️
Sometimes we don't look for answers...
just words that hold us for a while.
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