In the hazy morning light,
the window of the old one-room still creaked, but the air inside was different from yesterday.
Reze packed a simple lunch and left for the cafe, while Denji headed for work early for once.
“Haa… I think I can still smell the sea.”
Passing the bus stop, Denji raised his wrist and sniffed.
A faint salty smell still came from his clothes, permeated with sand and sea breeze.
The construction site on the outskirts of the city was rough as always.
The dull sound of an excavator tore through the air, and the smell of cement stung his nose.
Denji gripped an old shovel with his gloved hand.
“Hey, Denji! Move those steel rods over there!”
“Yes—!”
Denji answered, bending his waist.
As soon as he lifted the bundle of steel rods, the muscles in his arm painfully strained.
But he was used to it now.
At first, he couldn't even straighten his back all day, but now he took the weight on his shoulders and kept his balance.
Sweat droplets flowing down his spine mixed with the dust and slid down, and his breath mixed roughly.
“Watch out, the sand truck is coming in!”
A truck horn sounded, and Denji instinctively pulled his body aside.
Where the truck passed, dust rose like a cloud.
From within it, he picked up the shovel again.
‘Still… it’s not bad.’
Strangely, that thought came to him.
Unlike the old days of fighting covered in blood, now
he just sweats, works, and earns money to eat.
The simplicity of it was unfamiliar yet comfortable.
After working like that for a while, it was time for a short break.
Denji sat on the ground and took off his helmet.
Resting his elbows on his knees, he looked up at the sky.
Through thick gray clouds, bits of blue sky were visible.
The color of the sea he saw yesterday came to mind.
‘If I go to school now… will I be living like a real person?’
That thought suddenly crossed his mind.
That's when it happened.
“Hey, Mr. Matsuda.”
“Not 'Mister,' it's 'Brother.' What's up?”
Holding his helmet, Denji hesitated for a moment, then spoke with a serious face.
“I… I’m thinking of going to school.”
Instantly, Matsuda's face stiffened.
The cigarette he was holding was half-burned, but he couldn't even pay attention to the ember.
“…I didn't hear wrong, did I?”
“No. You heard right.”
Denji scratched his head sheepishly.
“I'm thinking of going to school.”
For a moment, only the wind blew.
The noise of the construction site felt distant.
And then, Matsuda slowly raised the corner of his mouth.
“…I see.”
He bowed his head briefly, then smiled as if he understood.
‘It must be thanks to that girl, Reze.’
“Heeey— So, is that Reze girl taking care of all the preparations?”
“Well… maybe? I don't know much. I might just get in the way.”
“You rascal, you’ve matured.”
Matsuda tapped Denji's helmeted head.
The dust stuck to his palm scattered into Denji's hair.
His gaze held a mix of pride.
“But you know, even if it's Miss Reze…”
Matsuda hardened his mouth as if pondering for a moment.
“You never even went to elementary school, right? It might get a bit complicated.”
“Huh, really?”
Denji's face stiffened in an instant.
“I don't know the details either, but at your age, you’re old enough to enter high school.
But without elementary and middle school records, there'll be a lot of troublesome paperwork, won't there?”
Denji scratched his forehead.
“So going to school is this hard too…”
Watching Denji let out a disappointed sigh, Matsuda chuckled inwardly.
That expression was somehow an adult's smile, seeing a kid who ‘sincerely wants to go to school.’
“Well, there's always a way.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Believe it or not, I know a few people with connections here in Sendai.”
Matsuda rubbed his cigarette out on the ground and gave Denji's shoulder a light pat.
“I’ll help, so this time, you really need to study.”
“Thanks, Mister!”
As Denji held out his hand, Matsuda chuckled and shook it.
“This kid, you're really becoming a person now.”
"And I'm not a 'Mister,' I'm 'Brother'!!"
The cafe door opened, and a small bell rang clearly.
The late afternoon sunlight flowed softly through the window onto the table.
Reze had taken off her apron and was sitting by the window, holding a warm cup of coffee.
Denji, who seemed to have run over as soon as he got off work, dusted off his clothes and sat down on a chair.
“How was work today?”
“Just… same as usual. Carrying cement, getting yelled at a bit.”
Denji answered, stifling a yawn, but his expression was strangely bright.
“But today was a bit different.”
“How so?”
“I thought about school.”
“School?”
“Yeah. I talked to Brother Matsuda. Told him I’m really thinking of going.”
Reze's pupils wavered subtly.
But soon, she returned to her familiar smile.
“Yeah? Really?”
“Yeah. But he said the paperwork might be a hassle. Since I never went to elementary or middle school.”
“That's… well, of course. But you'll manage it fine.”
“Huh? Why the sudden confidence?”
“School, you see, is ultimately a battle of who has more sincerity.”
Reze narrowed her eyes playfully and took a sip of coffee.
“More than being good or bad at studying, if you have the desire to learn… that’s everything.”
Denji paused for a moment, looking at her.
Her words held a strangely ‘textbook-like warmth’.
But somewhere—there was also a hint of awkwardness, as if she was ‘reciting something she had read’.
“Reze, have you ever said things like that when you were in school?”
At those words, Reze's eyes widened slightly.
“…Well, of course. I went, so I know.”
“Really?”
“Of course~! Classroom, friends, teacher… I had them all.”
Reze deliberately put on a bright expression.
But her fingertips trembled slightly.
The sound of her coffee cup hitting the surface seemed unusually loud.
Denji, oblivious to her reaction, laughed and said.
“Then that’s great! I really don't know a lot of things. Let's study together!”
“…Together?”
“Yeah. If I do it alone, I’ll definitely mess up. You’ll probably teach me well, like a teacher.”
A moment of silence.
Reze put down her coffee cup and turned her gaze outside.
The street dyed in autumn colors, the sunset spreading in orange.
Leaning against that light, she muttered quietly.
“…Then, I’ll watch over you. If you don't do your homework, I’ll scold you.”
Denji laughed awkwardly.
“You sound like a real teacher.”
“Then don’t act like a student~”
Reze playfully winked.
Light laughter flowed between them.
But behind that laughter,
a strange shadow momentarily passed through Reze's eyes.
‘Come to think of it, I never told Denji that I’ve never been to school either.’
As if shaking off the thought, she emptied her coffee cup.
Denji, still with an innocent face, spoke.
“But still… I hope it really happens.
Walking the same path, side by side with you, Reze.”
Reze nodded quietly.
“Yeah. When that day comes… I’ll definitely pack you a lunch.”
“Really?”
“Promise.”
She held out her finger,
and Denji happily hooked his pinky with hers.
Outside, lights turned on one by two,
and the air enveloping the inside of the cafe slowly grew warm.
The scent of coffee seeped faintly over the place where their hands touched.
Then, a crow flew and perched on the edge of the window.
A gaze from beyond the glass quietly watched them.
But the two, unaware of that fact,
looked into each other's eyes and smiled quietly.
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