Inside the old one-room apartment, sunlight coming through the window grazed the narrow dining table.
As usual, Denji woke up first and prepared a meal. Fried eggs and miso soup with the leftover rice from the previous day.
A simple meal, but it now felt like a symbol of 'peace' for just the two of them.
“Breakfast is ready. Come eat quickly.”
Denji said from the kitchen area.
Reze slowly got up and approached. She smiled as usual, but that smile was awkward in some way.
“Denji, your cooking skills have improved lately~”
“Hehe, I practiced a lot. Because you like it.”
“Mhm, I’ll enjoy it.”
She picked up her chopsticks, but her fingertips trembled slightly.
Denji noticed it.
“Reze, is something wrong? Lately… it seems like you’re not sleeping well.”
“Aww~ it’s nothing like that. I’m just a little tired.”
She said that, but her eyes were clearly being chased by something.
The sound of the small clock on the table seemed unusually loud.
Denji ate a spoonful of soup without saying anything for a while.
Reze forced a smile, trying to liven up the meal atmosphere.
“I’m going to study at the cafe today. Manager Kuzen bought me a new book.”
“Oh? You’ve been studying hard lately.”
“Yeah. Who knows, maybe I can really go to school next semester?”
Denji laughed at those words.
But even within that smile, an unknown anxiety had seeped in.
She bowed her head again.
‘Why… hasn’t she shown up yet.’
Makima.
The Control Devil.
Reze also knew that the woman had already ‘found’ her.
The crows and rats, the surveillance network spread across the entire city.
There was no way to evade those eyes.
‘But why… is it so quiet like this?’
‘What’s the reason for letting us be? That witch… what is she scheming?’
Seeing her subtle change in expression, Denji asked again.
“Are you really okay?”
“Yeah, really.”
Reze forced a smile and pinched Denji’s cheek.
“Don’t worry. I won’t die. At least not now.”
The words sounded like a joke, but they resonated painfully somewhere.
Tokyo Public Safety Headquarters, 7th floor records room.
Aki carefully unfolded a stack of documents.
He was opening a confidential folder that had already been deactivated, so that no one would find out.
“Hey, is this really okay?”
Power said, sounding annoyed as she peeked from behind.
“You say we’re looking for Denji, so why are we stealing documents first?”
“Shh.”
Aki put a finger to his lips.
“If Makima finds out, it’s over.”
His hand, flipping through the file, stopped.
‘Sendai Region — Report Partially Damaged, Person in Charge Unknown.’
The edge of the paper was torn off.
Aki frowned.
“Sendai…?”
“Did you find something there?”
“I don’t know. But this isn’t a coincidence.”
Aki folded the document and put it inside his coat.
“Power, get ready. We’re going to Sendai right now.”
“Huh?! For real? Why go to that countryside!”
“Denji is there.”
A short silence.
Power opened her eyes wide as if she couldn’t believe it.
“The real Denji is there?”
“I’m not certain. But… my gut says so.”
Aki stood up, muttering to himself.
‘Makima, what exactly… are you aiming for?’
At that moment, a person was watching them from the end of the hallway.
It was the Angel Devil.
He said nothing, just looked at the two impassively
and let out a small sigh.
“So you’re finally… moving.”
Public Safety Headquarters office.
Low lighting grazed a coffee cup.
Makima was sitting at her desk without a word.
A crow was perched on the tip of her finger.
The aroma of coffee spread faintly,
and her gaze connected to the crow’s eyes.
Outside the window.
Inside the cafe.
Reze was sitting by the window, studying.
Denji was next to her, wiping the coffee machine and yawning.
“Hehe…”
A faint smile spread across Makima’s lips.
‘You’re getting along well, Reze. Denji too.’
‘Then I’ll let you be a little longer. The more precious it becomes—the greater the pain of losing it.’
She took a sip of coffee.
“Live like that. How fragile the happiness you’ve gained is,
you’ll find out soon.”
The cafe had few customers.
Autumn wind blew outside the window, slightly swaying the curtain.
Kuzen, who was wiping a cup, looked at Reze for a moment.
Her expression was heavier than usual today.
“Reze, is something the matter?”
“…No. I think I’m just tired, maybe because there’s a lot on my mind lately.”
She still smiled.
But the edges of that smile trembled slightly.
Kuzen said nothing for a while.
His pupils swirled with old fatigue and an unfathomable sadness.
He resolved to himself.
‘Once more… I’ll have to face that woman.’
The cup in his hand trembled minutely.
Light passed by and fell through his white hair.
The alley was filled with the unique scent of an autumn evening.
A humid wind that seemed like rain, the sound of cars passing in the distance, and red streetlight dyeing the concrete walls.
Denji and Reze walked side by side.
“So, if we get into school, we might be in different classes, right?”
Reze asked.
“Then I’ll just change classes.”
“Eh, you think that’s so easy~?”
“If I want to, I can do anything.”
“Still full of bravado.”
Their conversation was light, as usual.
But somewhere in the air, there was a strange ‘disconnection’.
Reze smiled, but her gaze kept drifting to the end of the alley.
Denji also felt her subtle tension.
“Reze, are you okay? Today you’re… kind of different.”
“Huh? Am I?”
“Yeah. Just, that’s the feeling.”
“Hehe… don’t worry about things like that. I’m fine.”
She smiled brighter than usual.
That was more unsettling.
The wind stopped for a moment, and silence fell.
And in that moment—
In the middle of the street, a faint cigarette smell spread.
A man stood under a streetlight.
Wearing a black coat, with his hair tied in a ponytail.
A cigarette in one hand, an expressionless face in the other.
He raised his head.
“Long time no see, Denji.”
His voice was low and calm,
but within it, there was a thinly spread emotion —
‘Longing’, ‘wariness’, ‘duty’.
Denji froze on the spot.
His eyes slowly widened, and he took a breath.
“…Aki?”
Reze’s fingertips trembled.
Her face turned pale.
A suffocating stillness enveloped the alley.
It seemed as if even a single strand of wind had stopped.
Then, from the darkness behind them, another voice burst out.
“This scent is Denji! Without a doubt! Power-sama’s sense of smell is perfect!!”
Ivory-colored hair glinted under the streetlight.
It was Power.
“Haah… Power, please be quiet.”
Aki said, crushing out his cigarette.
“Coming all the way here at this hour and shouting—”
“It’s Denji! Denji is here!!”
“I know, I see him, so stop it…”
Denji slowly stepped in front of Reze.
It was an unconscious protective instinct.
Reze’s fingertips tightly grasped his sleeve.
“Denji, this is…”
“I know. They’re… my comrades.”
A short exchange.
But Reze’s eyes wavered complexly.
‘Has Makima… finally made a move?’
Aki took a step forward.
His gaze moved between Denji and Reze.
“What are you doing in a place like this, Denji.”
“Just… living.”
“Living?”
“Yeah. With Reze.”
At those words, Power’s expression twisted.
“Ha! What?! With that Bomb bitch?!”
“Watch your mouth.”
Denji’s voice sank low.
The air turned chilly in an instant.
Aki looked at the two for a moment, then spoke.
“Denji, do you remember the outcome of your fight with the Bomb Fiend back then?”
“I remember.”
“She joined hands with the Typhoon Devil and killed countless people.
She annihilated Public Safety’s 2nd Division… Protecting a criminal like that means you’re an accomplice. You know that, right?”
Denji bowed his head.
“I know. But still… I decided to run away with Reze.”
Aki let out a short sigh.
“Yeah, I figured it would come to this.”
His expression held both disappointment and relief at the same time.
Denji moved his hand to his chest.
Inside, the engine starter trembled slightly.
If necessary—he was prepared to fight.
“…Still, you know, Denji.”
Aki said calmly.
“I’m glad you found happiness.”
“…Huh?”
Denji blinked.
“Bomb Fiend.”
Aki’s gaze shifted to Reze.
“The current disposition regarding you is the ‘capture alive’ stage.
We’ve received orders to bring you back alive, not execute you.”
Reze’s eyes widened at those words.
“…You’re sparing me? Why?”
“I don’t know.”
Aki shook his head.
“That’s the instruction from above.
But if it’s an order from Makima—the reason is probably one thing.”
Reze’s mind became complicated.
The Control Devil, Makima.
That woman had no reason to show such ‘mercy’.
‘…Why? Why spare me? For Denji’s sake? Or using me as bait…?’
“Ugh, my head hurts! What on earth is going on!”
Power shouted.
“Can’t we just beat everyone up and be done with it?!”
“Be quiet, Power.”
Aki’s voice sank low.
At that moment, the streetlight flickered subtly.
A crow cawed from atop a utility pole.
“Caw—”
Reze’s gaze turned upward.
The crow’s eyes were watching her.
Red like blood, a cold gleam.
The wind blew.
From within the darkness, someone’s presence brushed past.
Aki sensed the presence and turned his head.
“This is…”
His hand found the gun handle again.
A moment when tension and unease, and the scent of an old connection, all mixed together
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register