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There’s a strange boy at Asa’s school. She doesn’t often pay attention to any of her classmates, not when they don’t care for her at all. The only reason this one manages to capture her attention is because of how bizarre he truly is.
Denji, she thinks that’s his name, sits in the same row as her. They both linger near the back. Asa prefers to hide in her head inside books, observe the others over the pages. The boy looks half asleep most days.
He is dirty most days too, everyday actually. Denji only wears the uniform shirt and pants, no jacket or tie to accompany the outfit. Even the clothes he does wear are stained, covered in dirt and holes. It’s sad enough that the other students don’t even bully him for it.
Perhaps the most striking feature is the eye-patch covering the right side of his face. Nobody, at least nobody Asa knows, has seen underneath it. There are rumors that he’s faking the injury, rumors that it sold on the black market, and rumors that he cut it out himself. Somebody who was stupid enough once asked him about it. The whole class sat in sudden shock.
Denji stared in angry silence until the other student scampered off.
Asa wonders about the boy sometimes. All the teachers, all the students and everyone else make sure to avoid him. He never raises his hand in class, never answers any of the questions even when asked to. Even the occasional substitute knows to avoid him.
She’s jealous. Asa wishes the others would give her the same space.
The girl isn’t exactly bullied either, but she’s noticed the looks she gets from other students. They whisper about her too small uniform, her messy hair, her bushy eyebrows. She used to ask her mom to help her pluck them, or wax. Without anyone to teach her anymore there’s a myriad of cuts on her legs from the cheap razor she uses. Most of her bras are too small. Often Asa doesn’t feel like a woman, hardly like a person even.
At the very least she is not lower than Denji. He is more dog than human. The thought is as cruel as it is reassuring. It gives her the barest chance to climb up the social hierarchy.
—
Denji likes to bug the girls at school. He asks for their lunches, for their attention. No matter how often they rebuff his advances the boy tries again the next day.
He does not bother Mitaka.
It should be a blessing, it is one. She doesn’t want a stray mutt bothering her. Denji smells, stinks up the whole classroom. Sometimes when he looks towards a group of a girls, they’ll giggle. It’s the combination of his soft yet skinny face, and the audacity of it. He’ll go bright red and scamper off.
The boy doesn’t look like that when Asa shoos him off. He looks disgruntled and angry. Other than a few times at the beginning of the year, he ignores her as much as she ignores everyone else.
It must be some sort of reverse psychology. Whatever it is, it isn’t working.
—
Asa often lingers after school. Her house is lonely. While she can she hides in the library, gets her homework done. The librarian is one of the only people in the whole school who knows her name. She lets Mitaka stay there in the corner right up until the school closes.
Only today does she wish she had left right on time. What had started as a light drizzle was now a steady downpour. She packed an umbrella, but her jacket isn’t enough to brave the cold.
For awhile she lingers in the doorway. Her shoes will soak through too. On days like this her mother would leave work early just to drive her home.
As she wraps her jacket over her backpack too, and prays that the walk will be quicker than normal, a certain figure scampers around the edges of her vision. When Mitaka whips her head around she’s greeted by the unseemly sight.
Denji must’ve been as stupid as her today, dumber even. In the chill weather he wears the typical combination of shirt and pants, still no jacket in sight. The umbrella racks are empty now, which means he doesn’t have one to protect himself on the way home.
He avoids her glare, eye focused on the sheets of rain battering the ground. The boys hands are wrapped around the tattered edge of his shirt. His shoulders are hunched in an awkward stiffness. For a moment the burgundy iris flickers over to Asa.
“Don’t even think about it,” she shouts, defensive. Denji’s lips hadn’t even twitched yet, eye only hovering over her face for half a second.
“Think about what?” His voice is surprisingly even, almost normal sounding. Asa doesn’t remember if she’s ever heard it before.
She grows suddenly defensive. “Think about… whatever you were thinking!” Probably something perverted, or creepy, maybe even murderous. It would fit his rugged appearance.
Denji rocks back on his heels. “I wasn’t thinking shit! You were the one who started yelling for no reason.”
“Makes sense that someone like you doesn’t think. I bet you don’t even have a brain.” Mitaka mentally high fives herself for that one. It’s true. She’s seen the grades he gets. The fact that he’s still in school is insane.
He stares at her with one angry eye.
Asa should leave. Playing with him is fun though, aggravating too. It’s more tempting than stepping out in the cold at least.
An awkward silence hangs in the air. It’s clear that both are hesitant to leave. The dip in conversation settles the fire between them, introducing a brief air of calmness.
“You don’t have an umbrella.”
An obvious observation.
“So? I don’t need one.” An edge creeps back into Denji’s voice.
Asa bites her tongue, tries not to shoot back poison. “Have you looked outside? You’ll get soaked if you go out without an umbrella.” She’ll probably get soaked even with one. Maybe she’ll find a cafe to sulk in until the storm ends.
His shoulders relax slightly at her softer tone. “I don’t have one. So it doesn’t matter either way.”
“We can share.”
Shit.
Asa doesn’t know why the hell she would offer that. The girl can only pray he rejects the proposition. Judging by the brightness in his eye it’s not likely.
“Are you sure?”
Absolutely not.
Swallowing her pride all Mitaka can manage to do is nod her head affirmatively. Her umbrella is bigger than most of the other ones students carry. It used to be her father’s.
His mouth breaks out into a surprising smile. “Hell yea! I knew you weren’t a bitch.”
Denji balks at Asa’s expression.
“That’s what everyone else says.” Is what Denji first tries. “I totally don’t buy into any of that shit though.”
“Shut your mouth before I change my mind.”
“Yes ma’am!”
Denji opens the door for her. The wind is surprisingly calm, though it still bites past her coat. Raising her voice to be heard over the weather Asa turns to the boy. “I’m going to the cafe in district 2. You’re on your own after that.”
“No worries!” He seems surprisingly chipper. Mitaka suspects that it’s because he’s gotten a girl to talk to him for more than a few moments.
She slows her pace so he can stand under the protection as well. Denji at least has the sense to keep some semblance of distance. Their shoulders are still only a few inches apart. The urge to move away from the boy’s filthy shoulders is strong.
The first few minutes of the walk are spent in horrible silence. Asa uses her free hand to pull the thin jacket closer together. It’s 15 painful minutes to the small coffee shop that stretch ahead of them.
Denji walks calmly beside her. Despite the chill he seems to be completely unbothered. It’s strange to see him this way. Outside of school, even if just barely, he looks less normal. Somehow the strangeness of Denji has melted into an afterthought inside of classes. All the quirks of his appearance and personality have been accepted by the students.
Walking outside with him, she gets strange looks. Eyes flicker from her, to the boy beside, and back to her. Adults hardly glance over Mitaka when she’s on her own. Now they look over with pity or disgust or some form of both. It perfectly encapsulates how she feels about Denji.
He doesn’t bother to hide from the glares. Whether he notices them or not is a little unclear. If he’s ignoring the eyes tracing him then he’s doing a damn good job. His own eye is focused on the buildings around them, the dirty sidewalk, the umbrella handle. Anywhere that’s not directly in front of him.
Licking her lips, a nervous voice breaks the silence.
“Did you do the homework for English last night?”
Shoulders pick up, Denji is eager to talk. “No way! If it’s not due until next week then I’m not starting it until then.”
“It’s hard assignment,” she points out. “It’s always better to get things like that done in advance.”
“No way! ‘sides, English is dumb. I don’t get why we waste time on things like that.”
"You won't be able to get a good job if you don't know even a little bit of English." Asa isn't sure what she wants to be, something that'll earn her a lot of money. Her grades are good enough to get her into a good college. Denji will be lucky if he finishes high-school.
The boy suddenly puffs his chest out. "I already have perfectly good job." His voice has raised a little in volume.
Asa quickly hides her surpise. "I'm pretty sure that's against school rules."
"Oh." Denji actually seems to be caught off guard but he quickly recovers. "It's not like anyone will find out."
Asa doubts that considering he just openly bragged to her about it but she bites her tongue. She doesn't want to seem too interested buy curiosity gets the best of her. "What do you do then?"
"A little bit of everything I guess." Denji's the one who is guarded now.
After being brushed off Mitaka is quick to go back to silence. They're approaching the cafe now. Despite the thick sheets of rain she can almost smell the coffee and pastries. The entrance has a small awning that she stops under to shake off her umbrella. While it did shield her from most of the rain she's still a bit damp and cold. The soft glow of the cafe promises refuge.
Denji still hovers near her. "You can go now." It feels a bit cruel to let him face the rain on his own but Asa will live. She turns and marches into the cafe. Immediately a wall of warmth hits her and soaks into her bones.
The door doesn't immediately slam shut. When she looks behind herself Denji has continued following her.
"I said go away." The last thing she needs is him hovering longer than necessary. Most students are having dinner with their families but it's better to be careful. Asa's abysmal social life doesn't need to take a hit.
"This is a public es-tablesment and I don't think you own the place." He spits the words out before stepping around her to get in line.
"Fine, but I was here first." Mitaka bumps the boy on the shoulder before squeezing in front of him. He grunts but chooses not to further antagonize her.
Asa doesn't have much spare change but it's enough to get a small tea and a croissant. It's much more appetizing than having the third day of leftover curry. She waits off to the side for her order. Out of the corner of her eye she watches Denji step up to the register.
"Water's free right?" He has no shame about begging for scraps.
"For paying customers it is." The server had been nice to Asa but her tone is flat now.
"You gotta pay for something to get something else for free?"
"If you're not going to buy something you can leave." Denji hovers for a moment, eye staring desperately at the menu. Asa knows the feeling. People don't invite her out anymore but when she was younger she was used to buying whatever was cheapest.
He seems like he's about to give up when Asa recounts the change in her pocket. "He'll have a granola bar." They're only 50 yen but she still hates to hand over her change.
"And a hot water." Denji grins smugly at the server. It's just the smallest bit infectious. Not quite enough for Asa to smile herself though.
The server is clearly displeased but she hands him the granola bar and a hot water. Asa's food is done too. She takes her meal to a corner of the shop where she can watch the rain.
Denji sits at the table next to her but thankfully makes no attempts at anything more.
Mitaka peels at the layers of the croissant. They're soft and buttery and flaky. The tea is sweet. Suddenly the cold from outside is a distant memory. While Asa drinks the tea quickly she eats the food slowly. She puts on layer of dough on her tongue, it practically melts into her mouth.
The girl keeps glancing over at Denji. She's on his blind side so he won't catch her. He's finished his hot water but has left half the granola bar sitting in the wrapper.
"I'll be mad if you made me waste my money."
Denji turns and stares like he's a complete idiot.
"I bought you food, if you won't eat it I want my money back."
The threat causes Denji to grab the granola bar and clutch it against his chest. His guarded and disgusted face has quickly returned. "I'm saving it for Pochita!"
"Is that your dog?" The boy always had smelled, mostly like dirt and body odor but maybe a bit of wet fur as well. Asa likes him a little more for having a pet, but hates him a little more because it's a dog. Dogs are overrated.
Denji softens slightly. "Something like that."
Asa holds back a frown. "There's chocolate in there. I don't think dogs can eat that."
"Pochita's… he can eat it."
"Whatever, don't blame me when he-" Mitaka doesn't quite hate dogs enough to say the words aloud. In fact she digs around her pocket for another little bit of change. "You should get a biscuit or something." She places another 50 yen on the table. Denji tries to smile but Asa huffs and walks away before she can regret her actions.