The morning sky over Minatsuki remained gray as Renji Arakawa stepped out of the cramped room he shared with his mother and younger sister. The scent of cheap coffee and stale bread greeted his nose—a sign that the day had begun and once again demanded its due. The eight-tatami-mat room barely deserved to be called a home, but for them, it was everything. A leaking roof, paper-thin walls that failed to block the neighbors' noise, and a rusted little stove. But Renji never complained. He simply stared out the window, rolled up the sleeves of his black uniform, and laced up his patched work shoes.
4:30 AM. While most kids his age were still fast asleep, Renji was already standing at the bus stop, waiting for the first ride that would take him to the harbor. There, he worked as a dock laborer. The job was simple, but grueling: lifting crates, moving cargo, stacking containers. Every day was a repetition of the same pain, but Renji never allowed himself to give up. He didn't work just to put food on the table for the night—he worked for his sister's future, for his mother's health, and for the dream he refused to let die. In between tasks, he always kept a worn-out school brochure tucked in his pocket. Mizuhara Academy—a prestigious private school that only accepted students with top academic scores and outstanding character. That was where Renji's hopes rested.
During his lunch break, Renji sat on a wooden crate, sipping water from a reused plastic bottle. His hands were rough, full of scars and calluses, but his grip remained steady. In one hand, he held a lunchbox containing nothing more than rice and pickled radish. In the other, a high school textbook. He had dropped out of formal schooling in his second year of middle school because they couldn't afford tuition, but he taught himself every night, took the equivalency exam, and nearly aced it. The world gave him no chances—so he carved a path with his own hands.
In the evening, after finishing his harbor shift, Renji didn't go home. Instead, he took on a second job as a dishwasher at a small family restaurant in the Suginami district. The clanging of pans and the sting of hot water against his skin became his daily background music, but he never stopped moving. Only once did he pause—when his phone buzzed. A message from Yui.
"Nii-chan, Mom was coughing again. I gave her medicine, but please come home early tonight."
Renji swallowed hard. His mother had been ill for years. The doctors said she needed routine care—but that meant money. Money they didn't have. He worked harder for that too. He stared at the screen for a few seconds before replying with a single word: "Okay."
Night fell. He returned home with a plastic bag carrying generic medicine and discounted bread from a nearly closed grocery store. When he opened the door, Yui greeted him with a tired smile. The ten-year-old girl looked far too mature for her age. She helped around the house, cared for their mother, and studied on her own with minimal guidance. Renji gently patted her head, then stepped into their mother's room.
The woman lay there, her body frailer than ever, her skin pale. She smiled the moment she saw her son.
"Renji… you're home."
"Yeah, Mom. I brought your medicine. And cheese bread—your favorite."
She nodded weakly. Renji sat beside her, carefully helping her take the pills, then closed the window to keep the night air out. After making sure she was comfortable, he returned to the small desk, picked up his textbooks and practice sheets. The clock showed 11 PM. While the world slept, Renji was preparing for the Mizuhara Academy entrance exam. He didn't know whether he would be accepted, but he believed that effort never betrays the result.
Days passed in the same rhythm. Rising before dawn, working until night, studying until morning. His body often ached, his eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep, and sometimes he fainted from missing meals. But he didn't stop. He couldn't stop. The world may have discarded him, but he was determined to return and shake it to its core—for his mother, for his sister, and for himself.
One month later, on the day Mizuhara Academy released the entrance exam results, Renji stood before the digital announcement board. His breath caught, heart pounding. In his hands was a worn brown envelope—containing every yen he had saved over the past two years. It was his enrollment fund, should he pass.
His dark eyes scanned the sea of names. When he found it, tears nearly spilled.
Arakawa Renji – Accepted – National Rank 7
His hands trembled. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The world that had once rejected him now opened a small crack. He immediately called Yui.
"Yui, I got in."
A small cheer echoed through the phone, followed by sobs of joy. Their mother cried too, though it triggered another coughing fit. But that night, for the first time in their lives, the three of them shared a dinner of warm white rice and real chicken.
Renji knew the struggle wasn't over. But for the first time, he felt his steps moving in the right direction. He would become a Mizuhara Academy student. The elite world would come to know his name. But they didn't yet realize one thing—Renji Arakawa wasn't just another student.
He was the product of suffering.
And the world that forged him would soon come to learn what they had awakened.