Winter Nights

Winter Nights Part 1

Denji opens the door to the apartment. He flips the switch that turns on the single light fixture in the center of the room. There is a television atop a dresser set against the wall opposite the door. A game system set on the floor near the television. Boxes are stacked against the right interior wall. To the left there's a door slightly cracked open. Adjacent a tube radiator sits braced to the floor extending to the ceiling. Asa takes a step into the apartment following behind Denji. With a look of disgust on her face, displeased by what she has seen Asa says..

"N- No way".

Denji walks towards the television and presses the power button.

"I know it's not like, awesome but we don't have options".

The newscaster on the television speaks...
"It appears now that the church of Chainsaw and Public safety are working together on the hunt for Chainsaw Man and Mitaka Asa. They are not only traitors to Japan but to humanity. We need them brought to Justice! If you have any Information, please don't hesitate to inform authorities."

"This is the only room" Asa said with a look of embarrassment.

"What, you've never shared a room before?"

"Of course I have!" Asa exclaimed.

"Ok so what's the problem." Denji replied with a blank face.

Asa's face shifted from embarrassed to deadpan "I'm leaving".

Asa steps out the front door to leave the apartment and closes it behind her.

"Everyone is to stay indoors. A snowstorm is anticipated to affect the entire prefecture and last through the night". The newscaster proclaimed.

Asa opens the front door shivering after being blasted by the cold winter air. Without a word she walks toward the radiator and turns the knob to heat up the apartment. Denji and Asa begin scouring the small apartment for anything that will make their indefinite stay more comfortable. The dresser is filled with movies and some games. Denji walks towards some stacked boxes leaned against the right interior wall and begins to rummage through them for sleeping mats and clothes among other necessities. He finds a couple books. One details public safety hunter guidelines, and the other is "The tale of Two lovers". Asa peers into the only other door in the apartment to find a small bathroom with a squat toilet, sink, shower head, and drain. After pulling the only mat they could find they both sat still on the floor watching the television.

"Hey, want to play some video games?" Denji suggested with enthusiasm hoping to break the gloom that had begun to set in the apartment.

Asa turns her head and shifts her torso to face Denji to remind him of her missing arm, silently staring daggers at him with an otherwise expressionless face. Realizing he'd made a mistake, and desperate to lighten the mood, he opens the dresser to pull out a deck of cards and some board games. Denji teaches Asa how to play several different card games. Games he would play to swindle people as a means to pay back his debt to the mafia.

"Playing these sorts of games is illegal."

"Yeah, but it's fun."

"How can you be so casual about being a criminal."

"It kept me alive when I was a kid and now it helps me take care of Nayuta."

"I guess that's not so bad." Asa mutters.

"Huh."

"Never mind!" Asa says.

They shift to playing board games. These games Asa is familiar with. Playing with Denji gives her a warm joyful feeling. Denji's child-like fascination and enthusiasm reminded her of the games she would play with her mother when she was just a kid herself. It also reminded her of the times she would spend at the orphanage playing alone, missing those moments with her mom. Denji's infectious enthusiasm soured after being completely outmatched by Asa's proficiency in the game. He jokingly accuses Asa of cheating to mask how he'd grown tired of losing. Afterward Asa attempts to play Mario kart with the one hand she had. Denjiwas cheering for her but ultimately, she kept losing and got frustrated. Denji,sitting behind Asa, grabs hold of the controller with his right hand. The halfof the controller Asa could not to assist her. 

"No-n, Yes! Haha" Asa exclaimed in excitement as she got her fist win.

During their celebration, they both recognized how close they'd gotten. They both blush.  

"We can watch a movie" Denji suggested

"Why'd you put on a romance film?" Asa muttered.

"The only movies here are romance." Denji replied.

They sat silently transfixed on the television. The soft glow of the screen envelops their faces and dimly lights the dark room behind them.

"(This guy is a total loser, yet I can't help but root for him)" Denji thinks to himself.

"This guy is a total loser." Asa says aloud.

"He's Trying his best."

"It's admirable but he's still a loser" Asa said plainly. "You can't just make a fool of yourself and expect someone to fall for you."

Sometime after the movie ended, they were both laying on the single king size futon mattress that was available in the apartment. Asa had changed into the oversized pajama set they found after rummaging through the boxes earlier in the day. Denji wore his boxer briefs and a long tee. Both laying on opposite ends of the mattress facing away from each other.

"Denji...."