Chapter 28: Fierce Battle in the Rain
A torrential downpour washed over the Kabukicho area, dimming the shop signs and neon lights on both sides of the street.
Lorna walked down the street, treating the heavy rain as a blessing.
Only at times like this were the streets so empty, free of the usual noisy, suffocating crowds.
Rain battered the tangled power lines until they swayed. It pooled in puddles on the ground, drowning the false illusions spun by the neon lights to expose the shabby essence of the place.
A food shop had erected a plastic awning and transparent enclosures out front, shielding a street-side display of fruit shipped from the Northern Agricultural Region. A few pedestrians crowded underneath to escape the rain.
The shop owner shouted for people to get lost, all while keeping a vigilant eye on a few street urchins to stop them from stealing.
Lorna noticed that while the owner cursed at the children on one side, an even smaller girl—barely a few years old—quietly slipped up to the other end of the stand, snatched some fruit, and bolted into the rain.
Their distraction complete, the children stalling the owner cursed him out before he forcefully chased them away.
Lorna couldn't help but smile, childhood memories surfacing in her mind.