Tokyo rain

Kai Sato's life was in shambles. His girlfriend... well, ex-girlfriend now had just kicked him to the curb, all because she thought he was having an affair with a co-worker, when he was, in fact, not at all. Kai hated that co-worker if he was being completely honest. His mom was in the hospital with stage four lung cancer, and he could lose his job at the hardware shop at any moment.

"Get out! Get out, get out, get out!" She screamed so loud all of Japan probably heard and then grabbed him by the shoulders and attempted to push him out the front door. Kai didn't budge. Not out of stubbornness, but he was just so much bulkier than her that the attempt was ineffective.

He ran his hand through his shoulder-length black hair, but he caught a knot and had to stop halfway down.

"Can't we just talk this out?" Kai had such a placid demeanor. Getting in arguments was hard for him, but that was the complete opposite for his girlfriend. She made assumptions like this all the time.

"No, get out!" If all of Japan could hear the first get outs, then the entire world must have heard this one. Kai complied. Immediately after he stepped outside of the apartment, she slammed the door in his face. He heard the unmistakable sound of the lock clicking shut.

"Hey, can I at least get my jacket?" Kai shouted into the door, loud enough that she could hear. He was beginning to feel sorry for their neighbors. Kai waited patiently for about one minute before speaking again. "Hello? My jacket?" Kai wasn't trying to provoke her even further, but he did.

Rummaging could be heard from within the apartment, and then the heavy wooden door flew open. She threw his dark leather jacket at him with such force, it almost knocked a big guy like him over. She was absolutely fuming. In their one year of dating, Kai had never seen her as mad as she was today. Her forehead vein was even protruding out of her forehead like some kind of worm trying desperately to escape the clutches of her skin.

And that's how Kai Sato ended up on the streets of Tokyo in the dead of night, with nothing but his wallet and a half empty pack of cigarettes.

Kai stood under the worn, red overhang of an old antique shop for a long time, staring out at the neon lit street in silence. He was unsure of where to go, what to do. He was, in a way, homeless now. It was technically her apartment.

The neighborhood they lived in was, to say the least, crummy, but it was never crowded, unlike the rest of Tokyo. The narrow streets were lined with shops and buzzing neon signs, and above them were the apartment buildings. Powerlines were strung from pole to pole, with advertisements and missing people posters plastered all over them. In the distance were skyscrapers upon skyscrapers, buildings upon buildings that reached for the clouds, fog looming at the bottom, unmoving.

Kai let out a breathy sigh. The spring air felt moist, like it wanted to rain. He wondered what time it was. If he had to guess, he would say 12:49 A.M. Kai reached into his pocket and grabbed a cigarette. He knew he should quit, hell, his mother was dying of lung cancer for that exact reason, but now just wasn't the time.

He flicked the lighter once, twice. Not even a spark. He tried one more time, but still no spark.

"Shit." It was burnt out. "Shit." He repeated, louder this time. "Shit!" Kai threw the lighter against the graffitied wall on the other side of the street. It broke into pieces.

He was starting to get angry. It felt as if his chest was enclosing in on itself, that it wanted to smother his heart, it wanted to kill him. The only thing that got rid of this feeling was a smoke. There was a 24-hour convenience store a few blocks down. They should have lighters. It was starting to drizzle now.

Kai walked hunched with his head down. The drizzle had turned into a steady sheet of rain, thrumming against the cement in a melodic tune. Fuck her. Kai thought to himself, his now wet black hair sticking to his face. One good things about the buzzing neon signs was that they looked damn pretty reflected on fresh puddles.

The convenience store had been there since Kai was a child. New owners since then, of course, but other than that it remained almost unchanged. They even kept the name 'Yama's C-store' and the old sign that flickered at times. Kai pulled the door open and a little bell rung as he stepped inside. It felt good to be out of the rain, even though he was soaked head-to-toe.

There was an older man with graying hair and small round glasses sitting on a stool behind the cash register. It looked like the bell awoke him from a nap. He nodded a greeting at Kai.

"Hello." Kai uttered back quietly. There was one other person in the snack aisle. It was hard to see her face, but from afar she looked fairly good-looking. She glanced at Kai for a moment, but not long enough for them to even make eye contact. The girl was holding a clear umbrella.

There was a little box of bic lighters

right beside the register. He grabbed the closest one, which was a plain red one, and placed it on the counter for the old man to ring up.

"One hundred yen." The old man's voice sounded tired and grouchy. Kai dug in his wallet for a second and handed over the money.

Kai smiled and said, "Thank you". He paused at the door for a while before finally going back out into the downfall. It had slowed a little bit. There was a big sign on the door that said 'NO SMOKING WITHIN 10 FEET'. He groaned.There went his idea of standing under the overhang.

Singlehandedly the best thing about this neighborhood was the Sakura tree in the small park beside 'Yama's C-store'. It's pink cherry blossoms glistened in the spring rain. Kai gazed at the tree in awe. It really was beautiful. He pulled out a cigarette and blocking the rain with his hand, attempted to light it. His new lighter worked like a charm, but the cigarette just wouldn't quite catch. He tried again and again, but it just wasn't working.

"C'mon." Kai said through gritted teeth as he tried one last time. However, he began to notice that the rain wasn't hitting him anymore. His cigarette lit with ease. It was the girl from inside the store. She was holding her umbrella over the both of them.

She looked to be around twenty, the same age as him, and she had the kindest, earthy eyes Kai had ever seen. Her hair was long and dark, she looked like something out of a dream.

He took a long drag before saying anything.

"Thank you." Kai didn't mean for his tone to sound incredibly awkward, but that is exactly what happened. She chuckled quietly and smiled. She had a nice smile.

"What are you doing out here so late?" The girl asked, still smiling. "And in the rain." She added. Kai blew out a puff of smoke, in the opposite direction of her of course.

"Could say the same about you, miss." Kai pulled out his half-empty pack of cigarettes and offered her one. She carefully took one without saying anything. She had her own lighter.

"I asked you first." She closes her eyes as she inhaled. The rain had stopped, but they didn't close the umbrella. Water droplets dripped blooming cherry blossoms like fresh tears that had just fallen from the heavens.

"Girlfriend. Girlfriend kicked me out for good." He mumbled, looking over at the girl. Kai could feel the tightening of the chest returning, almost as worse as before.

"Awe, I'm sorry. Why'd she kick you out?" Kai knew she was just trying to be sympathetic, but the tightness moved to his throat. He shrugged.

"Why are you out here so late?" Kai wondered, looking at the Sakura tree again.

"Wanted some chips." She held up a bag of opened potato chips. Kai let out a quiet laugh. This girl was odd. "My name is Elice, by the way. What's yours?"

"Kai. My name is Kai."

"Well Kai, haven't you heard the saying 'Spring is the season of new beginnings'? Maybe this happened for a reason."

A droplet rolled down his cheek, but this time it wasn't the rain, but luckily Elice didn't notice.

"Guess so." Kai mumbled blankly. He wondered how his ex would feel about him talking to this girl.

"Want some chips?" She smiled warmly and offered the bag of potato chips. He took one.

It eventually stopped raining, but Elice and Kai stayed under the sakura together, and talked. Talked about anything and everything, surrounded by the warm scent of a fresh rain.