🎃 Under the umbrella!

[mermalaide]

Seasonal delights were everywhere! Currently, the local bakery and even the combini were advertising seasonal treats. A line stretched halfway around the block with people waiting for a onryo style ramen made with squid ink. Though, that wasn't the only place like that. Big festive decorations advertising the newest treat for Hyakki Yagyō were displayed in another window. It was a little overwhelming but fun. Your experience this day was up to you really. Unfortunately for some of the people standing in line, it started to rain. Some people had been smart and had umbrellas, others held up paper to shield themselves a little. There was an open mom and pop store a little ways that offered sundries and among what was a big box of old fashioned waxed umbrellas.

The store itself was a little run down looking but clean. An old woman that looked a little like a toad in a kimono sat behind a tall desk near the front that doubled as a place you could pay, it also likely detoured shoplifters, though that seemed to be less commonplace in Japan. She stares down at you with half closed eyes, like she was partially asleep from the deafening sound of rain. "it's really coming down out there." You hear a voice, but it's not from the shopkeeper. It sounds like an old man's voice. Do you answer? Do you look around?

[Ashken]

Aito was a kid in a candy store his blue eyes had been exploring seasonal treats for the past few days, his notebook filled with the names, everything from bakes goods, to drinks, to candies and meals, for most of his life his diet was controlled, measured and overall bland, extremely predictable. And actually, being able to see the season and its many gifts was an experience.  The excitement seem to never end. 

Originally, he was trying to try the ramen, apparently it was to die for, and well he had died once already so he was behind the schedule, but as the weather turned his phone started to vibrate and so did the smartwatch on his wrist, message after message of his mother and sister making sure he got out of the rain, his health might have gotten better, but they still worried, they still saw the bedbound child, looking around he saw the shop with the umbrella's, he tugged down on the bunny ears of the pink beanie he was wearing, the big military jacket that clearly not made for him did a good job at covering the rest of his body, his winds tucked tightly underneath the jacket, he had gotten them wet once, and he was still not sure how he felt about it. 

Arriving at the shop, he saw all the treats and different items on the small shop, some he recognized others looked older and more traditional overall it was an opportunity to try something new, as he tried to shake some of the water off him as he looked around, he bit his lip as he tried to contain his excitement, he didn't want to wake up the old lady unless he really needed to. 

"it's really coming down out there." 

"Yeah" he responded, his eyes locked at the different treats. He made some mental math on how much money he had left over, his father was being permissive of his spending, but reminded him a number of times that this was not the norm, "Uhm, how much are the umbrellas?" he asked as he turned around trying to find the source of the voice.  

[mermalaide]

The voice was male sounding, but the old woman never opened her mouth to really speak to him. Well, not then. But when he asked about the umbrellas she sighed, sounding tired and lethargic. Her voice was an old croak. "Eight yen." There was a slight croaking noise like the kind a frog would make and you almost wondered if she was a frog-wife, though, that probably didn't really matter, did it? There were so many of the old fashioned umbrellas in the stand, it was more than enough for an impromptu rain storm. They all had the classic red paper and black lacquered handles.

The glass jars and the little glass displays had prices on them for all the snacks. Some of the treats were pre-Taisho era sweets and snack crackers. There were a few modern treats, like some of the chips and poppin' kitchen, where you could make your own candies and jellies, but it was mostly older things like konpeto, botan (which had the dissolving rice paper wrappers you could eat)and very random (and possibly unpopular) flavors of kit kats. The shop had a little bit of a spooky yet cozy, cluttered atmosphere.

She did make an audible croak and looked over at the rack of umbrellas. Hadn't it been full a minute ago? Why was there only one now?

That seemed like bad luck, or maybe was just fishy. Had she even put an umbrella stand out there this morning? The shop keeper could not recall if she had. "Why don't you take that for free. I only seem to have one left anyhow." The rain was still coming down and the humidity was nice, but she had wanted to close the store early and join the ongoing festivals. The sounds of the outdoor festival seemed to have died down a little.

[Ashken]

The initial male voice did not trigger any alarms on the boy, mainly because he was used to hearing his sister complain about her boss giving her a in a whiskey soaked growl every time she narrated something she may have said to annoy her, but the croak made him make a double take. 

"Eight yen."

He leaned a little looking around to see if there was anyone else in the shop that he might have missed, but from what he could tell it was only the old lady, and her frog like voice. He tapped around the jacket, looking on the many pockets for his wallet, he could afford eight yen and if anything he could keep it as a reminder of todays trip as he had a bad habit of forgetting to take pictures to remember things.

Finally finding his wallet he looked at the snacks before him, he wondered if he wanted to pick a few while waiting on the line for ramen, though thinking about it if they got wet then they would practically disintegrate before he would be able to enjoy it all. He shivered a little as some of the water on his coat managed to slip inside. As he made a decision on what he wanted to pick up the old lady spoke once more.

"Why don't you take that for free. I only seem to have one left anyhow." 

Turning around his blue eyes fell on the umbrella stand, he wiped his eyes as if he could change the image before him by rubbing his eyes, he could have sworn he had seen multiple umbrellas, "Thank you" he said somewhat confused, he didn't feel great just taking the umbrella for free so he selected a few of the candies he had not tried, and asked "Do you have anything to drink?" at the very least he wanted to make sure to make up for inconveniencing the woman. "Water is fine"

[mermalaide]

There was a bit of a soft, thoughtful grumble. "I have Capico, mango and strawberry..hmm.. I have also cola, and water, and many flavors of ramune." She pointed with a froggy hand towards the case along the wall. It was near an ice cream case that was pretty packed. Most of the food things in there were a bit stuffed really. Except for probably the Meji chocolates, which looked a little ransacked.

The store had things even hanging from the walls and ceiling because it was so crowded. It had things priced pretty cheaply. Especially some of the candies. It was likely that the woman running the counter was an older frog-wife. A little old man was stacking chips and putting the last of the bagged snacks away. He turned and smiled at the boy and gave a toothy grin. "Thank you for visiting us today. If Junko hasn't told you, all of our candies, but especially the botan is on sale. Let me know if you can't reach anything, I got my pole with me!" His hooked pole was leaning against the display of shrimp and corn chips.

Junko at the counter fiddled with the radio, and a song from the Taisho era came on. It seemed to crackle a little on the decayed radio. The music sounded very antiquated and dramatic. The woman opened her mouth with a little of a croak and shot her tongue out, pulling the umbrella to the front. "You shouldn't forget. The rain is bad during this time of year." The old man cackled, amused at his wife. "Good going sweetheart! My Junko is as quick as a whip! She might need a little coffee though." He winked.

[Ashken]

"I have Capico, mango and strawberry..hmm.. I have also cola, and water, and many flavors of ramune."

"Oh~ Strawberry please!" he said with excitement as he walked toward the location the old lady had pointed out, grabbing a strawberry drink and the few pieces of candy he had chosen earlier, he was ready to pay for his supplies and his apparently free umbrella, but at least now he didn't feel bad about bothering the shopkeeper.  

"Thank you for visiting us today. If Junko hasn't told you, all of our candies, but especially the botan is on sale. Let me know if you can't reach anything, I got my pole with me!"

"Thank you" he gave the older man a respectful bow, even though his anyone could see the boys balance was a little off and his bow was probably lower than it needed to be, "I think I'm okay with what I picked for now," as much as he would love to stuff himself with more candy, he still was looking forward to the ramen, and he needed to at least try not to eat all his money, or getting back home would be a chore. 

"You shouldn't forget. The rain is bad during this time of year."

"Thank you!" he took the umbrella and gave her a respectful bow, "Is this enough for everything" after some quick mental math, he pulled some money, he felt might be a little more than needed to cover all, but he was already walking out with a nice umbrella, he didn't mind if he overpaid for the candy and drink. 

"Good going sweetheart! My Junko is as quick as a whip! She might need a little coffee though." 

"Coffee actually sounds good," he looked outside, the line for the ramen still quite competitive even with a few people having given up due to the rain, "Do you know where I might find a coffee or Tea shop?" he asked both shopkeepers, coffee, Tea, relaxing rain, maybe a piece of cake or some yummy warm soup... It was the formula for relaxation, and one of the few reasons to drop his current target at the Ramen shop. 

[mermalaide]

She gave a discerning eye and counted out the money he gave her, giving back exact change. The candy was only a few cents, it was the drink that had cost a little. The woman's kimono had a rainy day scene of a pond with lily pads and dragonflies on it in a soft green and gold. The obi she wore was a deep brown with gold diamonds on it. Her neck was a bit thick and spotty and her eyes squinted at him a little. At least, until she put on big coke bottle glasses which made her seem like she had bulging eyes.

"Coffee?" There was a little bit of an unmistakable croak to the way she spoke. "I believe there is a nice bookstore that gives good coffees nearby. An older man and his grandson run it. There are pastries too." It took her a second of pondering, and she ended up writing down the address and some directions with neat printing script. "We went there last Tuesday, huh Junko?" The old man grinned at her, and was apparently still pretty smitten. He was gangly to her squatness.

"It shouldn't be more than a few blocks."
She pushed the umbrella at him and looked outside. "On the house, don't remember where we got these anyhow." She looked shrewd enough to remember all of the things in the crowded store, so that was a little weird!

[Ashken]

She gave a discerning eye and counted out the money he gave her, giving back exact change. The candy was only a few cents, it was the drink that had cost a little. The woman's kimono had a rainy day scene of a pond with lily pads and dragonflies on it in a soft green and gold. The obi she wore was a deep brown with gold diamonds on it. Her neck was a bit thick and spotty and her eyes squinted at him a little. At least, until she put on big coke bottle glasses which made her seem like she had bulging eyes.

Aito was not super concerned about the cost of his little snack trip, he felt like it balanced out the free umbrella. As the glasses wearing lady counted the money he started to put things away in the many pockets of his large military jacket. His watch buzzed once more, taking a quick look he saw it was another message from his sister, he let out a sigh as he got his phone out.  


"Coffee? I believe there is a nice bookstore that gives good coffees nearby. An older man and his grandson run it. There are pastries too."

"Thank you" he took the address and did his best to store it in his memory before storing the note in his wallet so it would not get wet or lost. "Looks like I know where I'm going," the fact that they had gone there recently sold him entirely, they seem like they had experience quite of bit of life so he trusted their judgement. Taking the umbrella his phone buzzed once more. Instinctively he opened up the messaging application, and took a picture of himself making sure the umbrella was in view, a bit of an odd image, as the thin boy was consumed by the large green military jacket, his pink bunny beanie and now the colorful traditional umbrella. Staying dry and warm, getting coffee nearby he wrote back to the group message between his mom and sister, hoping this would make them feel better. 

Putting the phone away he gave both shopkeeps a respectful bow, "Thank you for everything, take care!" and slowly made his way into the outside world to get coffee and maybe some pastry, who knew.

[mermalaide]

"Not a problem Sonny! Try to stay dry!" The old man waved his gangly arms. The old lady squinted her eyes behind the glasses, which made her very much look like a frog in a kimono. Like that cute frog Potato-Fairy from U-toob. It was cute and a little weird to be honest. When he was leaving, a gang of kindergarteners swarmed into the doors with their rain boots and their bucket hats. There was a little bit of a delighted croak at that when he was leaving.

The umbrella was kind of classy with it's red color and black lacquer, it looked pretty old though, which stood out. To be honest, it looked like it was about a hundred or so years old. There was a little flap on the inside of the umbrella that looked like a loose strip  of fabric, that was someway in the background in the picture. The handle was curved in the way that a leg was, though it was all black and not fleshy like one. It had personality, that was for sure.

The drizzle became a steady pour again as he walked with his umbrella to the next stop. Shop windows were a little mirror like as he walked, and at one point, it looked as if there was the blink of an eye on the umbrella, which could have easily been mistaken by the picture from the tv in the shop window. It was an advertisement for Kasa Pharmaceuticals, which had a Kasa-boso as the mascot.

[Ashken]

"Not a problem Sonny! Try to stay dry!" 

He waved away to the shopkeepers while doing his best no to get carried away by the swarm of kindergarteners that had just arrived, maybe it was a good time for him to continue, he didn't know how he felt around this many rambunctious kids. He smiled at them but hurried his pace to put some distance between them and himself. 


As he began to make his way to his new destination, he took time to admire his umbrella, it looked old and in ways felt the part, but there was a part of him that really enjoyed older things. His fingers felt the material of the handle, it was different. Yet it felt more alive than the plastic and metal that surrounded, most of his life. Plus it was red, a color he was starting to feel very attached too, he knew exactly where he would store it in his room.    

Having left the kindergarteners behind, he slowed down his pace, enjoying the sound of rain against the umbrella, in a way it was very relaxing. He looked around the shops as he slowly walked all sorts of nicknacks catching his attention as he made mental lists of things he wanted to check later or try at some time. His phone buzzed, causing him to roll his eyes, and practically came to a full stop, he checked the message and let out a sigh, his dad was going to distract his mother and sister, that meant he had a couple of hours of quiet before he was monitored nonstop. 

A familiar jingle made his skin crawl, the back of his hand itched at the memories of IV's came flooding, turning around he saw the familiar commercial for Kasa, with how much of his life was spend in medical facilities, it was hard not to know about them and their many medical advancements, not that it helped him a lot, he felt a little queasy as intrusive thoughts danced around his head like gremlins. Looking at his quickly sickly-looking visage he wiped his eyes for a moment, for a second there he though he saw the umbrella blink. 

"Nope" he told himself out loud as if saying it would make it true, "Maybe I'll go for the tea" he told no one specific. He picked up his pace wanting to stay far away from anything medical, just hearing the jingle upset his stomach and almost made him loose his appetite. It looked like there where almost to their destination, a small bookstore that had expanded to provide coffee among other small snacks, pastries and meals.