Of all days for the weather to be against her--!!
Soaked loafers sat stationary on the pavement as rainwater rushed down the sidewalk like an aggressive stream. Biting down hard upon the inside of her cheek, Yako strained to put one foot in front of the other against the wind whipping around her body. Even if she had managed to fill out more during the three years working alone, her weight still hadn’t gone up all that much. And when pitted against the strength of a wild storm, she felt as though she would be blown away at any given second. And even if she did have Akane ( who could perhaps help in a pinch ) clipped into her own hair, it provided barely any comfort. Though not many, there were still other people around trying to brave the storm just like she was; she couldn’t relay on the possessed hair to help without risking others seeing.
Stretching an arm out, she grasped the pole of a street lamp to help keep her steady against the winds and raindrops slamming down upon her. With each step forward, she was realizing how stupid of an idea it had been to try to go her office after school had gotten out. She should have gone home like the teachers had advised. But no--since Akane with was with her, there was no one in the office to check whether she’d gotten any new cases sent her way, and she couldn’t leave any requests unanswered! A simple storm wouldn’t have kept Neuro from pursuing mysteries! That had been her reasoning as she’d turned away from the road home, but really, she probably should have waited. She wasn’t getting anywhere.
A harsh shiver flew through her body, and she let out a low groan that was quickly swallowed by the rain around her. She had reached a treacherous point where her office was still quite a ways away, but her house was even farther. That left her with very few options; the most doable of them being searching out shelter and trying to wait the weather out. Thankfully, Yako knew the road to her workplace like the back of her hand and could easily think of a dozen potential places to rest. If they were even open, that is. She’d glimpsed many ‘closed’ signs on the small businesses lining the roads during her trek. It seemed that even they had heeded the warnings much better than she had.
❝--Let’s try the cafe up ahead first, I guess,❞ the girl mumbled to herself before beginning her struggle to move forward once more.
Every single one of her limbs seemed to scream in protest as she walked, but they went ignored; she’d suffered much worse, after all. She could fight the storm just a little bit longer. One foot in front of the other, she slowly inched her way up the sidewalk against the water and wind until her destination was within reach. And though the interior of the small cafe looked dark and deserted, an ‘open’ sign hung clearly in the window. With only a single second of hesitation, Yako grabbed the door handle and pulled, almost expecting it to be locked. Yet, to her surprise, it opened, inviting her and anyone else stuck in the rain inside.