The air on the street was crisp and cool. It was mid- November, and while it rarely snowed, the nip in the air had settled early this year. Every time a diesel passed by, Akutagawa hid his face in the crook of his arm. It wasn't a long walk down to the pharmacy, 6 blocks, but this weather wreaked hell on him every time. He ducked his head down into his jacket and pulled at the zipper to make sure it was as far up his face as it could go.
##
Atsushi was taking his time walking to the bookstore. He enjoyed fall, and inhaled deeply as he stopped to admire some flowers in the window at a florist. He crossed the road with the signal change, and passed occasional smiles and nods with acquaintances and other people who generally walked in the neighborhood. A guy in a black jacket, who had his head down and wasn't looking, bumped into his shoulder as he just approached the book store. "Oh, my apologies!" Atsushi said while he bowed just a little. The black clad man did not turn around, he took leave in the store just beside Cedar Books and Cafe, the local pharmacy.
##
Inside the pharmacy, Akutagawa unzipped his jacket just enough to comfortably see the shelves. "Hey Chad", he nodded his recognition at the clerk.
"Man, are you out already, Ryu?" He shook his head, and quickly turned his attention back to a magazine splayed open on the counter.
"It's late fall. You know the climate change kills me." He rolled his eyes, and huffed a bit under his breath. Really, he did not feel like getting judged from a man in his 40s who openly read smut magazines on the clock. He grabbed 5 bottles of cherry cough syrup and trudged back up to the front. "Jesus, Ryu, this stuff isn't good for you. Just how much are you drinking?"
"It's none of your business, Chad. Just ring them up so I can leave."
Akutagawa threw some crumbled bills down, grabbed the bag (maybe he jerked the bag) from Chad, and left. The chill hit his face, he coughed, and suddenly realized he had forgotten to zip back up. He inhaled deeply, and felt a little dizzy, reaching his arm out to steady himself against the brick wall of the store. "Please not here. Just let me make it home." He thought. He stuck his hands in his pockets. No cell phone. "Shit." He was going to sit down and call Gin, his sister, to come get him, but he vaguely remembered he had knocked it in the floor. And then the world went black.
##
Atsushi stood from his bow, shrugged, and pushed the door open to the small shop. This had to be one of his favorite places in town. There was a tiny cafe with two little tables in the back left corner. You could smell the fresh coffee throughout the whole store. It smelled like heaven. He inhaled deeply, and got one of those sappy smiles on his face before snapping back to reality. "The book!" It was hard to not run to the "new releases" shelf. There it was. He picked it up, flicked through the crisp pages, and hugged it close to his chest. A new manga in a series he was reading had come out, and the last one was a huge Cliff hanger.
"Is that all?" Asked the sales attendant. Atsushi didn't recognize her, but he smiled and nodded. He payed, and almost floated out of the store. Normally, he would have headed to the back to sip some black tea on his first read through, but he could not wait to get home today for some reason.
Clunk
Atsushi snapped out of his euphoria and saw black jacket guy fall onto the sidewalk in front of him.