Freezing rain. That was all a young woman saw around her, as she felt the raindrops wet the top of her skull and the rest of her already chilled body. Sitting on the ground, she was leaning against the wall of an alley, just waiting for the weather to improve.

And while her hands were shaking, her feet, devoid of any shoe or sock, were turning red, as she felt like she couldn't move them. Falling in front of her face, her dirty and disheveled hair was now weighed down by rainwater, making it completely puffy from the humidity. As for his clothes, looking more like rags than anything else, the rain had at least had the merit of cleaning them up a bit.

Yet, despite feeling his body freezing, his gaze could only show emptiness. After all, this had been his life for seven long years already. Since the age of fourteen, Zua had been walking the streets, alone, looking for the smallest piece to eat a chunk of bread. So spending her time begging, she was constantly sitting in the same place, with a small plate in front of me, filling herself up with more or less money depending on the generosity of people.

Sometimes, it happened that a charitable soul gave him money, or even something to eat. Nevertheless, despite this gesture, the fact remained that time had always been hard on me, not allowing him to leave the street, which had become his place of life.

Today, Zua was used to cold...rain...and malnourishment. Despite the gusts of wind and the incessant gurgling of her stomach, her face remained impassive, showing that she had long since overcome this. If begging had already erased a good half of my dignity, she didn't want the other half to disappear, putting on a face showing only pity or leniency to passers-by.

She wanted to maintain a strong face, showing that even the most extreme poverty could not bring her down.

Nevertheless, a new gust of wind felt on her skin, chilling her further. Surprised by this, she couldn't help but sneeze. Shivering right after, she tried to regain her concentration, to forget the presence of the rain falling on her. And, to her great astonishment, she no longer even felt the drops of water falling on her.

Startled, she couldn't help looking up, to see the rain still falling, except above her head, which was now covered by an umbrella.

Crouching in front of her, a woman in her twenties had just performed the gesture, allowing her to have a semblance of a roof over her head. Not knowing what to say, while the stranger remained silent, she only managed to mumble.

" Thanks, that's nice. "

Continuing to observe her, the newcomer ends up rummaging through her purse. Then she handed her a ball of rice, in a plastic wrapper.

"Sorry, I only have that to offer you."

Looking at the rice dumpling, Zua questioned her.

"Can I eat it?"

"Huh... Of course." The other woman said, surprised by her question.

Immediately, Zua grabbed the food and removed the wrapper. Seeing her then quickly make the rice dumpling disappear in her mouth, the newcomer questioned her.

"What are you doing here, all alone and in this outfit?"

Smiling somewhat, while her question seemed a bit silly, Zua answered her.

"Here, I am at home, for lack of being able to find better! I have neither a roof nor the slightest penny in my pocket! As for my outfit, it's the only one I've had for three years."

Seeing the redness of her hands and feet, the Samaritan woman affirmed.

"You look like you're freezing."

"It's been a long time since I got used to living in the rain." Zua stated. "If I was able to survive several winters, it is not this little rain that will scare me."

Tilting her head to the side, as if surprised, the other woman questioned her.

"How can your voice still have so much pride, given your situation?"

"I'm a fighter." Zua affirmed, licking her fingers, before swallowing the grains of rice that were stuck on them. "I've lived enough years on the streets to stop feeling sorry for myself and spend my time bowing to people so I can have something to eat! Now I want to make sure I keep my head high. "

However, it was at this moment that her stomach kicked in. Despite the dumpling of laughter, Zua still felt intense hunger. Not surprising. She hadn't eaten much for several days.

Seeing her like this, the other woman seemed hesitant. Turning around, she reached into her pockets and took out her purse. Seeing her start counting her money, Zua wondered if she was going to give her something to buy to eat.

Finally, the other woman turned to her and questioned her.

"Would you like some ramen?"

" Huh ? "

Not even bothering to take a breath to cool her ramen, Zua gulped down her third bowl entirely. Thus, cheeks swollen, she struggled to swallow what she stored in her mouth, as if she was afraid that someone would steal her food.

Being now in a small restaurant, the two women were seated at a table, and while the second seemed to be trying to appear invisible, Zua drew all the attention to her, because of her outfit and because of her voracious appetite.

In front of her, the samaritan's eyes looked like they were about to tear up, as she saw Zua gobbling down more food than she expected.

Noting this, Zua took the trouble to stop, to question her.

"Am I taking too much advantage of your kindness?"

"Huh…no." The other woman assured, wanting to sound serene. "I invited you to eat here! Eat as much as you want."

Then she looked in her wallet again and looked like she was about to cry again. it seemed obvious that she was afraid of seeing all her money disappear. Noting this, while she stared at her three empty ramen bowls next to her, Zua preferred to stop her meal.

Even though she knew she could eat more, she thought it best not to further ruin the woman who had just offered her this meal. Besides, it had been a very long time since she had eaten so well.

Preferring now to examine the person in front of her, she saw that she was a young woman with shoulder-length straight hair, with worried eyes surrounded by dark circles. And even though she tried to hide it, she had a generally desperate expression on her face.

"May I know your name?" Zua asked.

"Huh…my name is Suoh Mihono." The second woman affirmed. " And you ? "

"Zua." Zua replied simply. "I don't have a name."

"Do you live alone? Do you have no family?"

"I had a mother." Zua told her. "Or rather, I was adopted by this person and stayed with her until I was 14! Now I live alone."

"You must feel alone." Mihono remarked.

"Today, I am used to living alone."

Then, looking at Mihono for a few moments, she questioned him.

"Why did you invite me here, when you don't know me?"

"Didn't I please you like that?" Mihono questioned him.

"Of course! But it seems that you have money problems! Usually, people in the same situation as you avoid spending money to pay for another person's meal."

Seeing that she couldn't hide her emotions on her face, Mihono looked embarrassed, as she affirmed.

"It is precisely because I have money problems that I understand the fact that living outside must be very complicated."

" Huh ? "

Rummaging through her wallet, Mihono pulled out a few bills which she placed on the table.

"Take this to pay." She said, getting up from her chair.

Then she left the table and started to leave. Looking at the money, Zua started counting and tried to find out if Mihono gave him more money than he needed. With any luck, she might be able to buy another bowl of ramen.

Getting ready to leave the small restaurant, Mihono stopped in front of the door which suddenly opened. Wanting to enter inside the building, two men faced the young woman, whose face immediately turned pale. Staring at her for a few seconds, one of the men suddenly smiled.

"Hey, look who's here.

"What a coincidence." The second man affirmed. "We were looking for you, Suoh-chan."

Taking a few steps back, Mihono couldn't help but stutter.

"It's... It's..."

Grabbing her arm, to keep her from running away, one of the men asserted.

" We were very upset to go to your company and realize that you were not there! to believe that someone had warned you of our visit! But now that you are here, we can take him to see our boss! Since you seem to ignore him, he can't wait to talk to you."

Hearing this, Mihono displayed a look of terror and began to look around her, in order to find help. Nevertheless, the duo in front of her consisted of two hefty men, dressed in black suits. The perfect stereotype of the colossus working for the mafia. As a result, many people preferred to lower their gaze, while the others pretended not to see anything. Nobody was going to help her.

"No, please! I…I promise to pay my debts at the end of the month."

However, she felt herself being pulled towards the exit, while the men affirmed.

"You tell him to his face."

Unable to fight, Mihono began to sob, as she realized there was nothing she could say or do to prevent being kidnapped by these men. However, as they were about to meet inside the restaurant, one of the men felt a bowl of ramen hit the back of his head. Exploding into pieces, the bowl created a wound that immediately began to bleed.

At first moaning in pain, the man then turned and glared angrily in Zua's direction.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

" It's up to me to ask that question. " Retorted the young woman. "This woman refuses to come with you, and take her away by force! It's a kidnapping! So I have the right to call the police."

Hearing this, the two men looked at each other, before laughing. Even though Zua was quite tall for a woman (almost 180 centimeters tall), it was true that she wasn't very scary in front of the two gorillas in front of her. Moreover, her pitiful attire did nothing to improve his image.

Finally, stepping towards her, the man she had managed to bleed positioned his face in front of her, while retorting.

"If you want advice, stop playing heroin! Otherwise, I'll have to kill you."

Then he put his hand on Zua's shoulder.

"In the meantime, you're going to come with me and find a way to make amends for making me bleed."

However, a sound of impact was heard. Surprised, everyone saw Zua's foot being lifted very high, until it managed to hit the left side of the man's face.

Struck violently, the man remained motionless for a moment, while a tooth fell from his wide open mouth. Then, finally, he crashed to the ground.

Seeing this, Mihono and the other man remained motionless, while they saw Zua knock out a man weighing almost twice his weight. And that with just one kick.

"What...?" The man wondered.

Showing her second foot, Zua affirmed.

"I have two feet, if you're interested."

Growling in displeasure, the man just stared at Zua. Then, seeming to use his brain, he finally let go of Mihono.

"You hired a bodyguard to protect you, didn't you?"

"Huh...I..." Mihono stammered, not understanding what she had just seen.

"Never mind...my boss wants to see you." The man asserted. "So I advise you to be at your company tomorrow."

Then he walked towards Zua. But instead of wanting to fight her, he crouches down to pick up his comrade's body and help him up. Then, staring at Zua, he declared.

"Very nice kick! Nevertheless, I advise you not to think of yourself as a superman! If you continue to play heroin, I know a guy who will not hesitate to break your legs."

Then he left with his comrade. Seeing this, Zua turned to Mihono.

"What just happened?"

In response, Mihono fell to her knees. Then tears ran down her cheeks. And finally, she began to cry in tears. Seeing this, Zua noticed all the customers in the restaurant staring at them, while she had no idea how to react.

" I don't think this is the time to ask her for dessert to thank me. "