Half an hour earlier, at dusk, when the rain was coming down hard.
A van stopped at the back door of the izakaya.
The young man who jumped out into the rain flipped back his rain cape and gave a slight bow to the proprietress who had been waiting a long time. "Eighty set meals, please."
"They've been ready for a while." Lady JinJiang pointed at the huge insulated box beside her. "Rain's pouring like this, Ushijima-kun, want to come in for some ginger tea?"
"No need, everyone back at the gang is still waiting to eat. If they get too hungry those bastards will throw a fit."
The young man called Ushijima-kun waved his hand with an embarrassed grin and turned down the proprietress's offer. He was just about to lift the box, but he couldn't get it off the ground in one go, almost threw out his back, and his face flushed bright red.
"So heavy!"
