Chapter 8: Turf Wars
Dec. 29th, 2023 09:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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Even though it was nearly 6pm, the sun was still relatively high in the sky compared to just the month prior. The days were getting longer and the air was getting warmer. With the heat brought energy--especially in the particular stretch where Teru had asked Mob to meet up. It was in the southeastern district of Seasoning City, an especially dense urban stretch near the freeway bordering on the industrial part of the city.
Factories and and their smokestacks were in the near distance. Workers in uniform were shuffling about with purpose, disappearing in and out of the narrow alleys that snaked through that part of town likes veins. The scent of street food was strong. There was one food stand that Teru asked Mob to wait near in particular, one with especially good yakitori. A gust of wind carried the delicious smokey glazed scent of it--along with laughter and jeers from one of the alleyways just behind Mob.
"Hey, ain't that a Salt uniform?" A boy jeered as his friends formed a loose-but-coordinated semi-circle behind Mob. Their own uniforms were a rusty red with enormously tacky gold buttons down the center.
Factories and and their smokestacks were in the near distance. Workers in uniform were shuffling about with purpose, disappearing in and out of the narrow alleys that snaked through that part of town likes veins. The scent of street food was strong. There was one food stand that Teru asked Mob to wait near in particular, one with especially good yakitori. A gust of wind carried the delicious smokey glazed scent of it--along with laughter and jeers from one of the alleyways just behind Mob.
"Hey, ain't that a Salt uniform?" A boy jeered as his friends formed a loose-but-coordinated semi-circle behind Mob. Their own uniforms were a rusty red with enormously tacky gold buttons down the center.
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Date: 2024-01-01 06:15 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2024-01-01 06:23 am (UTC)From one end of the alley passed a small gang of Miso thugs--followed by greater and greater numbers of delinquents. They were making their way down the street with intent--not noticing Mob in the side alley at all.
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Date: 2024-01-01 06:30 am (UTC)Mob peered out at them from behind a dumpster, trying to get a clearer picture of what they were doing.
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Date: 2024-01-01 06:39 am (UTC)"Salt? No way, no goddamn way--"
"That's why he's got us out here, man! Word on the street is that--"
Their voices faded into the din of the street's noise as they continued their march.
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Date: 2024-01-01 07:11 am (UTC)Mob tried to tail them as inconspicuously as possible, which for him, was not inconspicuous at all. Whenever they stopped, he stopped too, nervously scrambling to figure out what was the inconspicuous thing to do.
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Date: 2024-01-01 07:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-01-01 07:24 am (UTC)"Yes?"
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Date: 2024-01-01 07:29 am (UTC)"Here. Pick one," he said gruffly. It was less like an invitation and more like a stern command.
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Date: 2024-01-01 08:14 am (UTC)The old man rubbed his angular and sagging jaw. His gaze was scrutinizing but not unkind. "Look. I'll be direct with ya, kid. You look like you got a good heart. You don't need anything to do with them types." He gestured with his thumb after the Miso gang. "The delinquency lifestyle is nothing worth covetin'."
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Date: 2024-01-01 08:54 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2024-01-01 09:18 pm (UTC)Responsibilities. Did he have any responsibilities? Sure, he had to go to school, make good grades, and go to work, but... was there anything else that he was expected to do?
"I should go now. Thank you again for the strawberry."
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Date: 2024-01-01 11:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-01-02 03:39 am (UTC)With one final nod of gratitude to the man, Mob started walking back in the direction he was headed before; the duo were long gone now, but he still had other work to do. He wondered if Teru had any luck finding anything.
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Date: 2024-01-02 06:22 am (UTC)His phone began to vibrate.
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