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It’s a seemingly normal day in May when everything goes tits up. No - tits up is understating it. The tits have gone so high, they’re in the stratosphere.
Tae is enjoying her usual blend in Leblanc, Yogen-Jaya's most hidden gem. Sometimes, she's tempted to post a raving review about the café online – Sojiro deserves more business – but she remembers they both hate people, so she doesn’t.
She really is the best customer.
Speaking of customers, the café is unusually busy today. The old couple from down the road are in their favourite booth, the pompous git who tried to chat up Tae once sitting behind them, and finally, a woman her age with silver hair is perched by the bar. Now that Tae’s looking, she’s kinda cute, but given the way the woman's intently staring Sojiro down, Tae doesn’t think she’ll have much luck. A pity – it’s been a while since her last toxic, doomed, but physically fulfilling fling.
The tell-tale plinking of rain hitting the roof breaks the serenity, though Tae pays it little heed outside of the brief pang of despair it causes her. The doctor didn’t bring her umbrella with her today, but given the clinic isn’t that far away, she’s pretty sure she'll be fine if she books it.
(In hindsight, she envies her youthful naivety.)
Tae only registers that something is wrong when she catches a flicker of movement in the corner of her eye. Turning around, she sees a baffled Sojiro rubbing his eyes. She follows the path of his eyes and does a double-take as she sees the pompous customer is just... gone. Confused, the doctor furrows her brow. How odd – she didn’t notice the door jingle.
She does notice it though as the old man in the booth in front of her is suddenly engulfed in a spiral of darkness, however. The black motes disperse in seconds, and by the time they’re gone, no trace of him remains.
“What the fuck?” The doctor jumps to her feet, heart pounding rapidly in her chest.
For a second, she thinks she’s hallucinating, but no – Sojiro is also looking at the spot the man once was, slack-jawed. A spurt of paranoia grips her as for a second she thinks he might be a product of her imagination too, but Tae shakes it off - the barista looks far too real to be something her brain conjured up.
Her outburst manages to attract the attention of the silver-haired woman, who turns around, brows furrowed in confusion as her eyes dance between the spots where the two missing customers once were. Meanwhile, the old lady looks up and gives Tae a friendly but puzzled smile.
“Is something the matter, dear?”
Tae flounders for a moment, pointing to the spot her husband was sitting at just a moment ago. “Your husband…”
The woman tilts her head, and her words fill Tae’s blood with ice. “Husband? I don’t have a husband.”
With that last, ominous note, she fades into nothingness too.
For a moment, the silence in Leblanc is deafening. The silver-haired woman’s eyes widen with naked shock, and she shoots a panicked glance in Tae's direction, who nods slowly in response. No, she’s not going mad. Yes, everyone else in the café has just vanished into the ether.
The quiet comes to an end as Sojiro suddenly gasps, the blood draining from his face. “Futaba.”
Instantly, the elderly man bolts, running out of Leblanc with an agility Tae didn’t even realise he had. The door swings in the wake of his departure, and it feels somewhat like a slap in the face.
Before Ms Silver-hair can dump her too, Tae clears her throat. “Alright – I’ve seen enough horror movies to know splitting up is a bad idea, so let’s… not do that, okay?”
Silver ignores her though, skin white with shock as her eyes remain glued to the window. “The rain…”
The doctor squints, but can’t really see anything wrong. Cautiously, she inches open the door, and…
… Yeah, Tae really should have expected this, considering how bonkers everything else is right now. For some ungodly reason, it’s raining blood.
“Fucking hell.” She sweeps a hand through her hair as she bites her lip.
The rain isn’t heavy, but it shows no sign of stopping. To make things worse, the only people who seem to be reacting to this nonsense are the silver-haired woman and herself. Tae’s neighbours walk through the streets without a care in the world, unphased by the heavy red liquid seeping through their clothes. More and more people are claimed by the darkness, and as they vanish, their family and friends don't even blink.
Hands trembling, Silver pulls out her phone. Tae’s about to snark that she doesn’t think the cops or paramedics are going to be able to fix this, though it turns out to be unnecessary - it’s not the police she’s calling.
“Makoto?” Her companion speaks, voice containing a hint of panic. “Are you okay?”
Ah. Tae’s guts churn in empathy. The doctor doesn’t have anyone, really – hasn’t for a long time – but she knows what it’s like to love. She’s not sure if her companion has called her sister, her brother, her lover, or simply her friend, but whoever they are, Tae genuinely hopes they’re safe.
Thankfully, a voice replies, and judging by its tone, they’ve noticed this madness too.
Silver wrinkles her nose once this Makoto person finishes speaking. “A cathedral? Well, I guess if it’s structurally sound, you should wait out the rain there.” She quiets again as they reply. “… What do you mean, monsters?”
An awful, ear-piercing screech unlike anything Tae’s ever heard before echoes through the air, and grimly, the doctor has a hunch that they’re going to find out exactly what Makoto's referring to. Silver pales, quickly hanging up as a dark shadow falls over the women. Mouth dry, Tae slowly turns her head up towards Leblanc’s roof. In the distance, a pyramid rises into the skies, but the doctor cares about that a lot less than she does the gangly, skeletal creature loosely draped in bandages that’s giving them the stink eye.
“… Uh, hi?” Tae winces as she waves half-heartedly at the monster, and Silver gives her a flat stare.
To no one’s surprise, her attempt at diplomacy goes absolutely nowhere. Letting out an earth-shattering screech, the creature leaps at Tae, and the doctor stumbles backward. Tripping over her own feet, she lands on her rear with a painful thump, oddly cold blood soaking her body as the monster’s sharp claws slice the air where her throat once was.
Scrambling backwards, bile rises up the back of her throat as her heart thumps in her chest. The monster steps towards her, ready to strike yet again, but before it can finish Tae off, a flash of silver intercepts it. The woman lets out no war cry or pithy one-liners – instead, she silently steps forward and slugs the monster in the face. It staggers, whirling on her with a snarl, slashing its wretched claws towards her. Silver leaps out of its way, however, and when it lunges at her yet again, she's ready. Grabbing its arm, the woman flips the creature over, using its momentum to send it crashing to the ground. The monster's head hits the pavement at an angle, and as its neck snaps, the creature melts into black sludge. And coins, for some unfathomable reason.
Tae’s heart flutters and it isn’t because of fear this time. Screw Sojiro – she’s gonna swing her shot anyway. The doctor is snapped out of her musings, however, as Silver turns around, looking at her with worry. It seems the other woman hadn't quite managed to dodge the monster's initial attack after all - there's a nasty gash on her cheek, and one half of her face is covered with a lot more blood than the other.
“Come with me.” Tae straightens herself, slipping into professional mode. “That’s going to cause problems if we don’t patch it up. My clinic’s just around the corner.”
Silver arches a brow, but thankfully complies. “Clinic?”
“Couldn’t you tell?” Tae gives her a rakish grin. “I’m a doctor.”
The taller woman eyes her dubiously. “… I suppose that explains the coat.” And nothing else, she leaves unsaid.
Slipping through the streets, Tae tries not to let the unease chewing through her stomach overwhelm her. With the exception of the pattering rain and the splashing of their feet, Yongen-Jaya is dead quiet. The suburb has always been a hub of life, from gossiping housewives to birds in the trees, but now, the looming tomb in the distance isn't the only thing about the place that feels alien.
Thankfully, they manage to make it to Tae's clinic without further incident, and a wave of relief floods through the doctor when she sees the place is blessedly untouched. Grabbing bandages, some anaesthetic, sutures, and everything else she might plausibly need, she makes sure to also carry a towel or two over to where Silver is waiting. God knows Tae wants to dry off a little bit.
Her companion's eyes are glued to her phone, but her expression is more relieved than panicked, so Tae assumes her darling Makoto is probably safe. For now, anyway – the rain hasn’t let up yet, and if it continues at this rate for a few more hours, there’ll be problems. Tae shoves those thoughts down though as she grabs some cotton balls. She has enough to worry about in the present, let alone the future.
“So, do you have a name?” She asks her patient, giving her a mischievous grin. “It’s important for doctors to know these sorts of things.” Plus, she really needs something better to call the other woman than Silver.
Crossing her arms, the woman gives her a flat stare. “All things considered, I don’t think record-keeping is a priority right now.” The tension in her shoulders then softens. “It’s Niijima Sae, though.”
“Takami Tae, at your service. Look at that – we rhyme.” Tae winks, and counts it as a score when she sees the slight blush on Sae’s face. Maybe Sojiro’s not competition after all.
(If she has to face the end of the world, she'd much rather do it with a cute woman at her side.)