Rochelle heard something with a rhythm in the distance, checked the fork by comparing which path increased its volume, then went down it with Tiffany. "Doesn't sound like it, at least."
"Yeah, but what's with the music?"
Walking further down the hall, they turned a corner and Rochelle noticed the exit to the catacombs in the distance first. She was about to say something, when Tiffany started running towards it. As Rochelle ran after her, she watched at the way Tiffany's gorgeous tits shook as she ran, then reasserted her awareness as she pressed Tiffany back, poked out of the corner and scanned the sewer it connected to.
"You think this is it?" said Tiffany, leaning in to Rochelle's back.
Rochelle frowned as the music grew legible in the sewer. "You hear that, right?"
"Yeah, it sounds like a radio. Oo, wait, is it playing Cuz I Love You? *'Wanna put you on a plane, fly you out to wherever I am.'*"
"Huh?"
"Wait, maybe it's that new BTS song. The one they did with Lizzo?"
It was neither, but Rochelle just blinked. This was another part of dating Tiffany: not that Rochelle minded pop music for its levity, but such air sufficed to fill Tiffany's ennui, and she would often imagine songs, albums, or even entire artists that never existed.
"I don't think they're singing in English, though." said Rochelle.
"Creepy."
Rochelle thought by herself, then nodded and rushed out to the sewer. A boombox was playing underneath the ladder leading into the manhole above, and Rochelle called out to Tiffany that it was safe. As they swept out of the sewer and into the street above, Mia & Serena were sitting on a nearby bench and quickly waved them over.
"Did you get hurt at all?" said Serena.
Mia nodded. "I'm sorry -- we weren't sure if we should risk going back in, but Serena suggested the music, and..."
"It's- it's cool." nodded Rochelle, patting Tiffany's back as she came over with the zombie. "Uh, wasn't sure that music was coming from you guys, until we realized it wasn't in English, and Mia told me you watch Japanese shows, and..."
Serena nodded, bobbing her head to *Don't Lose Your Way*.
"Wait, I gotta do this." Tiffany held her hand over the zombie's back, then gave him a smack on the spine that threw him to the sidewalk and gasping, gagging for breath & air. Contagion's walnut fell out of his mouth and disappeared.
They told him what had happened, and the four went to the address they were given: a hotel room on the fifth floor.
"Do I get to say it?" whispered Serena as they came up to the door, and Mia laughed.
"Go ahead."
Serena knocked, and a federal agent answered the door.
"A Norwegian in the family." said Serena, like a secret agent or legendary hitman.
He nodded, and the other man went by his side. Before he closed the door, Mia said: "Wait, there's something we need to tell you." She relayed what they had encountered.
The agent shrugged, pulled out a suppressed pistol, and with two loud bangs deposited two shots in to the head of the other man, who fell to the floor and began bleeding out of the two gapes in his skull. Mia pressed Serena back as the four stepped aside, and something occured in the next second as she looked to the agent's face, which was now constantly changing. It was as if his face were the frequency of a radio to which she was tuning the dial, and as it scanned over one channel, she thought 'Chicago', then was moved on to the next station before she could inhale this thought fully.
As her fingers turned around the handrail of the bus, she exhaled and stepped on it with the other three, who had decided to ride it over to one of Urasaria's trains. The death she had just witnessed was not the consequential ones of the night, for near the end of the trip both Rochelle & Mia's tablets vibrated. Mia was standing next to Rochelle and checked her's first. It was a notification saying she had hit 3-star, and she glanced over to see Rochelle confirming the same, then making eye contact with her.
"Must've been a pair." mumbled Rochelle. "Anybody we know?"
Mia searched through the list of rankings, checking Aimee, Matoi, Marisa, Yuruko, Sylvia, then Kirihara.
"Hey, I saw that last one." snickered Rochelle.
"I was hoping." Mia smirked. "I'm sure they'll let us know by tomorrow."
Rochelle turned around and let Serena & Tiffany know, the latter of whom gave some banalities about death, and how you only live -- alright, you can finish that yourself.
As the bus came to a halt and the four made their stop, a few riders recognized Rochelle as she left, and called out to her, causing the corners of her mouth to tighten as she stepped on to the sidewalk. As she turned and looked up at the windows, she saw a pale black face locked beyond it, whose finger began to write something in the window to her. Before it could finish, the bus drove away, and as its taillights contracted to a single dot of color within the winter fog, further down, so too did she know that the frost would eventually grow steep over all that is written of her, and smiled broadly at this.
[END OF ARC: SEASONS DON'T FEAR THE REAPER]
On February 29th, 2020, Saya's final day at Urasaria, Makoto was her usual bitchy self. "I just think it's fucked up. I mean, it's like you're some whistleblower or something, you actually stand up for somebody instead of just staying quiet and getting paid, and they completely screw you for it. That's some fucking shit."
Sitting next to Luna in the infirmary, Saya had just finished up healing Aimee and Matoi; the former of whom was there with Makoto to escort her to her new job at Timepact. She glanced to Luna as if to verify Makoto's dirty language hadn't affected her, then said to her: "Makoto, before I worked at Urasaria, I worked in a kitchen where our manager stole our tips and threatened to fire us if we complained. Before that, I had to listen to my manager at the grocery store constantly make comments about how I would hold or wrap my fingers around certain things. Yes, I do, and will miss Luna and Hirogane, along with all of you, but there's no need to blow me out of proportion. There's many people who can't have principles."
Matoi was listening in on this and smirked, as she knew she would do something Saya could not: you'll later learn what.
Aimee said: "Hey, I bet Luna can come visit once we get you all set up, right? Still need to get your bags, right?"
Saya nodded and handed Aimee her keys. "Would you mind getting them for me? They're in the living room."
"Sure thing." Aimee nodded and handed Makoto the keys. "Makoto, go get her bags."
"Why do I have to- oh, real funny."
Aimee grinned as she pat Makoto on the back, ushering her & herself out of the infirmary. As Saya leaned back in her chair, she saw a figure at the door, which opened it and revealed itself as Armstrong. He nodded to Hirogane, then to Saya.
"Ah, good, I was concerned I might not have made it in time." He walked over to Saya. "Ms. Yanaro, I apologize for this, I hope you can understand it was nothing personal. You were always a hard worker, and I'm certain you'll be a fine asset to Aimee's agency." He extended his hand.
"Fuck you."