@dotflowweek Day 7: No Effect, Sabitsukiâs Room, Social Isolation, Rust, Rooftop, Mood Swings
(Note: this story is a direct sequel to what i wrote for my day 6 submission)
The question sticks in her mind, suffocating her other thoughts until only it remains. In the boredom of rusting away, sheâs asked herself the same questions hundreds of times, but⌠this one is new, and try as she might, Sabitsuki canât think of a suitable answer.
Itâs not like anything is particularly keeping her in her room. Sure, itâs safer, but whatâs the point if all sheâs doing is just waiting to die? And Rust isnât contagious, so thereâs no real point in quarantining. Her main fear was always being foundâ but then again, itâs been years now. They likely will have given up searching for her by now.
Even so⌠can she just leave? Is it really that simple?
Sabitsuki reaches up and pinches her cheek. This would be better to think on in the real world, instead of the Flowâs dirty old sewers.
Her perception warps and reassembles into the familiar image of her room. Quiet, calm. Lonely.
She looks at her reflection in the empty black screen of the computer. Her face looks haggard, her hair unkempt and greasy from months without washing. The light in her eyes dims by the day, as the bags underneath them grow more pronounced. She can see some blotches and stains on her shirt, likely from the occasional spilt food during her bland, lifeless meals.
âGrossâŚâ She mumbles to herself. But, despite that⌠she knows a lot of people around here go outside looking even worse than this. Sheâs lucky the Rust has barely manifested externally so farâ most of the damage has been internal, so she wonât be causing any screams of terror, at least.
Hold on. What was that thought just now? Thatâs not rightâ she hasnât decided sheâs going to go outside yet, just that itâs a possibility.
And yet⌠she canât deny that she wants to. Itâs not like she has hope for herself, or anything; even if by some miracle a cure for Rust had been found, she wouldnât hear about it. As far as Sabitsuki is aware, they intend on letting all knowledge that Rust ever existed die with the ones infected by it.
But maybe she can⌠at least do something before she dies. She still has some time leftâ the decaying process is a different length for everyone, but she should probably have at least a couple more months in her before she kicks the bucket. Who knows, maybe sheâll even reunite with one of her friendsâŚ?
âŚNo, that thought is a little too optimistic for her tastes. She shouldnât expect much from leaving her apartmentâ this town will be the same shithole it always has been, and nobody will care about her because she abandoned everyone who did.
Still, thereâs no reason not to go and confirm that theory. The only thing there is to stop her is how much effort it feels like; after wasting away in her room for so long, she worries that it might be just too much work for her.
No point in putting it off, though. Her condition is only gonna get worse.
Slowly, Sabitsuki pushes away from her desk and stands up, surveying the room around her. Her gaze passes from her bed, to the rug, to the dusty old TV screen, and finally to the door. Is it really as simple as just⌠leaving?
Well, only one way to find out.
She steps towards it hesitantly, and extends her hand towards the doorknob. It moves at a snailâs pace, but it moves. After a few seconds of suspense, her fingers make contact. Next thing she knows, sheâs wrenching it to the side and pulling with all her might, with a determination she hasnât felt in years.
It reminds her of when she was fleeing the hospital; that feeling of breaking free from a prison, of doing something with herself. Before the Rust, before the hospital and Oreko and the Parade Ward and all of that, she took her freedom for granted.
The faint tinkle of a music box echoes through the room. Occasionally, it stalls on a note, then skips over the next few to catch up. Seems like the fall it apparently endured harmed it quite a bit. Despite that, the melody remains mostly clearâ consistent enough to not be annoying, at least. When he gave it to his sister for safekeeping, he impressed upon her the importance of making sure it didnât sustain any more damage; when he gives it back to its rightful owner, he wants it to be as pristine as possible.
And he will give it back, Smile thinks to himself. He will. No matter how long it takes to find her.
He stares solemnly at the slightly beaten crank before looking back down at the map on his desk. The paper has a couple of old, faded stains on it from those long nights that he used to drink coffee to stay awakeâ heâs long since given up doing that ever since he ran out of leads. Some of the areas and buildings on the map have Xs on them; those are the places he can confidently say she isnât in, but⌠even after all this time, there arenât many heâs been able to cross off. If only this fucking town was smaller, heâs sure heâd have found her by now.
Smile has already found every single damn clue Sabitsuki left behindâ he located the hospital, interrogated the doctors, solved her escape plan, questioned the witnesses at the Sugar Hole, and more. But it was ultimately useless. None of those led him to her; instead, he just made a lot of enemies he didnât want to make. He tried to spend as little time as possible in that strange hospitalâ his gut was telling him that investigating that place, that disease all the patients there were suffering from, wouldâve only led to trouble. Even so, he got everything he needed. His original intention by going there was to see if she left anything that would hint to her whereabouts after escaping, but⌠no such luck. What a waste of time.
The only thing of value he found was the music box. Itâs handmade, by the looks of it; the drawings on the sides, though not exactly masterpieces, are definitely meant to resemble Sabitsuki and someone else. He tried to track down its creator or the person featured in the art, but hit a dead end and had to give up. Heâs had to give up too many times in this damn search.
At first, he put up missing person posters. He wasnât expecting there to be any results, and there werenâtâ except for every single poster being taken down the next day. Whoever did it only took down the ones of Sabitsuki, leaving the myriad of other disappearance notices untouched. He couldâve reported a missing person to the police, but what little police force exists here is hopelessly corrupt and useless. Besides, heâd rather not risk himself or Sabitsuki by going anywhere near the law.
Smile employs a philosophy of âIf you want something done right, do it yourselfâ. Thatâs why he decided to start personally investigating her disappearance. In doing so, he uncovered a lot of mysteriesâ but he doesnât care about any of them. They wonât lead him to Sabitsuki, so theyâre pointless to try to solve.
The music box reaches the end of its song, and he sighs. No use just sitting here. Heâll go take a walk, clear his head a bit. Maybe thatâll help him finally make a breakthrough.
Instinctively, she raises her arm to shield her face from the wind. Itâs cold and harsh up here, whipping at her like it wants to push her back into her sad little room. But she stands firm against it, and keeps walking forward across the rooftop.
Itâs daytime. The sun, though concealed by drab grey clouds, is in the sky. And Sabitsuki is alive.
She steps over to the railing and carefully peers over. The town unfolds below her. She tries to make out the place she used to stay, but itâs too far away to be seen from here. Same with the alleyway that the hospital was in.
Even if this place is ugly, seeing it again after so long makes her undeniably happy. She thinks that maybe sheâd rather live the way she used to, uncertain but resilient, taking whatever life throws at her, than spend the rest of her days rotting in that apartment. Nostalgia is a strange thing, huh?
Before she heads back down from the rooftop, she tries to figure out what to do next. No way sheâs going back to the hospital, thatâs for sureâ but she doesnât remember these streets like she used to, and getting lost around these parts is not something she wants to experience.
âŚWho is she kidding? Thereâs only one place to go: Smileâs house. She has no idea what he thinks of her now; whether he hates her for leaving, misses her, or if heâs just gonna act like he didnât care, the same way he always did back in the day. But she intends to find out. Unfortunately, sheâs only been there once, so she canât remember where exactly it is. Thatâs fine, thoughâ Sabitsuki thinks that sheâll recognise it if she explores enough. Might take a few hours, but itâs not like she has anything better to do.
Her plan now solidified in her mind, she steps away from the railing and heads back inside the building. No time to lose. She isnât sure what exactly the time is, but she definitely does not want to still be wandering around in town come nightfall.
Carefully, like she might slip and fall at any moment, she walks down the empty stairway of the apartment building she lives in. Sabitsuki hasnât come back through here a single time since she arrived that day; but thereâs a first time for everything, she thinks.
As she arrives in the lobby, her movement comes to a stop as her eyes meet another personâs.
This⌠is not what she was expecting.
He shivers. The frigid air is cutting deep todayâ maybe he shouldâve worn an extra layer. Whatever, heâll survive.
His feet carry him along a familiar path through town. He and Sabi used to visit this tiny place, tucked in a little nook a few streets from the school, when they wanted to grab a bite to eat. The food wasnât the best, but it was warm, and cheap. The two were regulars there, so they got a decent discount, which helped.
Since Sabitsukiâs disappearance, heâs come there a few times, always alone. The first time he went was while he was putting up posters; the guy who runs the place was disturbed to see him go there without her, and jokingly asked whether theyâd broken up. Smile chuckled sadly, and responded by asking him if he could put up some of the missing person posters around his shop.
The other times, he would visit if he was in the area and needed some sustenance; though he made sure not to spill any too important secrets, the guy working there was curious to know how the search was going, so Smile would occasionally give updates.
He hasnât been in a while, thoughâ mostly out of shame for not turning up anything after all this time. Caring for his sister and investigating Sabitsukiâs disappearance is basically his whole life now, but⌠heâs still managed to mess up. He tries not to be too hard on himself for things outside of his control, but⌠sometimes the feeling of guilt just gets the better of him. Even when heâs happy or relaxed, it doesnât take much to flip into a state of constant regret. Maybe if heâd justâŚ
No. He canât think like that. If he thinks that way, thinks in what-ifs, itâll consume him from the inside.
Coming to the end of his route, Smile looks at the entrance. He was feeling a bit hungry, anywayâ may as well go somewhere familiar.
The little bell at the top of the door chimes as he steps in, enjoying the rush of warm air. Like usual, thereâs no other customers; itâs not exactly the most popular place in town for food.
Quickly, the man comes hurrying out of the back room to greet him. His face lights up upon recognising Smile.
âSmile!? Havenât seen you here in a while! Howâve you been, kid?â The man ushers him into a seat and sits down opposite him.
He shrugs. âWell⌠havenât been able to find anything new since last time, unfortunately.â
The cook frowns. âWell, thatâs a shame, but⌠you canât give up yet! Keep your head held up high, thatâs what my pa always told me!â He offers Smile an encouraging grin.
âRight. Donât worry, I donât plan on stopping anytime soon. Anyway, uh, Iâll have my usual.â
He nods and stands up, heading back behind the counter. âRight away!â
As he cooks, Smile settles into his seat and turns to look out the window. Heâs thankful for the positivity, even if he himself isnât quite feeling it. But he was telling the truth when he said he doesnât plan on stoppingâ heâll find her. No matter what it takes.
Before he knows it, the food is being delivered to his table. As he digs in, he decides to chat with the cook a little.
âSo⌠howâs business been?â
âBusiness? Businessâs been great! Been getting some more customers as of late. Some odd fellows around here these days, but they pay well and donât cause a fuss, so Iâm fine with âem, hahaha!â He laughs heartily.
âThatâs good to hear. You ever planning on expanding?â
âExpanding, son? No way! As long as Iâm getting a good amount of customers, Iâm happy to stay as just a cosy little joint.â
âThat makes sense.â He nods.
âYeah⌠I like this part of town! Itâs quiet, not as shady as the others. Good place to set up a little homemade business, yâknow?â As he finishes speaking, his eyes dart to each side suspiciously and he leans closer to Smile. âAlthough⌠there was one weird-looking thing I saw earlier that I just couldnât make heads or tails of.â
He finishes up his food, and responds. âOh? What was it?â
The man gestures outside the window, to the street. âWell, I was in the middle of preparing an order earlier, and I happened to look outside⌠there was a truck driving along the street, normal stuff, but⌠I couldâve sworn that when I looked inside the window ânot on purpose, mind you!â the driver was wearing⌠a gas mask? And their clothes were like⌠one of those old-timey maid outfits, you know the ones.â
His gaze snaps upward to meet the other manâs, with unbridled intensity in his eyes. His expression is dead serious. âWhere. Were they going.â
Shocked at the sudden transformation, the cook stumbles over his words. âUh, well, I think, um⌠if I recall, it was⌠over that way.â He points in a direction. The moment he does so, Smile is gone.
He dashes out of the door without another word, and begins sprinting full speed down the street. If they are here, there must be something very important going on. Even if it isnât her, it could very well be a new lead.
His muscles scream at him to stop running, but he continues. Even one second could make all the difference right now. He needs to keep going. His footsteps are loud and echo in the empty streets as he desperately sprints through.
It takes about a minute of non stop running, but Smile spots them. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a truck pulled up right outside an apartment building, with people in uniform scattered around facing insideâ one of whom is wearing a familiar maid outfit and gas mask.
Carefully, keeping his breathing as steady as possible despite all the exertion he was forcing himself through moments ago, he approaches, trying not to be noticed. They all seem to be focused on whateverâs in the lobby of the building, paying no heed to anything behind them. Smile sneaks behind the truck for cover, then peers around it to take a look as he listens to them talk.
Heâll never forget what he sees there for the rest of his life.
It feels like a sick joke. Like the universe itself is conspiring against her. She finally gathers enough courage to leave her room and face her regrets, and⌠this is whatâs waiting for her. Ready to pull her back down into despair.
Pretty bold of them to do it in broad daylight, sheâll give them that. They must be pretty confident in how powerful they are. Sabitsuki doubts anyone around here is stupid enough to interfere with something like this.
â...What do you want?â She asks, bluntly. Her voice is croaky from disuse.
The Cleaner âshe doesnât know what the proper name for these intimating maids is, but thatâs what the patients always called themâ takes a step forward from the others and clears their throat. Despite coming from behind a gas mask, their voice is perfectly clear, though somewhat tinny.
âWe have come⌠to collect you.â
She coughs a couple of times, staring down at the floor. âWell⌠there isnât much left to collect.â Then she looks back up to meet the gaze behind that eerie mask. â...Why bother, anyway? Itâs been⌠itâs been fucking years.â She isnât massively confident in that estimate, but it sounds about right.
The maid shakes their headâ a slow, deliberate motion. âYou carry the Rust within you. It is our duty to contain you.â
âContainâŚ? You already know it isnât infectious. Whatâs the point of doing all that?â
âIt is not because of the Rust. It is because of what you know.â They pick up something from behind them; she quickly recognises it as a chainsaw. They must have been prepared to hurt her. âYou⌠are evidence of something that should not be known.â
Sabitsuki carefully eyes the weapon, taking a step backwards. â...That doesnât look much like a containment procedure to me.â
âDo not resist⌠and I will not have to use it. But if youâd like⌠I can grant you a swift death.â
Hell no. Not when the fire of life only just started to burn within her again. Not a chance.
The yell explodes from behind them, and all of the people jolt in surprise. Sabitsuki feels like that voice is familiar, but she canât quite place itâŚ
Until the source of the shout comes barreling straight past the Cleaner and into the lobby with them.
Her eyes widen as she instantly recognises him. Standing there, covered in sweat, is the black-haired menace to society himself: Smile.
The maid quickly recovers from their surprise. âPerfect⌠youâve saved us the trouble of hunting you down.âÂ
As much as she wants to talk to him, the time for tearful reunions is later, so Sabitsuki focuses on the situation. She canât fail, not now. âHimâŚ? What the fuck could you possibly want with him?â
Smile can already guess what heâs done to attract their attention; he was too curious for his own good, and now they intend on punishing him. Tough luck. Heâs not dying yet.
âHis pointless search for you⌠became a nuisance⌠a thorn in our side. He must be disposed of⌠as must you.â She turns on the chainsaw. Smile inwardly curses himself for not bringing a weapon when he went outside; itâs common sense here, but it seems he got a bit too comfortable. Even so, heâll find a way.
Sabitsuki gulps, and mentally readies herself. She hasnât been in a fight since her escape from the hospital, and sheâs grown even weaker since then. At least she has an ally this time.
A few seconds of fierce glares pass between them. Then the maid charges forward, and the desperate fight for their lives begins.
The two dive in opposite directions as the first attack comes their way. Sabitsuki jumps to the left, towards the corner of the room, where a long-abandoned receptionist desk sits. How familiar. Smile leaps the other way, towards the door to the stairwell.
The maid frees their chainsaw from the wall, and turns to the tattooed boy. She probably knows that, being healthy, heâs the bigger threat.
Sabitsukiâs eyes dart to the entrance of the lobby. The other people there in front of the truck all seem to be unarmedâ if the Cleaner is defeated, theyâll have no choice but to scatter.
Easier said than done, though; first, she needs to get the attention of their attacker. Smileâs not getting killed on her watch.
She scrambles around the desk. She sees a telephone and reaches for it, but then notices itâs cordless. Fuck. There goes that idea. Next to it, though, is a mugâ perfect.
She grabs the cup by the handle and, using every ounce of strength in her body, flings it full force at the back of the maidâs head. Shouldâve worn a full helmet, dipshit.
âGah!â The Cleaner hisses in pain as the mug shatters against the back of their skull, and whips around to face Sabitsuki. â...You first, then.â
Okay, mission accomplished. Theyâre not targeting him anymore⌠but now she has to deal with them instead.
âŚShe may not have thought this entirely through.
Smile, on the other side of the lobby, sees his opportunity the moment they turn around. No way in hell heâs letting them get Sabi. Darting forward, he grabs at their braided hair and tugs with all his might, preventing them from moving forward.
They grunt in annoyance and swing their body around. Surprised, he doesnât have time to react, and the braid tears off of the maid. Unable to regain his balance quickly enough, Smile tumbles backwards onto the floor, the disconnected length of hair falling out of reach, and frantically pushes himself away as fast as he can.
The Cleaner takes a couple of steps forward, raising their chainsaw before striking swiftly down towards him. He scrambles back just enough that the slash hits the floor in the space between his legs. This is bad.
Sabitsuki, witnessing this, races up behind them and picks up the braided hair from the floor. This might not work, but it should at least give Smile a moment to get away.
Sprinting towards the maid, she reaches forward and around with the braid, and tugs hard before they can react. Using hair as an improvised garrote was not something she ever expected to do, but neither is anything sheâs done in the last few years. As the Cleaner coughs and splutters into their mask, Smile stands up and backs away.
Unfortunately, strangling someone to death takes more strength than she has in her rusted state. The maidâs elbow lunges backwards and strikes Sabitsuki hard in the stomach, forcing her to let go of the hair and stumble away.
Both sides of the battle turn to face each other from opposite sides of the lobby. If a gas mask could make expressions, the two imagine it would be contorted in anger right now.
As they carefully watch each other for movement, Sabitsukiâs eyes flick upwards. Thereâs exposed pipework running below the ceiling hereâ lazy on the part of whoever built this place, but useful for her. She nudges Smile, and he notices too.
As she backs away slowly to avoid arousing suspicion, he glares at the Cleaner, putting as much hatred and malice into it as possible.
âWhat, are you fucking scared?â He taunts. âIf you wanna kill me, come and fucking kill me!â He follows it up by spitting at them from across the room.
They take the bait, lifting their black chainsaw and charging at him. As they begin to pick up speed, Sabitsuki makes her move.
She jumps onto the desk, sending various useless items scattering everywhere, then leaps off of it, heading for Smile. He braces himself and leans forward, allowing her to land on his shoulders and keep her momentum long enough to jump off.
The Cleaner sees all this, but canât do anything to dodge the incoming attack; the weight of the chainsaw carries them forward even when they donât want to.
After using Smile as a stepping stone, Sabitsuki catches herself on the exposed iron pipe and swings her legs forward. Though she is weak on her own, the momentum has enough force to cause considerable damageâ and it does so.
Her feet connect. Gas masks arenât made to protect from physical attack, so the impact is barely reduced.
âUrgh!â The maid stumbles backwards, clutching at their face. She has no way of knowing, but hopefully she broke something. Sabitsuki quickly rejoins Smile near the desk, not confident enough to go on a full offensive.
The Cleaner moves their arm from their face, and reaches down to rev their chainsaw. The two get ready to dodge, but as the injured maid moves forward, it becomes clear that they arenât the targets of this attack; rather, the pipes are.
Smile tugs Sabitsuki behind the desk for cover as the Cleaner starts going berserk on the unfortunate piping. Worryingly, the chainsaw cuts through them easily, and nothing comes out of them once destroyed.
âGoddamn, that thingâs strong,â he mutters.
After theyâve gotten their destructive impulse out of the way, they turn their attention back to the two bastards who have caused them so much trouble. Sabitsuki, meanwhile, has thought of another planâ one that might be able to put an end to this fight.
The two split up to avoid an incoming attack; this one slices the desk clean in half. Smile stays near the fallen pieces of the pipe. The longest is around 2 feet in lengthâ definitely a good size to kill with. Meanwhile, Sabitsuki advances on the spot where the braided hair fell. Sheâs killed a couple of times before, but this will definitely be the weirdest method sheâs used.
Smile manages to keep the attention of the Cleaner mostly focused on him; as they engage in a terrifying game of cat & mouse around the room, she sneaks up behind the distracted maid.
In a split second, she stoops down and uses the braid as a sort of tripwire around their feet. They donât notice until itâs too late, stumbling over it and falling face first onto the floor.
The moment they trip, Smile darts over to the long pipe and picks it up. The window here is only a few secondsâ better make it count.
The Cleaner starts to pick themselves up.
He raises the pipe, andâŚ
All things considered, today could have gone worse.
Itâs likely that that wonât be the end of it; the people trying to kill her and Smile arenât the type to give up after just one defeat. Theyâll be back, and they wonât pull any punches next time.
But as she sits here, huddled up beneath a blanket as she sips on warm tea, Sabitsuki finds it hard to care. Sheâs dying either wayâ the key, she thinks, is to live without thinking about the future. And besides⌠it was fun to watch those cowards all drive away in their truck.
âTalk about speaking truth to power, hehâŚâ she mumbles to herself, before taking another sip of her drink. Smile and his sister went to get something for her from the basement; a present, apparently, though she has no clue what it could be.
Whatâs she going to do after this? Sabitsuki muses on that question while she waits. She already thought about this earlier, but⌠thereâs nowhere for her to go back to. She supposes then, if Smile lets her, sheâll move in here, with him and his sister. It shouldnât be a difficult transitionâ she only has a few possessions sheâd need to bring over, then sheâs all set.
âŚSheâs getting ahead of herself, though. Hell, a few years ago, sheâd try to ignore those thoughts entirelyâ fantasising about moving in with him wouldâve been a ridiculous notion back then. But as it turns out, life has a funny way of flipping things around.
Even so, itâs not like heâs agreed to anything. Best not get her hopes up.
The sound of footsteps rouses her from her thoughts, and she looks up to see the pair of misfit siblings returning. Smile is holding something in his hands, but he shifts them to cover it when she tries to discern what it is. What an ass.
His sister eagerly plops down onto a beanbag in the corner of the room, intently watching her brother and Sabitsuki. Just what exactly is she about to be given�
Smile sits down on the couch next to her, and she raises an eyebrow. â...You sure like to drag things out.â
He sticks his tongue out at her like a kid, and she canât help but giggle.
âWellâŚâ he says. âI might be wrong about this, but⌠is this yours, by any chance?â He uncovers the object, and Sabitsukiâs jaw drops.
Sitting there in his hands, slightly beaten but still easily recognisable, is the music box. The one she thought sheâd never see again.
âHoly shitâŚâ she says, slowly reaching for it. âI⌠where did you find this?â
He hands it to her with no resistance, and she cradles it close to her chest as he speaks. âWhen I was investigating your disappearance, I thought it might be useful to figure out how you escaped the hospital. So I went around collecting evidence, and⌠thatâs when I found this.â
Sabitsuki places it down on the table beside her and admires it. The drawings of her and Oreko, while somewhat scratched, make her heart feel full just as much as they always did. She remembers the day the girl gave this to her like it was yesterdayâ she was heartbroken when she had to use it for her escape. But, by some miracle⌠it was recovered.
No. Not because of a miracleâ because of Smile.
She looks back at him, bearing an expression of heartfelt gratitude on her face.
âSmile⌠thank you. You didnât have to⌠you didnât have to do any of this for me. You couldâve just ignored me going missing, but you⌠thank you. Just⌠thank you.â
Maybe her vision is getting poorer due to the Rust, but she swears she sees a blush on his face before he turns away. âWell⌠I did.â
Smileâs sister giggles from the corner of the room. âHehe⌠now, kiss!â She puts her fingers together to make the shape of a rectangle, then peers through it with one eye like a camera.
Both of them turn to glare at her simultaneously, and she squeals with laughter. He turns back to Sabitsuki and rolls his eyes, but thereâs a hint of a smile touching the corners of his lips.
Sabitsuki thinks that maybe⌠spending the rest of her life like this doesnât sound too bad.
