Slip-up

The bar Bunko-san is treating me to is a fairly low-key joint-- not one I've ever been to, myself. You can tell by the warm, woody atmosphere and orange-soaked lighting that this must be an older location-- a personal favorite of Bunko-san's, perhaps. It's a bit on the outskirts of town for my liking (especially since I'll probably have to drive home...), but I'd be lying if I said I didn't admire how cozy it feels.

Still, it's a bit on the quiet side. Outside of the bartender-- a similarly heavyset woman, it's just me, Bunko-san, and one other person.

"How'd you find this place?" I ask as we get our seating.

"Oh, it's a family business." She nods, smiling.

"Why'd you join the force, then?"

Her smile falters, becoming more contemplative. After a moment to ponder, her smile returns. "To protect places like this, of course. I'd hate to see a place like this fall into ruin, y'know?"

"Right, I get it."

"Do you?"

I pause. "Huh?"

...

She lowers her head. "...No, sorry. It's just, I've heard talk about you-- from the others at the precinct. Lots of them think of you and your sister as cold-hearted, like robots." She sips from her drink. "I shouldn't assume."

My face scrunches up. "They're all just annoying bastards, pay them no mind. Most of them are jealous that I'm in talks to get promoted," said with zero enthusiasm, "So I'm not surprised they'd make me out to be a freak." On instinct, I take out a cigarette-- before remembering it's impolite to smoke indoors. "They're just white noise to me anyway-- irritated that I'm not gung-ho about killing yokai like them."

"You aren't?"

I set the cigarette back. "It's just my job-- nothing more. I do it to protect others; they do it because they enjoy getting away with murder."

They look at me, intrigued. ...A morbid curiosity seems to bubble up in her expression like tea. "Hey... do you ever feel bad about killing yokai, DUSK-sensei?"

I slouch onto the bar, sighing. "Maybe I did when I was new here. At this point, I'm just numb to it. It's just a fact of life to me." I turn to face her. "Bunko-san."

"Yeah?"

"You're new to the job, yeah?"

She nods.

"Run while you still can." I smile wistfully. "We're no heroes."

The bartender, who was stealing glances at us while using fire magic to prepare our meals, finally speaks up. "Ayayo-chan, this is hardly something to talk about over drinks, don't you think?"

Bunko-san laughs nervously. "Sorry, mama. One thing lead to another, and..."

"It's no problem, ma'am. It's a change of pace from most of my conversations with my co-workers."

"You really oughta relax, officer DUSK-- what with it being your last days, and all."

?

I tilt my head. "Last days?"

"Pardon my eavesdropping-- you'd said you were in talks to be promoted, is what I meant. I can only imagine being division chief will be plenty stressful."

"Ah... right." I chuckle. Maybe I really have become too high-strung. "Well, it's either me or my lazy oaf of a sister. She gets results but she's unreliable. ...I'd rather take on that stress than face the alternative."

A glass shatters against the back of my head, barely making me flinch. Bunko-san and her mother both gasp with shock.

I turn around, grazing my side against Bunko's arm. My attacker seems to be a young adult of indeterminate gender, probably younger than me, probably intoxicated.

"Fuckin' murderer!" They spit at me. "How do you sleep at night knowing how many innocent yokai you've slaughtered?"

Right. Much how yokai have been a recent occurrence, so too are their sympathizers. ...I don't have time for this. It's not like they'll listen. So, I don't respond.

"What? Not gonna make up some bullshit about protecting families or children this time? You ever think about how the yokai themselves have families? How there are yokai children?! Or is that too inconvenient for you, fuckin' pig?"

I continue to remain silent. It's not like I don't ever think about stuff like this-- but they're misdirecting their anger here. Like I said to Bunko-san, I'm not like the other, more trigger-happy officers. I'm just trying to make the world a better place in the only way I know how. But, it's not like they'll listen. So, I sit still, hoping the bartender can do a better job at defusing the situation than I ever could.

As if on cue, Bunko-san's mother speaks up. "Please, calm down. Let's not start a scene here..." I don't feel good hiding behind the bartender here, but I know if I say anything myself it'll only make things worse. "We can just agree to disagree for now, yes? No need to get physical."

After a moment, the drunkard clenches their fists, trembling with anger... before flipping me off and storming out into the night.

"My deepest apologies for that, officer. I do hope you can believe that this establishment is usually more peaceful."

"It's fine..." I turn back around, eyeing my drink. Thankfully, none of my blood has seeped into it. I'm not exactly a vampire, here. "I've dealt with worse." I down the rest of it in one go. "More, please...?"

"Of course. Don't worry about the tab, either-- after all you've done for us, you deserve it."

"Thank you very much." I bow my head out of politeness. I'll never say no to free drinks.

In the corner of my eye, I notice something... Bunko-san's smiling, stifling laughter. "What's got you so upbeat, Bunko-san?"

"Hmm?" She seems to realize something. "Ahhh...! Nothing, nothing."

Weird, but whatever. I pull out my cigarette once again. "Hey, could you come outside and light this f- ghkkk"

Suddenly, my lungs start spasming. W-what in the hell...?

"Gnnk..... kkgaahkk...."

I... can't breathe... I clutch my chest, pounding at it to try and do something to relieve this sudden tension, to no avail.

The stuffy air of the tavern suddenly becomes far tighter as I feel my temperature skyrocketing, sweat practically erupting from my pores. I keep hacking and hacking and coughing and hacking and blood starts coming out of my mouth more and more-

"C-call... hhkakkk... an... ambu- khakkhk khhraaakk... lance..." I struggle to pat Bunko-san on the shoulder, trying to plead with her.

Yet, as I'm hacking and coughing and coughing and spitting up more and more of my blood, she... keeps smiling at me?

"That was too easy, DUSK-chan! I thought when you'd looked at your cup you would've noticed for sure...!"

What is.... she....

Oh, you motherfucker.

Her form shifts and reshapes, changing in form to reveal a snout... circular racoon-like ears, brown fur and a bushy tail...

"T- tanu... ki...."

I fumble, trying to form a finger-gun position with my hands, only to quickly lose balance and tumble out of my seat. Why is.... why the hell is the bartender not doing any-

Wait, no-- they said it from the beginning. Family business. R-right... Of course. How else would they have been able to slip something in my drink undetected?

This is so pathetic of me. D-done in by a shapeshifter...? I've gotten too complacent. Maybe I deserve to die, if it was this easy...

My body feels like it's on fire. My heart feels like it's about to explode. My lungs feel like they've imploded. This...

This is it for me, isn't it?