Droplet (Part 1)

“The Decider’s Guild has been disbanded” Mizugawa said, setting his coffee mug down.

Isaac peered down at him. He was beginning to realize how ridiculous he looked in his Hawaiian shirt. He hugged his stomach.

“Haha”

“Yeah, yeah. Let me drink my coffee in peace. You should spend some time with your girlfriend”

Mizugawa looked older than Isaac had remembered. Back when the guild was just a few college friends and their sons and daughters, Mizugawa had been quite the looker. It was no surprise a lot of people joined the DG. Who wouldn’t want to kill angels and gods with a beautiful man by their side? Except Isaac, of course. Em was his beau.

Isaac nearly knocked Etsuko over as he left Mizugawa’s office. She was holding a large stack of folders.

“I was looking for you”

“Where’s your brother?”

“Sulking. He’s been such a pill since all of this started”

“I don’t blame him”

Etsuko spread the folders on a nearby table and motioned for Isaac to come over. They were all labeled “DROPLET” or “SAP”.

“I don’t know. He went on and on about never kissing a girl or something before I left. Like I get it, I’ve always wanted to be in a relationship. But it feels super whiny and surface level to complain about it now of all times”

“I don’t know. What’s this about?”

Etsuko grinned.

“The droplet god. That’s how we’re gonna beat whatever that thing is”

The droplet god, as it was named by the guild, was the second god to arrive on earth. Or, at least, discovered on earth. It only appeared when someone entered a small, white house located in a remote area. No one who entered the house left. When they were inside, a large white shape appeared over the house. The shape resembled a disc with a droplet of water coming out of the bottom, hence the name.

Isaac frowned and leafed through the photos and documents.

“I think we hit a dead end with this one. There’s nothing to really go on. At least Muramasa had a goal”

“That’s true. I don’t know what the hell it wants or how it works. What I do know is that is has sap. And we need sap right now”

“The only person we know who drank the sap ended up pretty poorly, I’d say. It’s a mercy Ito’s dead”

“That’s because he probably made a dumb wish. I’ve got a foolproof one”

Isaac shook his head and began to walk away.

“I’l have nothing to do with it. I’m going to try and contact some of the others. If I were you, I’d try and look into Fuyu’s angel. I’m sure there’s something helpful there”

Etusko stuck out her tongue. She took out her phone and called her best friend.

“Hey, Mei? Yeah, it’s Etsuko. Listen, this is kinda last minute, but I just wanted to say I’ve always loved you and– what? Yeah, screw you too”

***

Scarlet didn’t realize what was going on until her eyes were pulled out of her skull and Yoshi’s hand suddenly fell off.

The entire roof of the hotel was cleanly ripped off, exposing everyone to the burning gaze of God’s eye. It was considerate and only took half.

Scarlet heard someone screaming. It was herself. She tried to cover her mouth, but got blood on her face. She didn’t realize other people’s blood smelled different. She threw up, then found herself falling towards the ground.

God’s eye moved past the hotel and flew closer to the earth. It was looking for a woman with AB negative blood. The answer would lie there, for sure.

The mixture of blood and vomit made it difficult for Scarlet to crawl towards the door. Her palms were slathered in the nauseous sludge. Yoshi’s hand was still somewhere in the room. She had to find it, as the rest of Yoshi would need it. A doctor could probably sew it back on, or maybe they’d use that glue stuff.

If Cass were here, she’d probably find a way to maneuver without relying on her eyes.

Jesse would probably find a way to maneuver without relying on her eyes.

Jesse would probably find a way to maneuver without relying on his eyes.

Jesse kinda looked like a girl sometimes. More like not like a boy.

She wondered, if Jesse was a girl, if that would make her a lesbian.

She slammed her skull against the ground. Her hand curled into a fist and started hitting her head over and over. Yoshi was probably dead and she was thinking about gay people.

***

Fuyu and Etsuko stood outside the white house and held hands. It had been at least ten years since they had last done that. Fuyu shook his hand loose and winced.

“Let’s not do that again. We’re way too old for that kinda stuff”

“Agreed”

They both stepped onto the porch.

It was a quaint house, right out of a movie. On the porch, there was a wooden swing with weathered chains and a faded blue cushion. Someone had left a pair of gardening gloves next to the “welcome” mat. The screen door was slightly ajar, as the latch was broken. Not much could be seen through the small door window.

The floorboards squeaked as they walked up to the front door. Etsuko peered inside.

“Looks like all the lights are off. Got the gun?”

Fuyu nodded and pulled out a shotgun. He pointed it at the overhang and pulled the trigger. The recoil nearly knocked him over.

“Hey, hey. Now we can see the sky”

Fuyu looked up. She was right. The sky was completely clear. He also noticed it was a lot warmer than it should be for winter.

“Okay, now shoot the front door open”

He reloaded the shotgun slowly, nearly pinching his fingers in the process.

The door exploded into pieces. Estuko cleared away the rubble with her foot, making sure not to step over into the house. They both looked inside.

Immediately in front of them was an open door with steps leading down to a cellar. To the right was a small dining room and kitchen. Even though it was dark, they could tell everything was painted black, white, or gray. A small analog clock was the only working electronic device they could see, and it displayed the wrong time.

“This is how it’s gonna work. You hold onto my hand, and I’ll put my foot through the door. If anything weird happens, pull me out, okay?”

Fuyu nodded, as Etsuko stepped through the doorway.