Chapter Text
11/25, Friday
Tae’s life had certainly become… busy as of late… She’d nearly had a heart attack when Sakura had shown up with a half-dead Amamiya just a few days ago, and ever since? She’d been in a damn near panic trying to fix the poor thing up. She couldn’t help but frown to herself as she looked over the girl’s chart once again while she sat in her otherwise empty clinic… The girl had several broken ribs, a broken nose, a near-broken leg and bruising over at least seventy to eighty percent of her body… It was appalling that the police had done that to her, and that wasn’t even counting the drugging that had made medicating the girl during those first few days even more difficult and strenuous… For as worried as she was though? She was at least glad to see that Amamiya was properly listening to her instructions and remaining firmly on bed rest, regardless of whatever ‘mission’ her and her friends had to work on.
She sank into her rolling chair with a huff, having closed the clinic a bit early this evening due to her genuine exhaustion. As exhausted as she was though? She felt a bit of a smirk pull on her lips as she pulled up her phone to message a certain teacher she’d been meaning to talk to.
DM:Kawakami
Tae: Sorry for not getting back to you sooner, I’ve been a bit busy over the last week
Kawakami: Oh that’s not a problem. I actually just heard a bit about what happened myself…
Tae: 1 of the kids told you?
Kawakami: Not very many details, but yes, Mishima-kun informed me that Amamiya-san is alive and resting.
Tae: She is
Tae: And so long as she listens to what I say? She’ll make it through this ok
Kawakami: That’s a relief
Tae: Yeah
Tae: But putting that aside, and I know this may come across as a bit blunt, but I desperately need a drink after the week I’ve had
Tae: Think you’d fancy going to a bar?
Kawakami: Right now?
Tae: Only if you want to, no pressure
Kawakami: No no, I’d love to! Where are we going?
Tae smirked to herself at the sight of just how excited the other woman was, not that she was much better though, as she got out of her seat with a lot more energy than she had just a few minutes ago while sending Kawakami the address for the bar in question. She felt a little ridiculous being so invigorated by the simple prospect of getting some drinks together, but she figured that it’d been far too long since she last had a good drink anyway, so she may as well enjoy this…
—
Tae swirled her drink in her hand for a moment, watching the ice spin around in the brownish liquid while she awaited the other woman’s arrival. It’d perhaps been a bit too long since the last time she had a little date like this, as she’d gotten changed out of her doctor’s coat and sped to the Crossroads rather quickly after sending the teacher the address. Before her thoughts could linger on that bit of pitifulness though?
“It’s certainly been awhile, hasn’t it Tae?” Lala-chan asked in that familiar, friendly voice, “For awhile there I was worried you’d found yourself a new bar to go to and left little old me behind”
That got a slight laugh out of her before she took another sip of her drink and smirked back at the taller woman, “I wouldn’t dream of it”
“Sweet as always,” the bartender laughed, “Well then, if you don’t mind me being a little nosy, what’s the occasion?” she asked, laughing even more heartily when Tae gave her a confused look in response to that, “You’ve been staring at the door every couple minutes like a lost puppy, so clearly you’re waiting for someone dear”
“Tsk, well I suppose you’re not wrong there,” she huffed out, as confused as ever at the way Lala-chan could read her like a book, “Been awhile since I last had a date is all, been too busy lately for it, so I guess I’m a bit antsy”
“Is that so? Hm, that actually does remind me… I’ve heard that your clinic is finally getting the recognition it deserves, right?” the larger woman stated in an almost proud sort of voice
“More that the negative rumors have been dispelled,” she dryly answered, idly tapping her nails on the counter as she spoke
“Heh, always gotta downplay it, huh?” before she could even address that allegation though? Lala-chan quickly moved on to her clearly far greater interest, “So then, who’s the lucky person you’re waiting for?”
“Just a teacher I’ve been getting to know lately,” she casually answered with a shrug, once again looking down at her drink as she swirled it a few times
“A teacher?” the other woman laughed, “I certainly didn’t expect that one, here I thought you were going to bring in a cute nurse”
“Please, you think I want to get into arguments about how to handle patients while on a date?” she scoffed at the thought, “Besides, you know no one in the medical world respects me, even with my name being cleared”
That brought a frown to the bartender’s face for the first time that evening, but before she could respond to that? The door to the bar gently swung open, and in walked Kawakami…
“Sorry I’m late,” the woman offered with an awkward little laugh as she slid onto a stool at her side, wearing her usual yellow striped shirt and jean skirt, only with a brown jacket over it now due to how cold it was outside, “I got a little lost trying to find the place”
“You’re not really late anyway,” she casually offered back with a shrug and a small grin, “I’m just glad you could make it”
“Well hello there, and welcome to my chateau,” Lala-chan greeted the woman with that familiar customer service smile, “Can I get you something to drink before I leave you and Tae-chan to talk?”
The teacher ordered a drink, a notably more fruity and sweet sort of drink compared to Tae’s more smoky and harsh drink of choice. Fortunately the bartender was also true to her word, giving the teacher her drink before she walked away to give them some space, even if Tae knew that she was going to pester her for details about it later, as she usually did…
—
“You wouldn’t believe just how tedious it can get sometimes, but I’ve been really trying my best to not fall into that rut again, I owe my students that much,” Kawakami continued on in her impassioned rant about her job
Things were going good, fortunately after all the time they’d spent talking to one another at Leblanc? It was pretty easy to slip past that slight initial awkwardness of a new location and situation, which let them talk amongst themselves without much of an issue in the slightest.
She giggled a bit, getting a curious look in response from the other woman who cocked a brow at her.
“Oh it’s nothing, I was just thinking that it’s rather admirable, and a bit adorable, that you care so much about your students,” she watched with a smirk as the other woman’s face lit up like a roaring fire, turning her entire face bright red, the sight of which just made her giggle as she took another sip of her drink, “You don’t have much experience with this sort of thing, do you?”
“I-I… I can’t say that I do, I suppose…” Kawakami looked away, quickly taking a sip of her own drink in a futile effort to calm her blushing down
“Hmm~ well, no worries there, I’d be more than happy to teach you for a change, sensei~” she drew her words out, speaking in that lower, sultrier tone that she knew all too well had a powerful effect on her dates
Just as she expected? The poor flustered woman immediately choked on her drink, coughing a few times in another futile effort to cover it up before looking completely mortified when she looked back at her again, “Y-you’re… certainly rather forward, Takemi-san”
“Please, just call me Tae, no need for honorifics either,” she quickly corrected, “Of course, only if you don’t mind, Sadayo”
She nearly looked like she’d completely stopped processing words for a few moments in response to that, and at first she thought she’d pushed the poor woman too far, but thankfully she recovered rather quickly, “That’s not a problem at all, T… Tae”
Perhaps it was a bit much of her to be that forward, but it was hard to help herself when this beautiful woman before her was blushing like a shy schoolgirl, so she couldn't exactly blame herself too much.
“Good, now, as for being forward? What can I say,” she shrugged and downed the last bit of her drink before smirking at the flustered mess of a woman, “I’m a woman who knows what I want, so I don’t see much of a point in beating around the bush”
“I… I see…” Sadayo averted her gaze from her, face still completely lit up bright red, a trait that Tae suspected would likely be in place for quite some time to come, a fact that made the pleased smirk on her face grow even wider…
12/7, Wednesday
As the days went on and on? Tae found herself increasingly grateful for Sadayo’s company. It was rare for her to feel so comfortable around another person, even her prior romantic relationships hadn’t given her that sense of ease and comfort that Sadayo’s presence did. Although, she supposed on some level, that did come with it’s own drawbacks… Drawbacks in the form of vulnerability…
“It’s all water under the bridge now,” she sighed, swirling another drink in her hand, having gone with Sadayo to the Crossroads once again
“But the fact that they would do that to you, and to not even apologize after your name is cleared?!” the teacher huffed, absolutely enraged by the story of how Tae had become known as ‘The Plague’, “It’s completely outrageous!”
“It comes with the territory,” she shrugged, grimacing at the thought of many of her prior colleagues, “You’d think that people smart enough to graduate med school would be considerate enough to mind their own business, but alas… Although, I suppose a number of other factors certainly weren’t helping my case”
“Other factors?” Sadayo cocked a brow at her, “What do you mean?”
“Well, the fact that my clinic is in a shady alleyway for one,” she started with a sigh, “Then there’s my… preferences… it’s not exactly seen as respectable for a doctor to be openly pansexual”
The other woman grimaced at that, obviously understanding her pain in that regard very well, being a queer teacher and all… And looking back? That was probably what spurred Tae on to say what she said next…
“There’s also the matter of my health. You’d be surprised by how many of my colleagues saw me as nothing more than a pitiable patient rather than a peer,” she hissed, only fully realizing what she’d just said a moment after, when it was too late to take back
“Your health?” Sadayo questioned, concern now filling her expression more than any other emotion
A part of her wanted to backtrack, or to excuse it away with some little white lie, but after all the good times she’d had with Sadayo over the last several weeks? She very much didn’t want to ruin things… So after she downed another swig of her drink? She turned slightly in her seat to face the teacher, frown clear across her face.
“I was very sickly when I was a child… I had to go in and out of the hospital on a regular basis because they could never quite figure out what was wrong with me,” she scoffed at the old memories, at how quickly she would have been able to identify her illness, “I have a rare genetic disorder, and because it wasn’t properly identified until I was a teenager? I was still rather sickly at the start of med school”
“And your colleagues treated you poorly for that?” the teacher questioned, to which she shook her head with a sigh
“Oh no, they didn’t treat me ‘poorly’ per say… They all just started to treat me like I was their ticket to proving themselves. After all, if they could correctly diagnose the sick girl in their class then surely they’ll pass med school with ease, right?” she grimaced slightly, “The constant pestering was almost worse in my eyes. They didn’t respect me, they just saw me as some pitiful little child that needed their help to survive, even though I was the top of our class”
“I see…” the other woman muttered, partially to herself
“It’s ok though,” a slight smile pulled on her lips, “I showed them when I graduated with high enough marks to instantly earn a roll at the laboratory I used to work at”
Sadayo laughed a bit along with her, though she could clearly see the slight bits of concern and possible pity that were still lingering in the woman’s eyes…
“You don’t need to worry about me,” she firmly stated, “My condition is well under control”
“Oh, I don’t doubt that at all,” Sadayo instantly explained, “I just feel a bit bad that you were treated that way in the first place… I know a thing or two about being looked down on…”
That admittedly caught her a bit offguard… Over the years? Tae had become accustomed to being pitied, borderline infantilized, for having her genetic disorder. It’d ground her down enough to feel nothing but pure annoyance when others treated her like she was less capable than others, like she wasn’t a fully capable adult. But seemingly? Sadayo had moved right past that… Her only concern being empathy and understanding for being looked down on… It had absolutely baffled her, and she knew it was showing loud and clear on her face…
“Are you alright?” she snapped back to to the present when she heard her voice
“Oh, yes, of course,” she answered as smoothly as possible, and thankfully? Sadayo seemed content enough to leave it at that
Things fortunately slid back to normal after that, or at least, as normal as they could be with Tae’s mind still somewhat lost in her slight confusion over the other woman’s reaction to her past.
As confusing as it was though? It was beyond relieving to know that Sadayo didn’t look down on her, didn’t pity her, didn’t see her as less just because of her condition. And it was at that moment that Tae knew she wanted to be serious about her relationship with the other woman…
12/10, Saturday
“I’m surprised to see you coming here so often,” the bartender laughed heartily as she placed a drink in front of her, “Your little gal pal coming tonight as well?”
“Not tonight,” she sighed, downing about half of her drink in one go
“Oh?” Lala-chan gave her a concerned look, immediately sensing the bit of melancholy that had to be radiating off of her, “Something happen? I thought you two were getting along swimmingly”
“Oh we are, but that’s the problem, isn’t it?” she huffed out a slight laugh, “I’ve only gone out with her a few times now, but…”
“You’re thinking about making it serious?” the bartender guessed, getting a sigh and a nod from her in response, “And what’s wrong with that?”
She frowned at the larger woman, resting her chin in her hand against the counter, “I don’t want to come across as desperate. I mean, we’ve only really known each other for a few months now”
“Heh, and here I thought a woman of your confidence wouldn’t have any issues at all with going after what she wants,” Lala-chan grinned at her, earning her a scowl in response, to which the large woman rolled her eyes and fully turned to face her, taking on a more serious tone of voice, “Tae, what do you have to lose? You’re both grown women, there’s no need to act like this is a schoolyard crush. Besides, wasn't it you that said there was no point in beating around the bush?”
She blinked at the bartender, her frown turning just a bit more familiar, “So you were listening in”
“One must hear everything spoken in her chateau, darling,” Lala-chan laughed, “Or are you saying that you don’t listen to everything that goes on in that clinic of your’s?”
As much as she didn’t want to admit it? She had her there…
“Thought so,” the bartender smiled at her again, a warmer and more friendly sort of smile, “So just take your own advice. Don’t beat around the bush and just talk to her, ok?”
“I’m surprised that you’re taking this so seriously,” she sighed, finishing off her drink with one last sip
“Well, it’s been quite some time since I’ve seen you stress out over anyone like this, so it seems pretty obvious that you’ve fallen hard for Kawakami-chan,” Lala-chan shrugged, smirking a bit as she made her next remark, “And it’s also rather obvious that she’s completely head-over-heels for you as well”
Tae tried and failed to deny just how good that remark made her feel… And so, before too long? She paid for her drink and went back home… Preparing herself mentally for what she was going to do in the coming days…
12/14, Wednesday
Tae locked up her clinic a bit early that night, a bit thankful for the early winter chill as she slipped on her black leather jacket. The chill helped to ground her slightly worrying mind as she proceeded on her commute back to her home. Her apartment was thankfully relatively close to her clinic, only a single stop away by train or a short drive by car, depending on which mode of transport she’d taken each morning. She opened the door and shrugged off her jacket, hanging it up on the small hook by the door before proceeding inside to make sure that everything was spotless and clean, not that she had to do much additional cleaning though thankfully. And once she was sure that her home was spotless? She went about cooking dinner while she awaited the arrival of the woman who would hopefully say yes to being her girlfriend at the end of the night…
—
By the time Sadayo had arrived, the meal was just about done cooking. Her favorite little teacher seemed to be a bit nervous at first as well, being just a bit fidgety as Tae served up their food. Of course, even with how nervous she seemed to be at first? It didn’t take all that long before they’d both slid into a comfortable, casual conversation. It wasn’t really all that different from their little dates at the Crossroads, they were just in her apartment instead.
She admittedly also felt relieved that Sadayo seemed to enjoy her cooking, or could at least stomach it enough to finish the meal to be polite if she didn’t enjoy it, and once they were both done eating? They’d migrated over to the small, cozy living room of her apartment, sitting next to one another on her couch while they watched some movie Tae had seen a thousand times.
While Sadayo was absorbed in the movie? She’d spent more than a bit of time trying to think of how to bring up what she wanted to ask, when to her surprise? At one point or another during the movie? The screen suddenly cut out… And the image of a grinning cat-like logo popped up on screen as digitally distorted voices began to speak through the speakers…
“What the?” the woman at her side muttered, brows furrowed at the sight
Tae could have sworn she recognized the voices, even with how distorted they were…
“But we’re here to tell you all the truth! So please, let us borrow your time!” a voice on the TV spoke in a light and bubbly tone
“Takamaki-san?” Sadayo instantly whispered to herself with a gasp
“Sounds like it,” she couldn’t help but giggle a bit at the sight as the logo ping-ponged all across the screen
“O-Oh! Uh, I mean!” the teacher instantly tried to cover up for her slip up, to which she just laughed even more and gave the other woman a confident smile
“It’s fine, I assume you know what those kids are doing?” she asked, getting a nod after a moment of hesitation in response, “That makes sense, now I see why Sakura-san asked for both of our help in getting custody over my little Guinea Pig…”
“I… don’t know much about what they actually do though, but… they helped me get out of a horrible situation,” Sadayo grimaced at what must have been a painful memory, gaze turned down towards the floor for a moment, “Which is how I learned their identities…”
“They did the same for me… Remember that man I told you about? Oyamada?” her smile widened just a bit after the teacher looked back at her and nodded, “They were the reason why he finally accepted responsibility for his actions”
Sadayo looked a bit wide eyed for a moment before she sighed out of exasperation, “Amamiya-san is always butting into other people’s lives, huh? Geez… That girl really is gonna be the death of me”
She fully laughed at that, “Join the club, I’ve been the one dressing all of their wounds over this last year”
The other woman smiled gently back at her, “Well, I’m glad that they’re in good hands then”
“We ain’t gonna sit back and watch some crook wreck this country just cause of his GODDAMN ego!” The yelling brought both of their attention back to the screen as the picture on the screen shrunk away to nothing, showing a more zoomed-in look on two of the Phantom Thieves in particular… The boy who was speaking had slung his arm around a shorter girl’s shoulders, ”Ain’t that right… Leader?”
Amamiya stepped forward, revealing her mask-covered face but exposing her bright, powerful silver eyes, “Yes, before that happens, we will take this country!”
“What?!” the teacher suddenly yelled, admittedly catching her a bit offguard, “She didn’t even distort her own voice?! And she showed the whole world what she looks like! Why does she keep taking stupid, unnecessary risks like that?!”
She blinked a few times at the other woman before a giggle was practically pulled out of her, a giggle that became a full on bout of laughter that served to confuse and embarrass Sadayo in equal measure.
“S-sorry, I shouldn’t have yelled like that,” she instantly and sheepishly tried to excuse herself, but Tae quickly shook her head
“Don’t apologize for caring,” she stopped laughing, looking right into Sadayo’s eyes as the screen flickered to a ‘signal interruption’ screen when the Calling Card came to an end, “And if my little Guinea Pig can call out Masayoshi Shido in front of the entire world? Then there’s no reason why I can’t do this”
She gently but quickly reached over, taking the other woman’s hand in her own, containing the urge to snicker when Sadayo’s face suddenly flared up in a blush from that simple action alone.
“Sadayo? It’s been absolutely wonderful getting to know you these last few weeks, and so I was wondering, if you’d perhaps like to make it a bit more official,” fortunately, despite whatever nerves or anxieties she had over the last week? Tae’s voice came out as completely smooth and confident, not showing even a single shred of that worry
The other woman’s eyes widened significantly at that, and Tae was quite certain that she’d never seen a grown woman blush as intensely as Sadayo was blushing in that moment. She didn’t rush her though, even when upwards of thirty seconds passed without an answer, and thankfully, before she had to wait too much longer?
“I’d love to!” Sadayo practically yelped out, as if she’d only just realized that she hadn’t answered her
And to Tae’s further surprise? Before she could even respond to what she’d said? Sadayo suddenly shot forward, claiming her lips in a kiss that told her everything she needed to hear…