Chapter 141: Disaster Sleepover
Today was the last day of October, and instead of pumpkin lanterns or trick-or-treaters, Tokyo got a monster typhoon.
The morning news had said in cheerful tones: “Stay indoors if possible! The winds will be dangerous! Please avoid unnecessary travel.”
Schools were immediately canceled—including Rin’s—but we, the so-called “responsible adults” of society, still had to show up for our shifts.
That’s the life of a worker. Salaryman, restaurant crew, whatever you call us. Even if the world fell into apocalypse, Tokyo’s workforce would still clock in on time.
Our motto: work until death, or worse—until the train stops running.
By the evening, the trains had stopped. The rain hadn’t let up since morning, the wind was howling like a hundred wolves, and flooding was already sweeping into the lower streets.
Finally, through Keiko, our boss gave the order:
“Close early. Everyone, go home safe.”
Go home? I stared at the water rising outside the glass. I sighed. “How are we supposed to go home? The whole city’s drowning.”
Keiko stood next to me, her face pale. “We’re stuck here…”
Meanwhile, Aki and Miko had already decided to embrace death. They were holding up their phones, filming dramatic “farewell messages” like it was the end of the world.
“Goodbye everyone,” Aki cried into her camera. “I want to thank my parents, my friends, and my dog Maru for supporting me in life…”
“And my precious collection of gacha figures!” Miko wailed. “Please bury them with me when you find my body!”
They even hugged each other and fake-sobbed like two bad actresses on a soap opera.
I sighed so hard it hurt. “You two are unbelievable…”
Suzuka, of course, was spared—she’d managed to get the day off. Lucky devil.
Just then, the lights flickered and cut off completely. The restaurant plunged into pitch-black darkness, and the storm’s roar outside sounded twice as menacing.
Keiko’s face immediately tightened. “Check on Rin,” I whispered to her. She nodded and hurriedly sent a message.
Meanwhile, I rushed to the front entrance. The glass doors rattled against the wind, and I panicked they might shatter. I grabbed the handle and yanked down the rolling shutter. Instantly, rainwater and gusts blasted me, drenching me from head to toe in seconds.
When I staggered back inside, soaked, Keiko’s eyes widened. “What are you doing out there?! Are you crazy?”
I pointed at the shutter I’d just pulled down. “Protecting the glass.”
Her expression softened, but worry lingered. “Honestly… you’ll catch a cold like that. Change your clothes.”
I nodded sheepishly and trudged to the staff room.
---
Half an hour later, the rain weakened. Another thirty minutes after that, it stopped completely. The wind calmed too, but the flood didn’t recede. Tokyo’s streets were still rivers, and the trains across the city remained dead.
“We’ll have to sleep here,” Keiko announced.
“Vacation sleepover!” Aki and Miko cheered like idiots, clapping and dancing around.
Keiko smacked the back of their heads. “Idiots! People are suffering outside, and you’re acting like this is fun?!”
I smirked. “They don’t get it. Disaster makes them happy. They’re like cockroaches.”
The two of them froze, looked at me, then pouted dramatically. “Rude…”
Keiko rolled her eyes and returned to her phone, updating Rin. “She says she’s fine. No flood, no blackout at home.”
I exhaled in relief. “Good.”
Still, the thought of Rin home alone made me restless.
Meanwhile, Aki and Miko decided to turn the situation into a carnival. They dragged tables together, stacked cushions, and declared: “This is the fortress of survival!”
Then they managed to knock over a tray of utensils in the process. Forks and spoons clattered all over the floor.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “This is hell.”
---
By nightfall, Keiko had tried calling the old man at the bar to say I couldn’t make it, but there was no reply. My gut twisted with unease, but we couldn’t do anything.
I declared to everyone: “I’m claiming the sofa bed in the staff room. Anyone who tries to take it from me will die.”
“Eh?! No fair!” Miko protested.
“Democracy! Let’s vote!” Aki shouted.
I glared at them. “Dictatorship. My rules. I win.”
And with that, I slammed the staff room door in their faces, ignoring their whining.
---
The staff room was quiet. I lay down on the sofa bed, hoping for a little sleep. But I hadn’t closed the door fully—afraid the room would get too stuffy without electricity.
That’s when it opened.
I sat up, alert. My eyes widened.
Keiko walked in, half undressed, clearly about to change.
My breath hitched. My brain shut down. Should I say something? Pretend to sleep? Play dead?
Before I could decide, Keiko spotted me. Her eyes widened, then narrowed. She marched over, grabbed my cheek, and pinched hard.
“Ouch!” I yelped.
“How dare you?! What if it had been Aki or Miko walking in?!” she scolded, her voice soft but full of reproach.
“I—I was trying to sleep!” I flailed. “I didn’t see anything, I swear!”
Smack! Her hand hit the top of my head.
I groaned. “Ow… sorry…”
She exhaled, her anger cooling, and finally admitted, “I should’ve checked too…”
In the end, I gave her the sofa bed as an apology and resigned myself to the cold, hard floor.
---
Out in the main hall, the chaos continued.
Miko and Aki had set up candles and were telling ghost stories. Unfortunately, they had no sense of subtlety.
“…and then the girl looked in the mirror—AND HER FACE WAS GONE!”
They screamed so loud the whole building shook.
Keiko stormed out of the staff room, hair disheveled, eyes blazing. “IF YOU TWO DON’T SHUT UP, I’LL DROWN YOU IN THE FLOOD OUTSIDE!”
Silence. Absolute silence.
Then a whisper: “…scary…”
I lay on the floor, chuckling into my arm. Somehow, even during a disaster, life with these idiots was never dull.
---
That night, the four of us were stuck together—two idiots, one furious Keiko, and me trying not to lose my sanity.
But when the storm had passed, and the city went quiet except for the dripping water outside, I couldn’t help smiling.
Even during the worst of it, even when we were trapped, somehow being together made it all bearable.
Maybe it was just the typhoon… or maybe it was Keiko’s soft breathing as she finally fell asleep on the sofa above me.
Either way, October ended with chaos—and a little warmth too.