#haikami

[aggressivehasana]

Starry Night

Fandom: Aggretsuko/Aggressive Retsuko

Characters: Haida, Retsuko, Fenneko, Ookami, Tsunoda, Ton, Resasuke

Relationship: Haida/Ookami

Summary: AU where Retsuko didn’t break up with Resasuke and Haida is dealing with that.

Warnings: None

- - -

CHAPTER 13

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Words: 2,719

Betaed by: @pomp-adourable

A/N: Hello again guys :3! I'm thinking about uploading one chapter monthly, somewhere around the 25th of each month (could be a bit earlier, could be a bit later like this time, depending on external circumstances). Thank you all so much for the interest you keep in this fic! <3 It keeps me going ;u;

After 5 years of working as an accountant, doing math was nearly as easy as breathing. It didn’t require as much concentration as it did in the beginning, allowing him to think about other things while working. Usually those things were music, playing his bass when he’d get home, eavesdropping at the conversations Fenneko and Retsuko would have, or simply lowkey paying attention to what his coworkers were saying or doing… But that day, he couldn’t stop thinking about Ookami. He couldn’t stop feeling guilty for the conversation they’d had only a couple of hours earlier. He made his coworker- no, his friend feel bad, jabbing into him the one thing Ookami had told him he hated. He didn’t mean to do it on purpose… it’d just slipped his mind that he wasn’t supposed to have that conversation with him at all. But now, he couldn’t think of a way to fix things. What was he supposed to do? 

‘Just talk to him,’ his mind would tell him. ‘Explain to him everything, explain what Fenneko said, that you intended to ask if it was true or not, but then decided to not do it.” 

But what if he asks ‘Why?’

‘Because I know you don’t want to be in a relationship.’ Would that be a proper response? 

‘Do you mean that… you want to be in a relationship with me?’ the Ookami in his head asked, making his heart jump. 

‘N-No! I just…’ he tried to explain to the figment of his imagination, but even physically, a lump formed in his throat. 

What did he want? 

He raised his eyes, knowing that Retsuko was still there, just behind the screen of his computer. And she was smiling. That sweet smile she’d had since she started dating the sales guy. 

That smile wasn’t for him… Why did he still care about her so much? 

He sighed and shook his head, taking a moment to rub his eyes. 

‘How do you feel about him?’ Fenneko’s question from the other day resounded in his head.

“I don’t know…” 

“I’m sorry?” The anteater next to him asked, startling him. Shit, did he say that out loud?

“Ah, nothing! I just- I was talking to myself. I think I got a few numbers wrong,” he made up an excuse, chuckling in embarrassment. 

“Hm. You might wanna check that. You don’t want Ton to be upset,” the anteater responded indifferently just before turning his attention back to his computer. 

“Yes, you’re right. Thank you, Arihiko,” Haida said and he exhaled softly through the mouth, lowering his eyes to his fingers resting on the keys of his keyboard. 

… How did he feel about Ookami? Did that even matter? Even if he was remotely interested in the younger male as something more than a friend, Ookami didn’t want to date anyone. That’s all there was to it. Besides, he’d never felt that way about another male before… How could he know his feelings were genuine, and not just trying to fill in the hole that losing Retsuko had left him? 

It was ridiculous. It was so stupid. He was so stupid. He wished Fenneko had never told him about Ookami’s possible feelings. 

He just wanted a friend. Yeah, that’s all he really needed. Just a friend that would help him get distracted, that would help him not think about Retsuko and her monthly celebrations with her little boyfriend anymore. He needed to stop thinking about all the nonsense Fennko implied, and focus on bonding with Ookami more. As a friend. Because come to think of it, he didn’t really know Ookami too well outside of work. What kind of music did he like? What kind of movies did he like? What were his hobbies?... He could focus more on that. Maybe asking Ookami to hang out more often; go to a bar to grab a single drink -wouldn’t want to over do it like that other night- or just go to each other’s houses... Yeah, that would be nice, wouldn’t it?

… If only Ookami wasn’t upset with him. 

Sigh. Well, he would apologize then. 

How about coming up with a lie? 

‘Well, as a matter of fact, Fenneko told me that you, uh… were into some weird fetishes!’ He practiced the conversation in his head, not being able to fight back a little laugh. ‘And that’s fine, I mean, whether that’s true or not, that’s your business. You’re still an awesome friend.’ 

He couldn’t help laughing some more. Yeah, that could work. If Ookami were to ask which fetishes were they, well, he could just mention some of his own, and if Ookami said it was true, then they’d have something new to bond over. Haha, it was perfect! 

Feeling a little more confident in being able to solve things, he peeked over his right shoulder at his young coworker, finding him a little hunched over as he was writing down something in a notebook. His screen had gone black, and he could see the reflection of his concentrated face on it. He couldn’t help smiling. 

‘I’ll talk to him during lunch break,’  he decided. ‘I’ll get him that soda and we’ll laugh about Fenneko’s made-up rumor. Then I’ll ask him to hang out after work… and everything will be fine.’ 

After a couple of seconds, Ookami raised his head and seemed to notice his superior’s gaze through the reflection of his screen, for he looked up at him the same way first, and then turned properly to face him. It made Haida’s heart jump, but he offered him a wider smile as he exchanged looks with him for a little longer.  

‘Everything will be ok,’ he repeated in his head, and didn’t wait for a reaction from the younger male before turning his attention back to his computer and nodding to himself. 

Alright, he had work to do and he needed to hurry if he wanted to leave work early. They had a fun evening ahead. 

‘Work fast, Ookami,’  he mentally told him, and immediately went back to checking and organizing the numbers displayed on his screen.

20 minutes later, Fenneko’s voice distracted his attention from the retaken work.

“Ugh…” she whimpered softly. “This crap is just never ending.”

Heh, damn right. And if he wanted his crap to be done soon, he needed to focus. 

 “I’ll get some coffee,” he heard her say as he raised his eyes to watch her stand up and pause for a moment to turn to the red panda. “Do you want anything, Retsuko?” 

Coffee. Yes, that sounded good. Even thinking about the strong hot beverage made his mouth water. 

“Mmh, no, I’m good,” was the red panda’s response, and he was about to tell Fenneko that he did want coffee, when the small fennec fox simply turned away, mumbling ‘Alright’ before making her way out of the Accounting Department. 

Oh… Jeez, would’ve been nice if she’d asked him if he wanted anything. He could say it was understandable, since Retsuko was right next to her and he was in front of her desk, it was easier to just get something for the red panda, but… Dang it, now he really wanted coffee… 

He shook his head. No, no, no, no, there was no time for that. He needed to finish these Excel pages before lunch break, then he could have all the coffee his heart desired. But right then, he needed to focus; not think about anything else, not even the sound of a chair rolling behind him, not even the orange figure cruising out of the corner of his eye, that made him look up only in time to see Ookami leaving the Accounting Department... 

… And suddenly he was paralyzed. 

His mind immediately started racing, formulating a theory that made his blood run cold in his veins as he asked himself ‘Is he going after Fenneko?’

Shit… Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! 

Oh no. Oh no, what could he do? He couldn’t let Fenneko tell him the truth, that would ruin everything! Would it be weird if he stood up and just bolted after them? Should he do that?

‘Ok, no, chill, chill, chill…’ he told himself mentally, taking a sharp deep breath. ‘Maybe you’re getting everything wrong. Maybe he just needed to go to the bathroom… exactly at the same frikkin’ time...’

No. No, that was stupid. It couldn’t be that big of a coincidence. 

‘Fenneko has never been good at giving direct answers,’ he tried to convince himself then. ‘If he asks… hell, she probably wouldn’t even tell him the truth… Maybe she’d evade the topic. She’d probably play fool. Yeah, she’d do that!’

Except… she wouldn’t, and he knew she wouldn’t.

Fuck. No. No, he couldn’t just sit there and hope for the best. He needed to intervene. So as casually as possible he rolled his chair back and stood up, taking a moment to stretch and try to pretend he wasn’t in a hurry, even if his heart was pounding in his chest. Then he slipped his hands in the pockets of his pants and walked to the entrance, feeling his legs begging him to run as he was getting closer, so once he turned around the corner and out of the sight of his boss and his coworkers, he broke into a sprint towards the tea room, the heels of his polished shoes resounding in the empty halls. He was going so fast that the moment he heard Ookami’s voice when he was about to reach said room, he almost couldn’t stop himself, nearly tripping over his own feet.

“But, wha- Why would you tell him that?!”  He heard the younger male practically yell, and panting as quietly as possible, he pressed himself against the wall, perking his round ears to listen to the conversation. 

He was late... Shit! 

“Was it a lie?” Fenneko’s voice responded calmly, nonchalantly. 

“Ah- Yes! Well… no, but...” was Ookami’s short response, then there was a brief moment of silence only broken by the tinkling of a metal spoon against a mug. 

“It’s alright, no one is blaming you, Ookami. He can be adorkable sometimes,” his little friend responded, receiving no answer from the maned wolf for a few seconds. There was the subtle sound of slurping, and then Fenneko’s voice spoke again. “Why don’t you tell him?” 

“Why would I do that? He’s in love with Retsuko-Senpai,” Ookami mumbled so quietly he almost didn’t hear him over the sound of his own breathing. “Besides, you already told him, and- Actually, no! I don’t even feel that way about him!”

A low scoff, probably coming from Fenneko. 

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that,” she said in a mocking tone, tinkling the metal spoon around the mug some more. “Listen. Whatever reason you have for not wanting to be in a relationship-” 

“How did you-?”

“-is it really worth losing a chance to be with Haida? He said he was considering giving one of his fanboys a chance. You could be the lucky winner.” 

Another long pause. Haida could feel his heart in his throat. What was Fenneko doing? 

“He’s a good guy,” she spoke again. “Kind of an idiot sometimes, but he’s well intended. If I were you, I would stop pretending that I don’t have feelings for him and try to see if there can be something between us. Who knows? Maybe you two could pull each other out of your misery.” 

Pull each other out…?

There was the sound of running water, and he guessed Fenneko was rinsing the spoon. 

“Think about it, Ookami,” she said, and just as he was starting to process everything he’d just heard, the small fennec fox appeared through the doorway, making him jump out of his skin. “Oh. Hey Haida!” she greeted him loudly before he could raise his hands to gesture her to be quiet, and she marched back to the Accounting Department with the cup of coffee in her hand. 

After her footsteps disappeared down the hall, everything became so… quiet. He was frozen in his place, his heart still beating at full speed for he knew, he knew, that Ookami was still in the tea room and that he had heard Fenneko greet him before leaving. 

Ookami knew he was there. 

What should he do? Should he walk back to the Accounting Department…? 

But he couldn’t just leave Ookami there, that would make it seem as if he’d gotten mad or was uncomfortable... No... No, he could just pretend he had just arrived. Yeah. Yeah, that was a good idea! 

Okay… 

He took a deep breath to calm his nerves, squared his shoulders, and walked out of his hiding spot behind the wall, finding Ookami standing still next to the sink with his back turned to the door. He felt a pressure on his chest.

“Hey Ookami!” He greeted him as calmly and cheerfully as possible. “I just, uh, I just came to grab some coffee. I overheard Fenneko say she was coming to get one and I was like ‘Oh, I want one too!’ but then she just turned away and came on her own and I was like ‘Jeez! You could’ve asked me if I wanted one because I totally would’ve said yes!’ You know what I’m saying?” He laughed and waited for Ookami to say something, but the maned was still completely imobile and silent, like a statue. “Do you, uh, do you want some coffee too? I could prepare one for the both of us.” 

“Did you hear our conversation?” The younger male finally asked, and Haida felt his heart leap to his throat. 

“Uh, no, uh, what? What conversation?” He replied. “I just arrived. I-I was arriving just as Fenneko was leaving. I didn’t hear anything,” he assured, shrugging and leaning against the stove. 

“It doesn’t matter, you know it anyway...” Ookami mumbled, mostly to himself. 

“I-I know what?”

But instead of giving an answer, Ookami turned to walk past him out the door. He didn’t have time to even process it, he just instinctively reached out and grabbed his coworker by the arm before he could get away. 

“Wait!” He exclaimed, and now that he had Ookami held in place, he knew he couldn’t keep playing dumb. 

It was time. It was time to speak out. 

“Ookami…” he started and took a deep breath to compose himself. “...Okay, yes. Yes, I heard everything and yes, I... I know…” 

Even though he softened his grip on his coworker’s arm, he kept holding him, approaching a little to keep the conversation in whispers between them. 

“But it’s ok, Ookami. I’m not mad or anything stupid like that,” he continued. “I’m sorry I didn’t have the guts to ask you about this earlier… but I was just trying to avoid making you uncomfortable. I didn’t want you to feel like I was stripping your feelings naked, in case that they were true…” 

Haida looked down as he unconsciously caressed the younger’s arm with his thumb. 

“Just know that… it’s alright. Okay? It doesn’t have to go anywhere from here. I know how you feel about the whole being in a relationship thing and I’d never… Honestly, I’m not sure if I’d want it either. I’ve never been with another male, and Retsuko… well, she’s still there. It’s still hard for me to stop thinking about her.” He chuckled softly and shook his head. “So, listen… I had a bit of time to think about this, and... how about we just stay as friends? I think it’s mostly what both of us need right now, a friend, and I’d love to get to know you a little better in that regard. I’d love to hang out with you more often outside of work. I really think we could actually be best buds… So what do you say? Should we just pretend all of this didn’t happen and continue being pals?”

Haida waited patiently for his reply, swallowing saliva as quietly as possible, but although it took him a couple of seconds, the maned wolf finally raised his eyes to him, looking considerably more calm.

“Yeah, I... I think I’d really like that,” Ookami said gently, even managing to smile a bit. “Thank you, Senpai.” 

[aggressivehasana]

Starry Night

Fandom: Aggretsuko/Aggressive Retsuko

Characters: Haida, Retsuko, Fenneko, Ookami, Tsunoda, Ton, Resasuke

Relationship: Haida/Ookami

Summary: AU where Retsuko didn’t break up with Resasuke and Haida is dealing with that.

Warnings: None

- - -

CHAPTER 12

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Words: 2,160

Betaed by: @pomp-adourable

A/N: Hey guys! I'm sorry for not updating in a long time, I've been jumping through fandoms like parkour lmfao, but I definitely intend to continue this fic. Just needed to be in the right mindset for it, and season 3 was definitely a boost. Anyway, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for your nice comments and for your interest in the story ;w;!! They keep me going <3 I hope y'all enjoy the new chapter and stay awesome, luv y'all! <3

“Ookami…”

Haida’s voice was soft, gentle, however he had to make a little pause to try to collect his thoughts, and generally, himself. He could feel his heart thumping in his chest, and he wondered if it’d be the same for the maned wolf. He knew about his feelings… not about the ones he might have for him, but about the ones he had for the idea of being in a relationship. So he wanted to say things as carefully as possible. He didn’t want to hurt him. 

“Fenneko told me something funny the other day…”

He stopped and shook his head. No, ‘funny’ wasn’t the right word to use.

“Fenneko told me something interesting the other day…”

Yeah, that was better.

“She pointed out that…or, I mean, implied… that you might have feelings for me…”

His heart rate increased, but he knew he couldn’t stop there or it would make his coworker uncomfortable.

“I-I just wanted to ask if it’s true! You can tell me! I won’t be mad or anything, n-nor I’ll force you onto something because I know you don’t want to be in a relationship! I-I mean…”

He stopped, wondering where would he even go with that? What difference would it make if he knew if Ookami’s feelings were true or not? Ookami didn’t want to date anyone, and himself… What did he want? Was he so starved for love that he was willing to feed off the feelings of his friend?

In the end he sighed and shook his head with a gentle smile, setting his gaze on the egg frying in the pan before him.

“I’m sorry, Ookami…” he mumbled to the maned wolf in his imagination before letting go of that picture. There was no use in practicing that conversation anymore. Besides, it was nearly 8 am and he needed to finish getting ready for work.  

He devoured his fried eggs and toasted bread quickly before leaving the dirty dishes in the sink and moving on to shrug on his blazer and put on his shoes. Weather was getting quite cold, but thankfully not enough for him to need to take another coat. Plus running to the subway station would always help to keep him warm. 

*** 

There hadn’t been anything unusual going on when he got to the building, neither when he took the elevator, but as soon as he turned the last corner towards the Accounting Department, there were two things that caught his attention: One, that the area seemed a lot noisier, with several voices exchanging dialogues with Retsuko’s voice; and two, that Ookami was standing outside the door, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. 

“Ookami?” escaped from his lips, feeling his heart thump in his chest just as his coworker turned his emerald eyes to him. But the maned wolf didn’t say anything right away, he just stood from the wall and walked fast towards him.

“Come with me, Senpai,” he mumbled as he grabbed his hand, and being harshly tugged, Haida had to hop a couple of times to regain balance and walk at the speed Ookami was walking. 

“Wh-What’s going on?” he asked nervously, but got no answer from the younger male, not until he shoved both of them in the Archive room and closed the door behind them. 

Ookami sighed, resting gently against the door and looking down to the floor with his ears slightly folded backwards. 

“I’m sorry, Senpai… Let’s just wait here until it’s nine o’clock and everyone’s gone back to their stations...”

Haida stared at Ookami for a bit, hoping the maned wolf would elaborate about the situation, but as silence stretched between them, curiosity got the best of him, especially for how affected his coworker looked.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, trying to not sound too worried. 

It took a few seconds for Ookami to reply, but when he did, his voice was gentle.

“Apparently it’s Restuko-Senpai’s 9th month with her boyfriend. She brought him to the Accounting Department to introduce him to everyone…” he paused for a breath. “...As soon as I saw him, I knew I couldn’t let you walk in to see him there. So I said I was going to get some coffee and, well… decided to wait for you to arrive, to take you away...”

Another pause, a little longer this time. Ookami gave his coworker a moment to absorb and process the information given, and Haida lowered his eyes to the floor.

Was that so...? 

Right, it was the 25th of October. He knew that, he changed the date in his kitchen calendar as he would every morning, but for some reason, that day it didn’t sink in. For the past 9 months, he had been dreading to see the numbers two and five appear together in that small, squared piece of paper. However, for the first time since then, he just… ignored it.

“I see…” was his mindless response, only to let the maned wolf know he was now aware of the situation.

“I’m sorry,” Ookami said with a hint of sadness in his voice, and Haida raised his eyes to him.

“You don’t gotta apologize, Ookami!” He tried to laugh it off, offering him a gentle smile. “It is what it is. If anything, I’m grateful that you…” he stopped for a bit. He knew what he was going to say, but the words in his head were making his heart speed again, a light blush tinting his cheeks. “I’m grateful that you keep looking out for me,” he concluded.

At least he wasn’t the only one blushing now; he could see some color spreading over the younger‘s cheeks, and he looked sheepish.

“Y-Yes, well…” this one started, giving himself a moment to collect himself, as he straightened his back and looked up to the ceiling while shrugging, trying to play it off as something insignificant. “You’re my friend. I want you to be ok.” 

Haida laughed softly and slowly approached to lay against the door, next to him, leaving his briefcase on the floor while watching out for any sign of rejection from the younger male, like scooting away or giving him an odd look, but there was none; the maned wolf just remained in his place, keeping his eyes above and swinging his tail every now and then. He couldn’t help smiling. It was so weird to think that they had bonded over that mess of a situation, but if something good had come out of it, it was this… This… relationship he now had with Ookami. He wasn’t dismissing Fenneko, of course, Fenneko was irreplaceable, but Ookami had a way to make him feel special. Like he really enjoyed his company, like he really cared about him. And he couldn’t lie, it was nice. It was nice to hang out with someone that wouldn’t be tapping at their phone the whole time, or… give him vague answers, like trying to avoid talking to him… Every time they were together, it was like nothing else mattered to the maned wolf but him… and it was nice.

After a minute of silence, Ookami lowered his gaze to his superior, confirming what he thought he’d noticed out of the corner of his eye: that he was staring at him.

“What is it?” He asked calmly, though it was secretly making him a little nervous. 

“Ookami, can I ask you something?” Haida replied mindlessly, tilting his head while looking into his coworker’s eyes. 

“Um, sure?” 

“Well, you see,” the hyena started, chuckling as he moved his gaze to the floor and changed the position of his feet. “Fenneko told me something interesting the other day…”

He paused for a moment, feeling his heart starting to race in his chest. Wait, was he really doing this? 

“Fenneko-Senpai? What did she say?”

“W-Well....” 

Wait! No, no, no, no, what was he doing? Why was he doing this? He had already decided to not have that conversation with Ookami, didn’t he remember? He wouldn’t know what to do with the information, afterwards. Sure, if it wasn’t true they could just laugh it off like some sort of joke, but if it was true? Then what? Wouldn’t that make things awkward for both of them? Wouldn’t that ruin their friendship?

“Senpai?” Ookami asked after a prolonged silence, leaning forward to try to look at his superior’s face and slowly perking his ears up.

“Um... nothing, Ookami. Nevermind.” Haida decided to discard it, turning a little bit to offer the maned wolf an awkward smile. “It would probably be better to leave things like this.”

“Leave things like what? What are you talking about?” the younger one asked and Haida’s eyes twitched. 

Oh no, what had he done?

“N-Nothing! Just... you know... our friendship and all. We should just leave it like this,” he tried to explain, only managing to make the maned wolf squint in utter confusion with a glint of concern reflected in his eyes. “Ah, just, forget about it Ookami, it’s not important.” 

“No, but wait... What about our friendship? Is there something wrong? What did Fenneko-Senpai tell you?” 

“There’s nothing wrong, Ookami. Everything is ok! Okay?” Haida chuckled, placing a hand on his coworker’s shoulder to try to seem reassuring, but failing to hide the wavering of his voice. 

Oh man, what had he done? He knew Ookami hated when someone would say “it’s nothing” when clearly something was off. He could already see the younger’s eyebrows pressing together. He needed to change the subject, immediately. 

“Ah! Would you look at the time?” He asked cheerfully before pulling back the sleeves of his shirt and blazer to look at his watch, smiling widely at the position of the hands. “Two minutes before 9! We should hurry back to the Accounting Department now, or Ton will be furious if we’re late.”

“Senpai...” Ookami’s soft voice called him as he was leaning down to pick his briefcase, but he wasn’t going to let him finish. 

“You’re a great friend, Ookami. Thank you so much for saving me again,” he interrupted him with a genuine smile, opening the door gently to give his coworker time to lean up. “I-I’ll compensate you for it. How about during lunch? I’ll get you a drink! A coffee, a soda, anything you want. Yes?” 

He waited a couple of seconds for an answer, but the maned wolf didn’t say a word, he just stared at him intensely, his aura reflecting his disapproval of Haida evading the topic, and the hyena sighed. 

“Don’t worry about it, Ookami… Okay? It’s really nothing,” he reassured him once more, this time making himself sound more convinced. “Just a silly rumor, but nothing worth being given importance. I appreciate you a whole lot, so even if it were true, it wouldn’t matter! We’d still be friends, as we are now. Everything is fine.”

Haida could see the younger’s shoulders relaxing ever so slightly, but he still looked very insecure and puzzled, only drifting his gaze from him to look at the floor for a second before immediately returning it to him.

“Just forget about it, please,” He insisted. “I know you hate when someone says ‘nothing is wrong’, but you have to believe me this time that really nothing is.”

“Then why won’t you tell me?” Ookami asked with a harsh voice. 

“Because I’m afraid it’ll make things awkward between us. Not on my behalf, I just said that even if it were true I wouldn’t mind… but maybe for you? It’s not a risk I’m willing to take, Ookami. I really like hanging out with you, spending time with you, and I don’t want that to be stained. It was stupid of me to even mention it, and I’m sorry that I have to leave you perplexed, but I need you to trust me… It’s not worth talking about.”

Haida gave his words a moment to sink in, resulting in Ookami only lowering his eyes and folding his ears backwards as he slowly slid his hands in the pockets of his pants. He smiled a bit to himself. The younger didn’t seem to be willing to press on, which was good, but... he certainly wasn’t looking too happy either. He hated seeing him like that. He exhaled softly through the nose and approached him, placing a hand under his muzzle to pull his face up and be able to look him in the eyes. 

“Hey. Everything is ok, I promise,” he repeated gently, wondering what else he could do or say for the maned wolf to believe him, but although a tint of red had spread over the younger’s cheeks, he didn’t hold his gaze for long. He looked away and took a hand to remove Haida’s from under his chin as he started surrounding him. 

“If you say so, Senpai,” he responded weakly, letting go of his superior’s hand before making his way out the door.

[aggressivehasana]

Starry Night

Fandom: Aggretsuko/Aggressive Retsuko

Characters: Haida, Retsuko, Fenneko, Ookami, Tsunoda, Ton, Resasuke

Relationship: Haida/Ookami

Summary: AU where Retsuko didn’t break up with Resasuke and Haida is dealing with that.

Warnings: None

- - -

CHAPTER 11

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Words: 1,309

Betaed by: @pomp-adourable

A/N: Bless season 2 for inspiring me to retake this fic TvT <3 Hope you guys enjoy the comeback and thank you for your patience and support ;v;!! <3

Haida had to admit that the maned wolf’s reply had left him feeling a tad… disappointed. It was a strange feeling, but somehow, deep inside of him, he’d wished he had heard about more guys crushing on him. Have more names, faces…

When he’d first heard about it from Ookami himself, he’d gone to bed a couple of nights with his unruly mind trying to fill in the blanks. The first one to come to his head had been Komiya, as it was an open secret that the meerkat’s sexual preference did not lean towards the opposite gender as he so emphatically tried to pretend a couple of years back. His true colors began to show when he earned his title as Director Ton’s right hand, and compared to how much he would suck up to Ton, he was never heard speaking about women again.

So Komiya was a good theory, but as quickly as it came, he just as quickly dismissed it, for the young meerkat seemed far too obsessed with their middle-aged boss to even pay attention to anyone else around him. Therefore the question remained, and the longer he spent floating around in the limbo of ignorance, the more his subconscious would expand the number of possibilities…

However, now that he’d received a more solid answer to his doubt, he realized that he had only made things bigger than they actually were.

He should’ve been happy, right? If he wasn’t gay or bisexual or anything, he shouldn’t had been worried about several guys crushing on him or not…

And yet, he still felt disappointed.

***

“Fenneko, have you ever been with a girl?”

It was a heavy question, and for that, he tried to keep his voice only a little above the sizzling of the cooking chicken between them. Thankfully, there was a lot of noise in the restaurant and no one seemed to have heard him. But the small fennec fox had; he could tell by the way her finger stopped moving over her cellphone, and the screen froze in the reflection of her eyes.

“Why you ask?” she finally replied after a few seconds of silence, allowing time to resume its course as her finger danced up and down the screen again. He was a little astonished. Not even a blush on his best friend’s face.

“I was just… wondering what it’s like-”

“To be with a girl?”  The fennec fox interrupted him, raising her eyes to him with a playful smirk.

“No!” Haida growled, but immediately lowered his voice again to barely a whisper. “To be with someone of… your same gender…”

Fenneko stared at him, and the longer she was taking to answer, the more he could feel the embarrassment crawling up his neck and cheeks. Suddenly sitting at a hibachi table seemed to have been a terrible idea.

“So you wanna give one of your fanboys a chance?” was Fenneko’s reply, and Haida had to make an effort to not get too worked up.

“No. Not exactly. I just…” he paused for a breath, trying to organize the ideas in his head. “It’s been on my mind a lot lately, thanks to you and Ookami.” He noticed Fenneko’s smirk getting a little wider. “Like I said, I’ve never… been with a guy before, but…”

“But you’re willing to try.”

“I’m considering it,” Haida hurried to correct. “Considering being willing to try.”

Fenneko hummed in understanding, and as if he had cast a magic spell, he earned her full attention in the form of her turning off her cellphone and leaving it on the table. Then she scooted forward, resting her elbows on each side of her plate, and her face in her hands.

“Why are you considering it, though?” she asked, seeming a little too amused for Haida’s comfort.

“Um… Curiosity?” he answered, though it sounded more like a question than a statement.

“Is that so? Or is it because there’s someone ruffling your fur?”

“Wh-What do you mean?”

“Since when are you and Ookami such good friends?”

The question crashed down on him like a bucket of iced water, but instead of leaving him cold, it made his neck and cheeks burn. He stared at Fenneko with wide eyes and an open mouth for a second, before slowly regaining his composure, sinking into his chair a bit and narrowing his eyes at her.

“Well, if you must know, since Retsuko and the sales guy’s 6th month…” he hurried to say then, for he realized it had taken him a couple of seconds to respond and watching the fennec fox staring at him with that wide smile was making his blood boil. “But, you said it yourself! Friends! Th-There’s nothing going on between us!”

“Maybe not to you, anyway.”

There was another silence, the words repeating in his head once more.

“What are you insinuating?” he asked, feeling his heartbeat slowly starting to increase it’s pace.

“I’ve seen the way he looks at you,” she said with a casual but clear voice as she reached out and grabbed her phone to continue her scrolling. “It’s pretty obvious, if you ask me.”

And then she fell silent, leaving Haida to process the information received and come to his own conclusions. He stared blankly at the table for a moment, the hissing of the grill mimicking the static in his brain. ‘The way he’d look at him’? How did he look at him? He never noticed Ookami looking at him differently from the way he’d look at anyone else, or even noticed anything unusual about his behavior. He tried to look back at all the times they had walked around the office together, had lunch together, hung out together, and finally, as if it had been highlighted with a marker, his mind brought back the memory from the day they talked on the roof.

“W-Wait! You’re getting everything wrong! He doesn’t-“ he spurt out, maybe a little louder than he intended and it made Fenneko look up at him. “I-I mean… There’s no way…” he continued more calmly, correcting his tone to keep his voice hardly audible again. “He said he didn’t want to be in a relationship for now.”

“That doesn’t mean he can’t have feelings for you.” She responded immediately, not even blinking, and Haida’s eyes went wide again. She paused to let her words sink in for a bit, and then she raised her head a little more, setting her gaze straight on Haida’s olive eyes. “And what about you, Haida? How do you feel about him?”

His heart jumped, and all the muscles of his face started working again.

“How do I feel...? H-He’s just a friend! I don’t- I’m not…”

“You said you were considering it.”

He was left speechless, and suddenly the restaurant seemed noisier. The cook was talking to a customer, a mare was babbling into her phone behind him, and at the furthest corner of the restaurant was a group of koalas who had been cackling at their own jokes for a while. The jingling of the cutlery, the slamming of beer bottles on the tables, and finally Haida closed his mouth, sinking in his chair again and crossing his arms over his stomach, looking away.

“…But he said he didn’t want to be in a relationship. Even if I’m considering it, it wouldn’t be anything with him,” he concluded as a weird feeling was taking over him. He couldn’t exactly tell what it was, but it felt like a hole in his chest. “Agh! Just… forget I said anything, ok? Let’s change the subject! Waiter!” he raised his hand, calling the deer who was serving tables. “Another beer, please!”

Fenneko just scoffed and shrugged, complying to Haida’s request of dropping the subject and returning her full attention to the screen of her phone.

[aggressivehasana]

I’ll take you as you are

[aggressivehasana]

HEY GUYS! TODAY WE REACHED 4,000+ FOLLOWERS !!!

AAAAAHHH! HOLY COW, thank you all so much ;w; !! <333 I hope you guys enjoy your stay, thank you so much for your support! TwT

So, I’m here to also make a little announcement ;w; As I mentioned before, I’m writing a fanfiction... The only thing I’ll say about it for now is that, as you may already have guessed, it’s Haida x Ookami.

I WANTED to upload chapter 1 tonight as a celebration for over 4,000 followers, but... I think it’ll have to wait ‘til tomorrow just ‘cause I don’t have a title for it yet ;w; I’ve got some name options, but nothing solid. However, it’ll be up tomorrow, I promise uwu

I’ll also be uploading it on Archive of Our Own and will share a link, if you’d prefer to read it there. 

Now, I don’t know how frequently I’ll be updating it, probably once or twice a week??? But it’ll mostly depend on external factors, like if I had time/energy to write, or if my gf @pomp-adourable had time/energy to beta it, etc etc. YwY

I also don’t know how long it’ll be :’D For now I’m just rolling with it, trying to take one step at the time and not think too ahead of what’s going to happen, since I always end up dooming my works if I do that >-|o...

So yeah, just being honest ;w; 

STILL, I hope you guys are looking forward to it AND I hope you’ll like it YwYd 

Thank you all so much again, and see you tomorrow! <3 

[aggressivehasana]

Hey guys :’D There won’t be a new chapter today either... I’ve had a quite busy week, I haven’t really had time or mind to sit down and write >-|o

I’m terribly sorry OTL !! 

I can’t promise you a new chapter for Monday, but I will say that I’ll do everything in my power to write asap YwY9 

Thank you all so much for following the fic, and sorry again! 

[aggressivehasana]

Starry Night

Fandom: Aggretsuko/Aggressive Retsuko

Characters: Haida, Retsuko, Fenneko, Ookami, Tsunoda, Ton, Resasuke

Relationship: Haida/Ookami

Summary: AU where Retsuko didn’t break up with Resasuke and Haida is dealing with that.

Warnings: None for now

- - -

CHAPTER 01

Next »

Words: 1,924

Betaed by: @pomp-adourable

A/N: —

Six months already. He could hardly believe it, but Retsuko and her boyfriend had been together for six months already. Even though he didn’t personally know him, he’d heard things, rumors spreading like wildfire across the company, and from what he’d heard, the little guy from Sales seemed to be quite a drag. Always distracted, always doing things wrong, always having to be told what to do, what to say, how to act in certain circumstances… Dating him sure sounded like a chore, but if Retsuko was anything, she was patient. He knew that all too well.

She never talked about her relationship with him, at least not in front of him. Not until that very day, when she didn’t seem to be able to hold in her excitement any longer.

“My boyfriend and I are turning six months today!” she yelped with a bright blush on her cheeks after Fenneko pointed out that she seemed particularly bubbly that day.

It felt like a punch in the stomach, but he didn’t flinch. He didn’t change his facial expression; he just stood there with a cup of coffee in his hand and his eyes fixed on Retsuko, noticing out of the corner of his eye that Fenneko had spared him a quick glance.

“A-Ah! Is that so?” Fenneko said nervously, glancing at him again, and he thought that he should say something then.

“I didn’t know you had a boyfriend, Retsuko.” He lied, but it was the best he could do, for he wasn’t supposed to know this.

“Oh?” Retsuko seemed a tad confused, opening her big shiny eyes to look at him, and he felt another punch but this time to his chest. “You didn’t know, Haida? Well… I guess I never really mentioned it to you…” She muttered the last, looking down at the table while resting her hand on her chin. She was clearly digging into her memory.

“Guess you never did!” Haida hurried to say, offering her a smile. There was no use in letting her try to remember; he knew for a fact that he’d never heard it from her. “It’s ok, though! That’s cool! Congratulations Retsuko.”

He noticed Fenneko turning her face to look at him properly now and his lower lip trembled with the need to tell her to stop. It was making it difficult for him to keep up the act.

“Why, thank you Haida!” Retsuko replied, seeming delighted and bubbly again, “I-I promise I’ll tell you more about him later! I’ll catch you up!”

“You better!” Haida forced out a chuckle and Retsuko obliviously replied in the same manner.

“Well, I should go looking for him now, actually. Gotta get a couple of things settled before our dinner tonight,” she said jumping off her chair and grabbing her empty bento box, “I’ll see you guys later!”

“Sure! See you later, Retsuko,” he said while Fenneko only limited herself to nod. Then the little red panda walked away fast, almost skipping like a little girl. He made sure she had disappeared in the hallway before he let the corners of his lips drop.

There was silence. The few coworkers that were occupying the rest of the tables in the dining area seemed to be minding their own businesses, tapping at their computers, muttering into their phones, reading and fiddling through the newspaper… But none of that was reaching his ears. To him there was only silence. Silence that seemed threatened to be broken when, after a few seconds, Fenneko turned to him again and opened her mouth, inhaling.

“No. Don’t,” he interjected before she could say anything. “Don’t.”

“I’m sorry.” She still went on and said it.

He could do nothing but sigh deeply, throwing his head back to stare into the ceiling for a little bit while trying to control the anger that was starting to bubble at the top of his stomach. She said it, one of the two things he didn’t want to hear.

“It’s ok,” he replied once he felt confident enough to be able to talk.

“Six months isn’t a long time. They could still break u-“

“Fenneko,” he interrupted her in a bit of a harsh tone. “It’s ok.”

He didn’t hear the small fennec fox say anything else, and he knew this time she would remain quiet for good. That helped ease his nerves a little bit.

“I’ll go…” he started while straightening his neck, but after a long pause, he couldn’t come up with anything clever to say.  “…somewhere,” he concluded, and without even turning to look at Fenneko one last time, he started walking away. The heels of his polished brown shoes echoed across the room as he made his way to the same hallway Retsuko had just disappeared down a few moments ago. On his way out he dropped his half finished cup of coffee into the trash before he slid his hands into the pockets of his pants, looking down at the floor in front of his feet as if he were trying to count his steps.

What was worse was… that he had no one to blame but himself. He delayed way too long to tell Retsuko how he felt. He even had three solid chances to do so right before, during, and after that fateful night took place, the night of the mixer. When Tsunoda kept insisting Retsuko to go with her to such party, he’d had his heart in his throat. He’d kept himself from saying anything, but he could feel his blood run cold through his veins. And after everything had been said and done, he had a solid chance to ask Retsuko to talk in private, to ask her to not go to the mixer because he was in love with her and maybe he was the boyfriend she was looking for… But he hadn’t. 

Then there was the night itself. He wasn’t sure how it was that Retsuko and that guy ended up bonding, when Fenneko had assured him that she’d spent the entire night tapping at her phone, but he could’ve taken that chance to call her.  Even if it wasn’t ideal to confess such a thing through the phone, maybe he would’ve interrupted something. Stopped something. 

And lastly, after the party, when he felt at ease, when he thought danger had passed, he let it slip by him again. Not even because he almost lost her, not even because Fenneko herself told him to hurry up. He just remained quiet, and it was only a matter of weeks before he’d noticed her acting strangely. Differently. Like the world was a wonderful place and nothing could get her in a bad mood.

It made him sick to think that that sweet smile of hers was because of him.

After a while of walking around the halls, he decided it was time to go back to the Accounting Department. As much as he’d prefer to be somewhere else, somewhere more private like the rooftop, or hell, even his home, he knew he had work to do, and honestly? Maybe work would help to distract him… even if she was going to be there.

He was still looking at the floor when he turned the corner into the big room, but out of relentless curiosity, he raised his eyes to the line of desks where his workspace laid. He saw both of them were back, Retsuko and Fenneko, and they seemed to be having a quiet conversation while their fingers were moving over their keyboards. He stopped for a moment, gave himself a chance to take a deep breath, and walked inside. He tried not to set his gaze on anything or anyone in particular, but once again, he did notice Fenneko turn to look at him as he walked past her. He just ignored her and continued to take his place in front of the little red panda. Thank God his computer screen was big enough to block her out of his view.

‘Now, let’s see…’ he thought while bringing his computer back to life, wondering what had been the last thing he was doing before he and the ladies had decided to take a short break. But while his computer was slowly turning back on, his ears twitched at the sound of Retsuko’s soft voice.

“You know? I’m honestly a little surprised we’ve made it this far…”

She was still talking to Fenneko. She didn’t sound as eager as she did before, but there was still contentment in her voice.

“Our first month was… Well, let’s just say it wasn’t exactly what I had hoped for. I almost broke up with him. But…”

She paused for a bit, and Haida noticed he’d been staring at the bar to type in his password this whole time. He started entering it when he heard Retsuko speak again, and he had to press the rest of it slowly and quietly to keep it from muffling what she was saying.

“…I decided to give him another chance. Maybe get to know the real Resasuke, as opposed to who I thought he was. It’s been hard, but I think I’ve been managing to see through him…”

Another pause, this time a little longer than the previous one. He had his file open, but right in that moment it was nothing but a sea of numbers.

“He can be really sweet when he’s in his comfort zone. I’ve been to his house a few times now, and it’s full of beautiful plants! I love hearing him talk about his plants. He usually doesn’t talk much, but when it’s about them, he could go on and on for several hours. It’s so cute and endearing.”

His eye twitched, and letting a sigh out through his nose, he decided he had heard enough.

“Good for you, Retsuko,” was the last things he heard Fenneko say (rather indifferently), before he tried to divert his attention to something else. Anything else.

God, how he wished he could wear headphones at work. Some good music would help drown her voice, and with that, the sorrow, but Alas. He refused to let that stop him and he quickly tried to think of one of his favorite songs to focus on and distract himself. He hated that his mind’s first pick was “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” by the Ramones, but like pressing skip on a music player, he immediately discarded that idea, choosing instead “Starry Night” by Hi-Standard, and it actually drew a smile on his face. He closed his eyes for a few seconds as the song started playing in his head, and deafening himself to the rest of the world, he raised his arms and started scratching the air near his ribs with his right hand, while he made the fingers of his left dance on the neck of an imaginary bass. This was one of the first songs he’d been eager to learn how to play as soon as he’d been able to afford a bass. It was special to him somehow.

Feeling a little better already, he decided to leave the “air guitaring” for when he was back home, where his real bass would be waiting for him. For now he had work to do. Continuing the rhythm by only tapping the heel of his shoe on the floor, he rolled a little closer to his desk and retook where he left off on his Excel spreadsheet.

[aggressivehasana]

Starry Night

Fandom: Aggretsuko/Aggressive Retsuko

Characters: Haida, Retsuko, Fenneko, Ookami, Tsunoda, Ton, Resasuke

Relationship: Haida/Ookami

Summary: AU where Retsuko didn’t break up with Resasuke and Haida is dealing with that.

Warnings: None

- - -

CHAPTER 08

« Prev , Next »

Words: 1,807

Betaed by: @pomp-adourable

A/N: –

He was staring up at the ceiling, tinted a dark shade of blue due to the faint streetlight filtering through the darkness of his room. He had been home for a while now; hell, he had been in bed for a few hours, but he just didn’t seem to be able to fall asleep. Not with everything that had happened in the last 24 hours. There was so much to think about… But at least, for now, the grief was gone, replaced with the fact that he couldn’t get Ookami out of his head; his mind going over the conversation he’d just had with him, again and again, repeating what the maned wolf had said…

“We live in quite a starry night.”

It was true. He had to admit, to remind himself, that Retsuko was not the only star in his life, even if she was the brightest. He knew about “other stars” now. Maybe he could try to focus his attention on them. To distract himself.

He sighed deeply and rolled onto his side, probably for the sixth time that night. His eyes jumped to his digital clock, which marked eleven past one, and he growled softly. It was late. He needed to be up by seven. Closing his eyes, he snuggled against the pillow and decided to leave the thinking for some other time, but it wasn’t until almost three am that he finally fell asleep.

***

A glimpse from the skunk girl from Marketing. A whispered compliment from the sheep girl from Marketing. A shy smile from the hedgehog girl from Customer Service. He caught them all. He was actually surprised he never noticed those gestures, for now that he was well aware of the ladies’ interest in him, he could see they were pretty obvious.

He had to admit, it was sweet, and they sure served as a distraction during Retsuko and the Sales Guy’s 7th and 8th months together, but… He wasn’t sure if he was ready to take the next step. To start talking to them and getting to know them better. He’d catch himself still staring and smiling at Retsuko while hearing her talk, hurrying to open the door for her, buying her drinks at the vending machine… He was still thinking about her. There was no way he could focus on someone else while she remained in his mind.

“Hey, Fenneko…” he said after a brief moment of silence, one day when it was just him and the little fennec fox in the Dining Area. The calendar was marking the 18th of October, and Retsuko and the Sales Guy’s 9th month was fast approaching.

“Hm?” she replied, her eyes still fixed on her phone as her index finger danced up and down the screen.

“What do you know about Hana, from Marketing?”

“So you finally noticed? Or did someone tell you?”

At Haida’s silence, Fenneko raised her eyes, and his astonished, flushed expression made her smirk.

“I don’t know much about her, except for what you already know. And that she’s an Otaku and an artist. I believe she has an account on Pixiv where she posts her stuff,” she explained, lowering her eyes back to her phone as she kept scrolling.

Haida remained in silence for a moment, setting his gaze on the cup of coffee in his hands. An Otaku, huh? He squinted a little bit. He knew about the subculture of Otakus, and even though he enjoyed some anime shows from time to time, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to keep up with a girl who was obsessed with that kind of stuff. He had other interests.

“And what about-?” He started asking, raising his eyes to the fennec fox again.

“Misumi from Marketing?” Fenneko interrupted. “She’s Hana’s best friend. Seems to be into the same kind of stuff as she is. They’re quite close, actually, many of us suspect they’re in a relationship.”

Haida’s partially opened mouth closed, and he stared at his best friend for a few seconds, waiting for her to clear up that she was joking or something, but she never did. His eye twitched. In a relationship? The two girls, really? Then why would they be interested in him? Were they really interested in him? But he caught the skunk girl staring… And he overheard the sheep girl complimenting him… Then why?

“But that’s just a rumor, right? Nothing confirmed, right?” he asked with a chuckle and a forced little smile.

“Probably,” was all Fenneko said.

It didn’t help shake the weird feeling off him, so he shook his head, deciding to focus instead on his third option.

“Ok, what about Nezumi from Customer Service?”

“I don’t know her,” Fenneko replied, and it made Haida want to slam his forehead against the table in defeat, but before he could do anything, she finally raised her eyes to him, offering him her characteristic little smile. “Would you be interested in hearing about the guys who have a crush on you?”

Warmth immediately crawled up his neck, lighting up his cheeks in a bright blush.

“Not really,” he assured her, taking a hand to discreetly pull at the collar of his shirt.

“Do you know Nyanko?” She asked, nonetheless.

“Nyanko?” His eyes drifted to the ceiling as he made an effort to relate that name to a face, resulting in the picture of a young, orange cat with round, blue glasses. “Oh, from Technical Support? Yeah, I know him… Wait, really?” He lowered his gaze to the fennec fox and she let out a giggle.

“You seem surprised.”

“Well, I am! I’ve only exchanged words with him a couple of times,” he said as he swung his cup, trying to seem busy assessing how much coffee he had left, to avoid fully minding the conversation, but Fenneko could see his blush increasing, covering the bridge of his nose.

“Is he not your type?” She asked resting her cheek on her hand. Now she was just teasing, Haida knew that much.

“No, he is not my type…” he growled while setting the cup back down on the table. “…Because I’m not-“

His voice was cut off by a quiet gasp coming from the fennec fox. In a blink, her expression had morphed completely; she didn’t seem playful anymore, she looked mortified, as if she was facing a ghost. And not only that, but he noticed her attention wasn’t on him anymore; it was on something over his shoulder.

“What?” He asked, and he was about to turn when his little best friend interjected.

“Don’t look.”

He remained frozen in his place, staring at the fennec fox as he slowly began to realize what was probably happening, and before he could do anything about it, he heard Retsuko’s voice behind his ear.

“Hey, guys!” she said with that particular tone if glee in her voice that she’d had for the past few months. “Can we have lunch with you?”

He knew it.

God, he wished he’d had more time to prepare himself. He knew this day would come eventually; hell, they all worked in the same place! But a little warning would’ve been nice. A little “Hey guys, is it ok if we have lunch with my boyfriend?” a few hours earlier would’ve been nice. When Retsuko disappeared from the Accounting Department, he assumed she’d just go look for him, have lunch with him in his department, as she had been doing all these months. Not…bring him along…

“Um, sure.” Fenneko was the one to respond. They both knew Retsuko didn’t deserve cold treatment over this; they needed to be welcoming. Supportive.

Because she was happy.

“Thank you! Oh, Haida!” Retsuko’s voice called him, and his heart skipped a beat. “Let me introduce you to my boyfriend!”

There it was. The line he had hoped for months he’d never have to hear.

He closed his eyes for a breath, collecting himself as best as he could before finally turning around.

Retsuko was standing next to a male red panda who was slightly taller than her, holding his arm with one hand, while the other held two bento boxes in a napkin, stacked one on top of the other.

“This is Resasuke!” she continued, looking at her partner while saying his name, before returning her eyes to him. “Resasuke, this is Haida. He’s also a friend from the Accounting Department, along with Fenneko! You remember Fenneko, right?”

The male red panda didn’t reply, he just turned to look at the small fennec fox with a pair of black, almost lifeless eyes, and she greeted him with a soft “Hey.” He nodded in response, and then moved his eyes back to him.

He had to say it. Retsuko had just introduced them, now he was supposed to smile, to stretch out a hand and say “Nice to meet you!”… But he was paralyzed.

For months he had tried to imagine what Retsuko’s boyfriend would look like, and even though people had told him that the boy wasn’t bright, he really wasn’t expecting…this. This mannequin-looking guy with a dull expression and emotionless eyes. Did he… Did he really lose Retsuko to this guy?

“Senpai!”

In what threatened to grow into a storm of mixed emotions of pain, frustration and despair, a voice crashed in. A voice that his brain delayed a moment to recognize, but just as he was associating it with his owner, he felt a couple of hands clasp onto his shoulders tightly, pulling him back a bit to make him turn.

“Here you are! Thank Goodness, I’ve been looking for you all over!”

Facing the other way, Haida’s face met with the young maned wolf’s, who was offering him a cheerful smile.

“Ookami,” Haida babbled.

“You’ve gotta help me with the thing! Remember?”

“The thing?” the hyena asked clueless, and the maned wolf gazed into his eyes intensely.

“Yes, the thing! I asked you to help me with it this morning. Please, Senpai, I won’t be able to get it done without your help!”

Haida noticed Ookami’s eyes drifting slightly to the doorway, and after a couple of seconds, he caught on.

“Oh! Right!” he exclaimed, and the maned wolf smiled victoriously. “Right, sorry, I almost forgot. Let’s go.”

Taking his cup in one hand, he stood from the chair and turned to Retsuko and her boyfriend, but hardly spared them a glance.

“Um, sorry Retsuko, I gotta go. We’ll talk some other time!” he said as he started to walk away, but only stopped to raise a farewell hand at the male red panda. “Nice to meet you, Resasuke.”

He couldn’t stay to wait for a response, even if he’d wanted to, for he immediately felt Ookami taking his hand and pulling him away from the scene, out of the Dining Area.