It was dark, Gori remembered. Too dark to see who exactly was here with her. Too dark to see who was rustling around in the changing room, searching for something. Too pitch black to make out any details besides the man's short height.

She was actually lucky it was dark. Because if she couldn't see who he was, he didn't know she was there. So he couldn't stab her with the barely glinting bloodied knife in his hand.

Poor Washimi.
She should have been out there with her.
They were best friends, why didn't she help?
Why did she stay here, huddled in the corner of the boy's changing room?

She could have gotten up and taken him by surprise. Called the police once he left, or even look at what he tampered with in the lockers.

But she didn't do any of that. Once the man- the murderer- left, so did she.

But not without seeing her former best friend's body lying bloodied and cold in the middle of the hallway in the accounting department.

Poor, poor Washimi.

Gori felt the hot guilty tears rush from her eyes as she snuck away from the scene. A coward.

She had barely slept upon getting home that night. She did everything she could to distract herself. She took an hour bath, scrolled through every social media she had, and even did some yoga. But her body soon grew tired, even if her mind wouldn't dare rest.

She had hauled herself into bed that night, and everything was too silent.

She didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to acknowledge it.

She didn't want to think about how the one time her friend needed her most, she failed her. She ran and hid, and heard the echoing screams of her friend slowly come to an agonizing stop.

She let Washimi die.

She didn't want to, she never wanted to, but she was scared. Washimi always took the lead in scenarios like this. She knew what to do, and did it without a hitch.

But she was dead now. All because Gori didn't know how to step up when Washimi was down.

And that was the last thing she thought before she fell into a slumber.

Only in the morning did Gori ever get hit with common sense.

She should have called the police. They could have come immediately, and maybe... maybe if there was a chance Washimi was saveable, they could have saved her.

But then she got hit with her thoughts from last night. She couldn't have done that.

If she had, what would her excuse be for sneaking around the accounting department's male changing rooms?

Gori knew that shouldn't have been a concern at all, but it was at the moment. During the shock. Hell, she was still in shock.

Picking up her phone from her nightside table, Gori stared into the black screen. She saw herself stare back, looking like the coward she felt she was. Turning it on, she shut her eyes, avoiding the sight of her lock screen. The picture from when her, Retsuko, and Washimi went on a trip. She opened her contacts and pressed call on the office number.

When the other end answered, she simply told them: "I'm not feeling well today. I'm sorry, but I won't be at work today. ... Yeah, it's not too serious. I'll most likely be back tomorrow or the next day. ...Yeah, you can send over some work for me to do online. Thanks." She didn't even have to fake a sick voice. Her voice was scratchy enough for some unknown reason.

Sitting up from her bed she set her phone down, having hung up. She didn't bother stretching as she got up, passing by a mirror. Only then did she realize how sick she really felt. She looked disheveled, having slept in her clothes from yesterday. Her eyes were cloudy with emotions, and her usually straightly groomed hair was provoked, pricking up in painful snarls all around.

Gori said nothing, and continued on to the kitchen, turning on her coffee maker and waiting for it to warm up. She leaned over the sink, but not because she was going to puke. Instead, she thought, looking into her memory for anything she could use. Anything she could defend herself with to prove she wasn't a coward.

But only one thing stuck out. The murderer knew they were going to be there, the night they were going to plant something in Anai's locker to fire him, and Anai was short.

~- - - - -~

"Why are you here?"

The fennec fox looked more annoyed than surprised, her eyes searching him for something he didn't know.

"We had work off today." Anai simply stated, keeping his usual straight composure. He didn't like Fenneko. He never really liked her, or the fact that Retsuko liked her, but he had to pretend to like her at the moment. She had a plan, and he needed to hear it.

Fenneko seemed to be stoic to this until she raised a brow. "Why?" She stopped searching him and moved her eyes to his, subtly demanding an answer. She certainly hadn't gotten more friendly after her arrest, and her overall demeanor showed this quite bluntly. She slouched over the table on her side, crossing her arms and leaning them against the concrete table. She leaned forward just enough to not raise alarm, but too much for comfort.

Anai shifted in his seat. He really didn't like her. "There was... a murder."

Fenneko raised her ears, both perking and shifting in interest. An odd smile spread on her face as she moved one of her arms under her chin. "Who died? Who dunnit?"

Anai paid no mind to the fact that she wasn't horrified by a murder in her previous workplace, as he wasn't really emotional about it- or the victim- either. "Washimi died. She was one of Retsuko's good friends. No one knows who did it, the police are still investigating."

"Well, not who I was hoping for, but still, it crosses someone off the list." Fenneko gave a half-joking look, finally relaxing her previously stern attitude and becoming more chill. She leaned back in her chair but kept all of its legs on the ground. "So, why'd you decide to stop by and see little ole' me?" Fenneko shut her eyes but opened one a second later to peer at the male on the other side on the table.

Anai gave her a bit of a cold look. His arms still remained glued to his sides, and his back straight, but her eyes gave a rude slanted glare. "You should know." He simply growled out. He didn't intend to growl, he just really really didn't like her.

"Woah there... be a bit quieter won't you?" Fenneko lowered her own voice, quickly stopping her relaxed lean back and moving back to leaning forward again. "You don't want to give us away before you can off the hyena." She somehow regained a chill voice despite being in a police station and talking about murder.

Anai took in a breath, letting it out slowly. He needed to calm down. She was right, even if he didn't want to say it. "Right. Sorry." He waited for a reaction from her, but only got a blank stare. Guessing it was still his turn to talk, he continued. "So, what exactly do you have in mind?"

Fenneko let a wide smile spread across her face. Her eyes seemed to glint with knowledge. "I'm glad you asked." Leaning in closer, she started to whisper, Anai soaking up every detail in great earnest. Only when she stopped talking did he make any movement.

Nodding, Anai gave the fennec fox one last look before standing up. "Well... I'll see you later, then." Turning away, he left the station, only letting a smile slip out once he left.

Pulling out his phone, he scrolled through his contacts. Clicking on the one he was looking for, he put the device to his ear, and let it ring.

"H-hey Anai, what's up? I'm kinda busy right now, would you mind making this quick?" Anai smiled still once Haida spoke, glancing up to see the sidewalk in front of him. "Yeah. I heard about what happened at the office, and well... I was wondering f you'd like to hang out tonight. Go to a bar or something. I think we could use the de-stressing." Anai spoke as if he'd practiced these lines before, them flowing out smoothly without a hitch.

"Ah, that sounds great, actually... But I'm gonna be busy tonight... Uh, how about tomorrow?"

"Yeah, that'll be fine. Meet you after work then?"

"Sure. See ya then."

"See you then, Haida."

Anai still smiled as he ended the call, pocketing his phone and walking toward home.

Yeah, he hated Fenneko. But he had to admit, she was quite smart with her plan. And besides, they both didn't want Haida in the picture anyway. So... maybe he could learn to like her just a bit.

Just for the time being, anyway.

~- - - - -~

No one suspected anything. Well, they did suspect, but not him. Everything was working perfectly. Now he just had to sit back and wait for a while, stay silent. One move could destroy his plan, after all.

Smiling to himself, he pulled up a picture of a certain red panda on his phone. "Oh, Retsuko. Dear Retsuko. I'm sorry I have to hurt you so." He stroked the face of the photo with a finger, tracing its features as delicately as if it was real. "But sometimes people must be moved out of the way to see the correct trail my sweet. See you then, Retsuko." And so he laughed a small laugh, only the light of his phone illuminating his grinning face.

(So Its been awhile. But this book isn't dead! Unlike Washimi, haha...
Too soon? Eh, well, tell me what you thought of the chapter! Was it confusing in any way? I can clear it up if so. And I'd love constructive criticism on this chapter since I haven't wrote in awhile. Thanks, and try to guess who the mystery man at the end is! I won't confirm nor deny, though, haha. Bye!)