(Italics = thoughts)

"Yes sir, they'll be done by tonight." The red panda smiled, but didn't look up at her boss as he piled some papers onto her desk. "I'm counting on it, calendar." A gruff voice responded, heavy footsteps following after as the man walked away, eventually stopping when he came to his chair. 

Retsuko sighed. 'Just another day at work, really. And hey, I got yoga tonight. That's always cool.' Now, unlike before, she didn't force a smile, instead actually humming a tune as she typed. She was looking forward to yoga more so than usual today, but mostly for the fact that she hadn't hung out with Washimi and Gori for a long while. They had finally gotten over that little argument of theirs, weirdly around the same time Retsuko broke up with Tadano.

But that wasn't the point here. The point was how Retsuko wasn't dating anyone at the moment. But she didn't want to be either, which was a problem. A bigger problem than you might think, actually. Because even though Retsuko didn't want to date anytime soon, everyone else wanted to date her. Haida, Fenneko, Tsundona, Resasuke, Anai,.....All of them wanted Retsuko. More  seemed to want the same thing, too, leaving only already married couples to stay away from her. 

Of course, that didn't stop everyone else from trying to get to her.

"Hey Retsuko." Fenneko chimed, looking over at her long time friend typing numbers away on a computer. "Oh, hey Fenneko, what's up?" Retsuko responded without even looking up, too busy typing to do so. "I was wondering if you wanted to come with Haida, Anai, and me to the bar after work today." Fenneko glanced over Retsuko as she waited for a reply. 'She's gonna say no. It's a thursday, she has yoga. I don't know why Haida and Anai keep insisting this. They should know that by now.' Fenneko turned back to her computer screen, staring at the electronic sheets in front of her. 'Although...it is nice to talk to Retsuko. Even a little bit.' 

"I can't, I have plans tonight. Why do you guys only go to the bar on Thursday anyway?" Retsuko sighed again, but this time in a more playful way. She glanced back at Fenneko, meeting her eyes. "Although...I haven't been out with you guys in awhile. How about the four of us go out on Friday instead? I actually don't have any plans then." That's when Retsuko smiled, shutting her eyes as she turned back to her screen and awaited a response. That's when Fenneko's heart leaped. 'She looks so lovely when she smiles...' Fenneko just stared at Retsuko for a good while, studying her fur patterns and how they just complimented her even more. "I...Yeah, yeah I'll tell them." She pried her gaze away from the red panda, focusing on her own screen again.'Or...Maybe I shouldn't tell them. Then I can just spend time with Retsuko...Alone.'

~- - - - -~

"She said no, again!?" Haida scratched his head, frowning as he walked with Fenneko and Anai. "Well, it is Thursday. Retsuko has yoga. I don't know why you keep making me ask." Fenneko responded in her usual nonchalant way, shrugging as she scrolled through her phone. "Well, what if we invite her another day instead?" Anai suggested, pointing a finger up in the air at his idea. "Yeah!" Haida chimed in before Fenneko could realize what Anai had said. "Uh, what? L-like what day?" Fenneko clutched her phone harder to hide her agitaion. SHE was supposed to hang out with Retsuko on Friday. Retsuko just didn't know it yet. 

"Well, how about Friday? " Anai suggested, earning another quick nod from Haida. "Yeah, I'm free that day. What about you, Fenneko?" Haida grinned his usual toothy grin at Fenneko, but Fenneko didn't smile back. "I am, yeah." She eventually pushed out the words and tried not to look aggravated as she glanced up at her friend. "Great! Now all we need to do is ask Retsuko and then-" Fenneko cut off Haida mid sentence, failing to be truthful to them as she spoke. "About that. Retsuko...Retsuko isn't free this Friday. I already asked her earlier when I talked about tonight." She lied through her teeth, glancing at her phone to avoid eye contact. 

"Huh, bummer. " Haida finally spoke and turned away from Fenneko, putting his hands behind his head. "And she's usually busy every weekend nowadays....So that's out of the question. Well, maybe next week then." He shrugged and kept walking, going ahead of Fenneko and Anai. "So we aren't going to the bar tonight then?" Anai questioned, his gaze following Haidas footsteps. "Well, if Retsuko isn't going, what's the point? I have better things to do." Haida then proceeded to walk off, leaving his friends behind him. 

"Well, I'm off then. Might as well do some overtime." Anai shrugged, walking back the other direction and leaving Fenneko behind, smiling to herself as she checked Retsuko's Instagram. 'Good. Friday is just me and you, Retsuko.' Fenneko chuckled slightly, eventually texting Retsuko the news as she walked towards the elevator. 

~- - - - -~

"I don't know why they keep asking me every Thursday to go out with them, they should know that I have yoga by now." Retsuko chuckled to herself as she walked out of yoga class with Washimi and Gori. "Yeah, they should know that by now. We reserve you every Thursday." Gori smiled as she strutted alongside her friends, digging through her purse a little bit. "So, what next?" Washimi Glanced at Retsuko as they walked. "Well, honestly, I'm kind of tired." Retsuko smiled apologetically at Washimi and Gori as she kept walking. "So, no karaoke?" Gori frowned a bit, glancing at Washimi. "Nah, not today. After Todano I've been feeling a lot better lately! So if its okay with you, I'll be going home now. See you guys later!" 

Just like that, Retsuko skipped away, off to the subway station. Gori stayed silent for a minute before looking at Washimi. "You like her too, huh?" Gori asked, not even trying to be subtle. Washimi's feathers spiked slightly, being called out. "Was it that obvious?" Washimi held her cheek, looking away from Gori. "Yeah. Because I like her too." Gori sighed and looked forward, slumping her usually postured shoulders. "Well, crazy suggestion but...you wanna...share her?" Gori asked, glancing at the floor. 

"That's not a bad idea there, actually. She'll be with us both, only us. We can protect her from other people like Todano." Washimi spoke quickly, as if she had this idea for awhile now. "We know about Retsuko's secret too, so she'll trust us." Gori added, looking at Washimi again. "It;s perfect."  They both said simultaneously as they looked at the other, each smiling a bit. "Just like Retsuko."

Now that's an odd occurrence. Usually people want someone to themselves. But I guess this is the same thing, just with an extra person too.

~- - - - -~

Retsuko entered her apartment, slipping off her shoes as she shut the door behind her. It was quiet, and her mom wasn't here today. 'What luck. I can finally just relax and take a nice bath for once! No emails, no relationships, no mom....' Retsuko chuckled to herself as she walked into her bathroom and started to run the bath water, humming a small tune as she did so. 

As the water ran and the bubble bath was added, Retsuko prepared everything for after her bath. She was going to bed right after this, so she started to make some 'dinner' now. Well, maybe a dinner. It was just some leftovers from the night before, when her mom was here to cook. 

After warming them up and quickly scarfing them down, the bath was ready. Retsuko got undressed and slipped into the tub, not even bothering to shut the bathroom door. Her apartment was locked and it was just her here. She was ready to relax anyway, and didn't care about anything else as she slipped beneath the rose scented bubbles and let the water warm her. But with her ears buried in the water, she wasn't able to hear anything.

So that's when the perpetrator struck. Slinking in through window they looked about, gently picking up a few things and setting them down, while taking a few different other items and instead stashing them away. They looked to the left, right, and spied the bathroom door ajar. Carefully, ever so carefully, they snuck over to it, peeking inside and seeing Retsuko's head emerge from the bath, splashing some water onto the ground around the tub. They couldn't look away from her as she washed her fur with more rose scented products, they couldn't look away even when Retsuko finished and started to drain the bath. 

They only looked away when Retsuko started to make her way to the bathroom door. Quickly they scattered away, nothing with them but the items they stole and a few pictures of the place and the inhabitant. Slipping back out through the window, they climbed down and hid in the bushes below, taking out their phone and focusing it on Retsuko's window. 

There they waited until the window blinds were shut, satisfied with the items and more than enough pictures. So there they scrambled away, retreating to their own home. They left nothing incriminating behind, no evidence. No one would know that they had been there, not even the owner herself. Just how Tsunoda liked it. 

(And that's chapter one! I hoped you enjoyed it. More will be coming soon. Have a great day/night!)