Retsuko barely slept last night. She would never usually get the best sleep, but it was even less than usual this time. Why? She was on her phone almost all night texting Resasuke.

She didn't understand what he was saying, but she couldn't not believe him either. Resasuke practically never showed emotion, let alone...fear. She was concerned, to tell the truth. But...

She looked to her alarm clock, which was a minute before going off. What he was saying sounded...crazy? She didn't know. She was tired, she didn't want to deal with anything like this.

Some of his texts sounded crazy anyway...

'Tadano tried to kill me.'
'He's insane, Retsuko, you need to be careful.'
'You need to stay afay from him'
'*Away'
'Point is, he's dangerous. Don't believe his lies.'
'Please. I don't want you to get hurt.'

That last one really confused her, but it also warmed her heart a bit. He cared about her well being. Wait.

'No, no. You don't need him to care about you. He's your ex. He's just...being a good friend.' Retsuko shook her head a bit, setting down her phone as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Well, lack of sleep from her eyes.

She didn't even jump when her alarm went off, she was so tired. Turning it off, she stretched her arms above her head, yawning. 'Time to go to work...'

She slid herself off her bed, blinking as she adjusted herself to the sunlight pouring in from her window. 'I swear, Ton better not be on my ass today...' shuffling to the bathroom, she started to get ready for the day.

~- - - - -~

Retsuko arrived at the office, only slightly more awake than she was before. She wasn't ready for work today, but she had to make a living. But once she entered the building, all thoughts of work escaped her mind.

There were policemen and women everywhere. All of them were asking around, and there were news crews too. Oh great. What happened now? Did someone rob the place? What was there to rob here again? Nevermind. 'I'll just ask...' Retsuko sighed. Hopefully, this wouldn't all mean extra work.

Retsuko approached a policeman, a fairly tall tiger, and got his attention. She was tired and bit grumpy, so she wanted to just get to the point instead of figuring it out herself. "Um, excuse me...but what's going on here?" Retsuko put on a drowsy smile, still too tired to give a joyful look.

The tiger looked over her a moment before speaking. He almost looked like he was going to shoo her away, but thought otherwise. "A murder put simply. This morning someone was found dead on the floor in the middle of the accounting department. Unless you work in that department, you can't go up there. We're doing questioning." He sounded so calm, but it was probably part of the job. Or maybe he was just hiding his annoyance of being asked this exact question a million times. 

Retsuko's mind almost didn't hear what he had said. "...What?" She looked up at him, her eyes wider now as her brain started to unexpectedly whir up in thought and activity. "A murder, miss. In the accounting department. Do you work in that department?" The tiger, if annoyed, didn't show it. He simply put on a half bored half professional look. 

Retsuko's brain clicked awake at the second mentioning of murder. In her department. "I-I....I work there, yeah." She managed to stutter out, her brain starting to move thoughts in and out to fast. 

'Who was killed? Did Fenneko do this? Did she escape jail? Did Tadano? Why did they kill someone? What if it wasn't him? Well, who was it?! Why did it happen?! Why now, why right now!?!' Retsuko shook her head from side to side, her pupils dilating slightly as her hand shook. 
This couldn't be happening. There was just a murder. Now there was another one. Why? 

Why? Why? Why?

Why?! Why now?! Who?! This didn't- it wasn't- what if--

"Ma'am! Please calm down. Are you alright?"
Retsuko's attention darted back to that of the officer, who now looked slightly concerned. Retsuko took a moment to gather herself, realizing she was shaking, and her breathing had quickened slightly. She took in a deep breath, and let it out lightly. 

"I'm fine, thank you." Retsuko managed to level her voice and even put on a smile to mask her discomfort. The policeman paused a moment before nodding. He was looking at her still. "If you say so. Will you be alright for questioning?" He asked her, crossing his arms. "Yes, I think I'll be alright, thanks." Retsuko meant it, even if she didn't believe it herself. All the tiger did was nod as Retsuko shuffled off to the elevator, getting in as soon as she could.

~- - - - -~

Retsuko only barely stepped out of the elevator when a newswoman jumped in front of her. Unlike everyone else Retsuko could muster a glance at, this woman looked ecstatic. Too happy. It made Retsuko feel kind of sick. Why was she so happy? Someone was just killed!

Retsuko did, however, manage to force a polite smile on her face as she tried to push past the newswoman. "Excuse me..." She nodded towards the news crew as they tried to swarm her, forcing her to back up a bit instead. "Um...I need to go be questioned..." Retsuko pushed, attempting to move through again only to be shoved in front of a camera. 

Retsuko didn't even have time to register what was happening before the newswoman spoke in her typical cheery tone, staring into the camera. This woman was a cheetah, yet didn't speak very quickly, instead dragging out her words, as if teasing the viewers to watch more.

"Hello! My name is Aia Aika and we're once again back with news on this Trade company! But nothing good, I'm afraid." Aia dropped her smile, putting on a fake frown Retsuko could sense a mile away as she nervously watched the camera. Why was she in the shot? She should leave...

"Yes, sadly we are here today to cover yet another murder! This time happening directly inside the building itself! No one knows why this happened, for this body was just uncovered this morning by the head of the accounting department. More on him later. But right now we have a live interview with one of the best friends of the victim!" Aia glanced over at Retsuko to see her trying to inch away, and dragged her back on camera. "Ms...uh...ms.." Aia glared at one f the news crewmen. One whispered a name to her before she spoke again. 

"Miss Retsuko! I can call you Retsuko, right? Right! Now, what was your relationship with the victim?" The camera suddenly turned onto Retsuko before she could react, making her nervous. This was life?? And how did this crew know her name? Retsuko gulped a moment before turning to Aia, looking nervous. "Um...I'm sorry...I think you have the wrong person. I don't even know who the victim is-"

"So you're saying you have no relationship with the previous secretary of this building, Miss Washimi?" The cheetah leaned in towards Retsuko, pushing the microphone in her face as she grinned in a cheery kind of sadistic way. 

Retsuko's heart stopped. "Wh-what?" The red panda muttered, almost inaudible if it wasn't for the microphone. The cheetah grinned wider. All she cared about was a good story apparently. And this, so far, was good. Emotional breakdowns were always good.

"Oh? You haven't heard? The victim was none other than Washimi, one of your close friends as my sources say. Tell me, just how close were you two?" Aia pushed, leaving Retsuko to explain herself in her emotionally disoriented state. Retsuko nervously glanced at the camera and blinked. She blinked again. Why did her eyes feel wet? 

"W-we...we were great friends..." Retsuko managed to stumble out, realizing now that tears were pricking at her eyes, threatening to spill. No, not on tv. She can't cry on live tv! Retsuko wiped her eyes with her sleeve, but only dried her eyes for a moment as more tears emerged right after. 

"Oh, how terrible! You must feel devastated that your friend- no, one of your closest friends just died right in the middle of your department by someone else's hands!" Aia put on that fake worried look again, making big eyes at the camera as Retsuko's body started to involuntarily shake a bit. Not on tv. She wouldn't cry on tv!

Retsuko couldn't speak, at least if she wanted to keep her sobs silent. She kept blinking as she directed her gaze to the ceiling. Aia was going to push her on the subject more until one of the crew members whispered in her ear again, almost making her smile widely again. 

"And speaking of which subject, weren't you also friends with that fennec fox? Fenneko, was it? Didn't she kill that gazelle? Tsunoda? How does this abundance of death make you feel? Especially since you were sooooo close with all of them! You must feel absolutely horrendous you poor thing!" Aia motioned for the camera to zoom in on Retsuko's scrunched up face. 

"Tell me..." the news anchor dragged out in her sickeningly sweet voice. "How do you feel about all of this?" The cheetah emphasized her 'do', and pushed the microphone so close to Retsuko it almost touched her. 

"I-I....I-" Retsuko attempted to speak but choked out a loud sob instead. Oh my gosh, she was crying on live tv. Tears streamed out of her eyes and left wet streaks down her face, her sniffling as her hands vigorously tried to rub away the wetness. Sadly, it only made it worse, ruffling her face fur into damp tangled messes. Tears kept coming as she whimpered, trying to contain her sobs and compose herself.

But she couldn't. She couldn't not cry. Her friend, another one, just died...by murder...again. Why was this happening around her? And why did Resasuke seem to know something about all of this?

Retsuko stopped her sobbing then, although silent tears gently rolled down her face as she looked up towards the adjacent wall, silent. Her hands were shaking, and her eyes wavered, she still looked like a mess. But before the news anchor could say anything, Retsuko wiped her eyes and swiftly turned around, practically running into the elevator once it opened. She faced the camera as the crew chased after her, just missing her as the doors shut before them. The last shot they got of Retsuko wasn't sad, though. 

It was angry.  

(I hope you enjoyed! Anyway, you'll see more of Retsuko soon, don't worry. Washimi, though? Sorry...she's dead, haha. Guess who killed her in the comments, since it may not be revealed for awhile. It may suprise you who it is. Have a good day/night!)