Chapter Text
Tadano went out of the karaoke bar and headed towards his limo. He pretended to not be sad when the Hyena that knocked out his “driver” asked him if he was okay. The last thing that he expected when he woke up was to lose his girlfriend after she sung her feelings out towards him and his views on marriage.
He would’ve just sat back and let his A.I drive the limousine, but he was feeling “adventurous” right now. Maybe it was because he was feeling pretty shitty right now, and his usual recklessness was amplified from how inestable his emotional state was at the moment, but Tadano wasn’t known for being an emotionally mature person, and he was sure as hell not going to start now.
Had he driven before? No.
Was he going to give this stupid idea that could possibly kill him a second thought? No.
After fumbling with the keys and trying to figure out how to turn on the engine, Tadano heard his A.I beeping, signaling it had turned on.
“Sir, I would recommend that you go and sit towards the back seat.” The A.I said as it detected Tadano on the driver’s seat.
“Actually, I’m driving this time.” Tadano bluntly responded.
“Sir, If I may ask, are you sure that you’re able to drive at the moment?”
“I’m sure.” Tadano said, with some bitterness in his voice.
“But you’re not in an optimal emotional state right no-”
“I have the last say, and I want to drive.” Tadano raised his voice after being questioned, something he had never done.
“Alright, but I’ll make sure to call an ambulance in the situation that you crash. Are you okay with these terms?”
“Y-yeah, yeah sure. Just let me drive, ENI-O.”
The A.I entered sleep mode, and Tadano took a deep sigh before trying to get out of the spot he parked in. He knocked over some trash cans, but he didn’t damage any of the surrounding cars, so it was a nice start.
He slowly drove around through the city. It was kinda hard, with some people yelling at him for his shoddy driving, but he was too stressed to be bothered by it.
He didn’t feel like going to his ironically cheap apartment, but he still wanted to do something, so he kept driving without thinking about it.
Tadano wanted to get Retsuko out of his mind, because he didn’t know how to feel with a rejection of this magnitude. It’s not that he was mad at her, after all, it was a mutual break up, but he still felt a pit on his stomach, and how could not he?
What was the point of a future without her? The beautiful future with her he had built up in his mind was blown away like a house made out of cards.
As he lost himself in his own thoughts, he was suddenly brought back to reality when he heard the cars behind him honking, urging him to move forward as the stoplight had turned green.
Tadano continued to drive, still bumping against some cars, but he was still unscased. After a while, he was outside the building where Retsuko worked, and as he slowly drived through the street, he realised that the Hyena that greeted him outside the karaoke bar in the parking lot was sitting on the stairs with a can of cheap beer on his hand. He was clearly drunk, indicated by the blush on his face.
He thought that talking to someone would help him sort his feelings out. Sure, this random guy he barely knew wasn’t the best candidate for the job of hearing someone out, but it was the only thing he knew at the moment.
Tadano parked the car after a few minutes of trying to not hit any more cars, with the Hyena glaring daggers at him as he continued to drink his beer.
He got off the limousine and headed towards the drunk Hyena, slowly walking with his hands inside his pockets. “ Heeeeey … what’s up?”
The Hyena stared at the Donkey with disbelief at why he would be here. “What the hell are you doing here? If you’re here to apologize to Retsuko, don’t. Plus, she’s not here right now.”
“Nah. We came to a mutual agreement, and even then, she seemed pretty satisfied with the whole ordeal.” After he said it, he looked at the side with sadness, realising that unlike Retsuko, he wasn’t satisfied with the result of their relationship.
“You sure?” The Hyena asked.
“About what?”
“You sure that it was a mutual agreement? You don’t look so good.” Haida pointed out.
“Maybe? I’ve never dealt with anything like her before. She was such an unique person… but life had other plans for the both of us, I guess.” Tadano responded as he looked down, his eyes not stopping to tear up.
“Yeah… I know the feeling.”
“Really? That sucks man.”
“It sure does.” The Hyena took one last gulp of his beer before realising he had finished what was probably his sixth can of beer.
The Hyena stared at the depressed Donkey, who had still not continued to look at him, prefering to stare at the floor to hide the fact that he was teary eyes, not that he was doing a good job of hiding it, but he still had to give Tadano some credit for putting a strong front.
After a few minutes of silence, Haida got up and walked towards the bar. As he walked towards the bar, he looked back at Tadano, who was just solemnly looking down as he felt sorry for himself.
Suddenly, Tadano heard that the Hyena was calling out to him.
“Hey, uh, Mister Tadano?” The Hyena asked.
“Yeah?”
“Wanna, uh.. go get shitfaced with me? You look like you need it.”
Tadano wasn’t exactly in a good mental state right now, so he was easily convinced by the proposal of the intoxicated Hyena.
As they walked towards the bar, Tadano realised he didn’t know the Hyena’s name. He thought it was pretty rude to not ask someone his name. “Hey, I realised that I never learned your name.”
“It’s Haida.” The Hyena bluntly responded.
“Haida, huh? Neat name.”
They entered the bar, a place that Haida had grown accustomed to after suffering through the months that Retsuko dated the space cadet that worked in the office. It had mostly brown colors, and it was dimly lighted, mostly because the owner refused to change the lightbulbs.
They sat in the front row, with Haida ordering three shots of vodka for himself, because he was so drunk that he was ready to go down the rabbit hole.
Meanwhile, Tadano ordered a glass of champagne, something less intense and much more sophisticated than the raw, fermented beverage his companion was currently ordering.
Their drinks soon arrived, and Tadano paid for both of them, since he was feeling a generous.
He turned at the drunk Hyena and smiled. “Hey, Haida?”
“Y-Yeah?”
“Thanks for listening, man.”