Rᴇᴛʀɪʙᴜᴛɪᴏɴ || O.Tᴏᴏʀᴜ // M. Aᴛsᴜᴍᴜ

Just The Beginning.

"To (Y/n)'s brand new promotion! Cheers!"

Glasses across the entire bar clinked up to the air in unison to the successful promotion of one of their hardest working coworkers. After the pause for a brief swig, the lively chatter returned.

Each gulp you took tilted your head up to the dim lights hanging overhead. You drank until even further until not even a drop of alcohol remained in your glass.

"I can't believe (Y/n)'s going to be appointed the secretary for the new Chief." A male coworker said as he scooted his chair forward.

"I can," One of the women beside you said. "She's been working her ass off since the day she got here." She plucked a piece of salmon roe from the center of the table. "It's only right of the Chief to choose her for the job."

You smiled at the continued words of recognition. "I've only been doing my best. There are others who're just as capable. Still," you held your glass near the tipping bottle of sake for the second pouring. "I'm grateful that he recognized my efforts and chose me for the job."

"I was thinking the exact same thing, (l/n)-san."

Backing your table, at the smaller one besides yours, was the only person who hadn't raised his arm for the toast. A scrawny fellow whose eyes reminded you of a slithering snake. One with close to no eyebrows.

He twisted his body enough for his arm to prop on top of the chair's top rail. "There are others within our company who are, if not, more capable than you to take the position of the new Chief's secretary." His hand closed around his half-full glass of sake and downed the remains.

"Realistically speaking, both you and I, and even everyone else here knows that it should've been me to get that promotion."

"No, Daisho-san." You closed your eyes to the burning sensation passing over your tongue and down your esophagus. "No, I don't know." Your glass hit the table with a clunk.

"I have greater experience am further than qualified to be Tanba-san's successor. More hard-working, more reliable, more-" He stopped to chuckle. "Well, just ask Tanba-san and he'll tell you-"

"Oh, give it a rest already!" The same woman roared, as she twisted her body around to face him dead-on. "How long're you gonna drag this out, huh?"

"So you remember, Takagi-san."

"Who wouldn't? It's all you bother blabbering about since it happened. Tanba-san might've recognized you once," she stabbed her finger in his face. "But it's the Chief himself who ultimately chose (Y/n). Not only that, half of this party is in celebration of her, yet you still bothered to show your face."

"Obviously for the free drinks and a meal. I couldn't blame anyone else if that was their reason for coming, either. And if you ask me, the Chief made a terrible decision."

"If you think you know better than the Chief Oikawa, then I dare you to say those exact words to his face when he shows up."

"Pfft. Maybe I wi-"

"Did somebody say my name?"

"Speak of the devil!" Takagi chirped.

Right on cue to her remark, both generations of Oikawa, along with the newly appointed assistant, Tanba, closed in on the two tables specifically.

"Or were you speaking of your new Chief Executive, Tooru?"

At the sight of him, the skin hidden beneath the fingernails on your right hand quickly became agitated. With your thumb, you went across each finger and pressed along the ends to soothe the feeling in your trembling fingertips.