Fade Into You

Ch. 1: Laconic

A/N: I just want to preface this work by saying a couple of things. First, I absolutely adore the characters from Aggretsuko. But I particularly dislike the pacing of the show; though I know it's a cartoon, I love delving deeper into characters. So sadly because there will probably never be a book about these quirky characters, I've taken matters into my own hands. The only major change I can think of though is I had the karaoke scene between Haida and Retsuko occur 5-6 months after the "incident."

Secondly, this story/rambling/whatever it is will contain content warnings, including: character trauma, mentions of assault/harassment, moderate sexual content, and discussion of serious psychological issues and self-reflection. But it will also contain humor and— of course— a buttload of romance and relationship development. As mentioned before, I love the show but want to dive deeper into the psyche of the characters, especially after series 3.

And finally, this is purely for my own entertainment. Writing helps me deal with my own struggles and is a coping mechanism. I find I relate highly to a lot of the individuals in this show and feel that their skills, fears, and flaws can be even more exemplified. I'm not sure how much I'll write but overall, I hope you enjoy it as much as I have scrawling, typing, and even researching (and apologize if it ends up just being a mod-podge of madness)

Additional A/N: This is my human A/U in which I will do my best to reflect the initial location and cultural references of Japan. However, I do want to include more diversity to the original characters, as well.

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Retsuko nervously balanced her weight from one foot to the other, wringing her purse handles through her sweating palms as she spotted a seat in the lobby to wait in. She glanced up at the clock: 5:09pm.

'It should be time soon, any minute now...'

Retsuko continued to squirm slightly in the chair, feeling her heartbeat pounding in her head, her internal monologue bombarding one question after the other.

'Oh my god... what do I even say? How much am I supposed to talk about... it? What if she thinks I'm stupid for feeling this way?'

Retsuko perched one shaking hand against the arm of the chair, holding her head up underneath her chin. Her eyes slowly surveyed the spotless, almost sickly white room. A large fish tank was stationed near the corner of the opposite wall and Retsuko allowed herself to exhale slightly as she watched a blue tang propel itself forward with propelling fins. It seemed so carefree, without a worry in the world, gliding above the multi-colored corals.

She briefly took notice of her reflection against the cloudy glass. It was distorted but there was no denying the darkened lines under her bloodshot eyes, her face paler than usual. Feeling her self-consciousness creeping in, the accountant returned her attention to the fish.

'I wonder what it's like to be a fish. It looks so calming.'

The door directly to the right of where Retsuko was sitting opened without warning, with a slight 'creeeaaak' and the poor young woman nearly bit her tongue from jumping up, her hand hitting her jaw squarely from where it had just been resting. Flushing, she quickly shifted around to see if anyone had seen her silly reaction and it just then occurred to her that she was the only one in the lobby.

Her embarrassment, however, was replaced by anxiety within seconds. The slight clicking of heels echoed through the doorway before a tall woman, whose beauty contended with even that of Washimi's, appeared, the upper half of her torso leaning against the frame.