Haida's Chronical, Ep.1
#1 of Haida's Chronical
It's Haida! The one, the only... blushy yeen! A collection of short stories that are meant to run parallel to the episodes of the original Aggretsuko animated shorts, which first aired on TBS Television in 2016.
Background time! So, I was recently acquainted with Aggretsuko, and peripherally, best yeen Haida (that blushy bastard). I've started on the original series (pre-Netflix) of animated shorts, which first aired on TBS Television in 2016. Anyways, I've been finding the episodes really entertaining and relatable and thought it would be a cool experiment to create a parallel episode for each 100 episodes, one a day, and each about 1k words in length (a quick read). Over these episodes we'll be following Haida as, just like the red panda herself (Retsuko), his character is fleshed out and deepened! I will warn that I have not watched the Netflix feature yet... so if more details beyond what I've overheard are missed by me in the narrative, sorry!
I use the episodes as my guide for Haida's narrative. This one's based off [episode 1] of the original animated shorts!
April the 2nd
It was cooler today. Unseasonal, really, but stuff like that doesn't bother me. Pick your fights, my father would say, life's too short to be angry all the time. He'd say that to me all the time. I think he'd be proud, knowing I remembered. That young wolf--couldn't be more than twenty-three--met me once again on my walk to the overpass by Shibaura. Good morning_, Haida_ she said, taking a drag of her cigarette. Good morning, I said back. This time she'd been lounging on the door frame, the door behind swung back to show the cluttered interior of the main hallway. We parted ways.
The occasional rubber-on concrete on the bridge above me was always soothing, and paced the perpetual gurgling of the river underneath the overpass where I sit. Gently, ever so gently, I reached into my backpack and pulled out my offering. I was rather proud of how well I wrapped the ginkgo leaf this time. I remember, not two weeks before, my offering had unraveled as soon as it hit the more tumultuous section of the river, and the five-yen coin sunk. That was the same day I spilled tea all over my final report right in the midst of signing it. Thinking of you, dear. I'm always thinking of you and I hope you like the offering.
I pride myself on my punctuality, and in this case it never fails to reward me with a hot bowl of miso and some warm rice just in time for my arrival at S?pu's vending operation in Shibaura. Since I visit him after I cast my offering he's gotten pretty good at guessing when I arrive and always puts aside a clean bowl for me as he sets up. That S?pu! He makes the best miso soup in Konan. No doubt about it. In fact, I'm salivating just writing about it. If I could, I'd eat S?pu's miso every day.
Shinagawa Station was buzzing with the subdued energy of the sleepy early commuters when I arrived, dressed in that nice new button-up I'd purchased a few days ago and sporting your red tie. It's gotten a bit frayed since you'd jokingly gifted it to me for our anniversary, but I can't seem to separate with it. Too many memories, you know.
After an uneventful ride the familiar face of the trading firm met me indifferently. Like usual, that slight tick in the back of my skull made me wonder why I was wasting valuable time at the firm. Reality, however, and the bills that came with it, checked me and the tick faded. As I arrived in accounting the bleary-eyed face of Ookami met me. He was slumped over his desk, a half-eaten piece of toast in one hand and a pen in the other. I don't understand you! His voice, grumbled, stopped me just as I was passing by. I shifted my documents to the other hand and put my free one on my hip. How are you always so perky so early in the morning? Is it coffee? it must be coffee... or that tea you like with the caffeine in it, or... he droned off and I told him it was neither. He nodded by I knew he thought I was lying. Maybe if he'd watch the news less and sleep more he'd start seeing things my way.
As I was setting up my pencils and clips I noticed Retsuko on time, as usual, seeming exhausted, as usual. Her head was down as he furred fingers tried their best to fade out a small tea stain on her collar. I have this hunch, this crazy hunch, that she has some dark secrets. A girl that innocent-seeming will always have dark secrets. But she seems agreeable enough. I think Buffalo Boss works her too hard. I think he does it because he sees a lot of potential in her; I just hope she's not one to break under all that stress. Haida, good morning. Just as I'd thought about him, there he appeared. In his cloven hands he had a stack of paperwork. Did you sleep well? You always seem so perky. I wanted to respond but he was already moving on to the next desk. I shrugged. Pick your fights, right?
I've given up on detailing my work day in these journals. Not only does it remind me of how boring my life has become, but if you ever end up seeing it from wherever you are it might just give you another heart attack. Can a spirit get scared? I don't want to find out. I've appreciated your favor over these years. I don't want to go scaring you away! I will say, however, that crunching numbers passes time way too quickly. In regards to getting the day done it's my friend, but this is the second time I've missed lunchbreak this month. Maybe I should set an alarm? Would that bother my workmates? I don't know.
Today, just as I was packing my things, Komiya brushed by me, phone wielded as if a sword. He was moving so fast that some of my papers blew off my desk and I picked them up. As I leaned down two thoughts struck me. One, the rash on my tail from my damn office chair's tail-hole needed to be prevented, and two, how much coffee and tea Komiya must consume in a day. That marten was as high strung as they came, always flying around as if being pursued by the constraints of normal behaviour. Sometimes I wish I could be more like that martin, Komiya... but with mediocracy comes sustainability and reliability in life. A hard lesson to learn but something I'm ok being part of now that I've reaped the benefits of white-collar employment.
Sitting on the balcony of my apartment as I write this, the calmness of night envelops me. I think, tomorrow, probably over my break, I'm going to look into getting a new office chair so I can sit comfortably once more. I see a bear of some sorts in good spirits walking down the road out front, following the white line exactly, and wonder what she's figured out. Then again, she could have just been drunk. Animals that take this rout this late in the evening are almost always coming from the Karaoke café.