Chapter Two: The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

Minor hangovers were quite often worse than full blown hangovers. At least with a full hangover you were in bed and didn't have to move. But with a minor hangover you still needed to go about your day like nothing was different.
Every step Haida took up the front steps to his office building sent shockwaves of nerve pain directly into his brain. Every second of his morning had been a struggle. From waking up late to having to catch the peak hour train, everything was against him this morning.

He entered through the automatic doors and into the marble floored foyer, each step echoing annoyingly around the room. He took his normal detour to the left, heading over to the tiny coffee shop in the corner.

Coffee was the most important stop this morning, it was going to be his source of power. Not just to get through the work day, but to give him the energy and courage to execute every minute detail of the plan they had discussed for the better half of last night.

If today was going to succeed, there was little room for any error, distraction or even slight deviation to the plan. And step one of that plan…Coffee

'Morning Haida' the young, perky barista shouted as Haida pushed the glass door open to the tiny coffee shop 'The usual?'

'Morning Koharu' Haida feigned a smile 'A double shot this morning please'

Koharu shot him a look before moving over to the espresso machine 'Rough morning?'

'Rough night' he explained 'went out to Shibuya for a drink and one thing lead to another'

'Oh my god me and my girlfriends were out in Shibuya last night too!' Koharu spoke a little too loud for Haida's liking 'We went bar hopping, I had way too much to drink'

Haida raised an eyebrow at the girl as she moved to the milk frothing machine. At first, he was sceptical as she didn't look hungover in the slightest. Then he remembered the girl was still young. College age if he were to hazard a guess. He thought back on when he was that young and how easy it was the morning after.

Growing older sucked.

'Take advantage of it while it lasts' he smiled as they exchanged coffee for yen 'every year from now on it gets harder and harder the next day'

'What do you mean?' she asked naively

'Hangover's Koharu' he rubbed the back of his neck 'they get worse and worse the older you get'

'Oh' she giggled 'So you're hungover?'

'I mean, a little bit'

'Well I've still got a while until I reached your stage, so I'm not too worried' she smiled. Haida shot her a Curious glance

'What are you saying?'

'Well, I mean' Koharu looked awkwardly to the roof 'you are a fair bit older than me right?'

Haida was hurt. Did he look old? In the eyes of this naive girl, was the mid-twenties classified as old now? An image flashed through his mind; an old and grey Haida sitting in his rocking chair, a cane in one hand and a dilapidated old bass guitar resting on his knee. It sent a weird shiver up his spine.

He chuckled nervously 'Koharu I'm not that much older than you' he explained 'I mean I'm only twenty fi-' Haida cut himself short as a wave of painful information flooded his brain like a dam bursting. His eyes widened, and his breathing stopped as the realisation came to him

'You okay Haida?' Koharu questioned, shooting him a look

'W-what day is it?

'Friday'

'N-no the date, what's the date?'

'The…' She looked at her phone on the counter 'Seventh of June, why?'

Haida's thoughts were confirmed. He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes tight, letting out a groan.

'Sorry Koharu, I've got to go' Haida turned to the glass door 'If I'm late Ton will kill me' it was a canned excuse, but it served its purpose.

He didn't wait for her answer, simply turning and making his way back out into the foyer. How could he forget something so simple? Its not like it was a rare occasion. He needed to keep a lid on this realisation or it was going to ruin all his plans.

He reached the far side of the foyer and pressed the button to call an elevator, taking a large sip from his coffee and hoping it might ease his aching head. Koharu was young and nieve, but he would be dammed if she didn't make a spectacular morning latte.
The elevator let out its trademark bell sound as the doors opened and Haida stepped inside, selecting floor number fifteen.

Ground floor the elevator announced itself.

Haida took a moment to close his eyes, hoping a peaceful ride up the Lethargic elevator might give him time to clear his mind and pick up the broken pieces that was his morning so far. However, as the doors began to close he heard a cry from across the foyer that made him instinctively hit the doors open button.

'Hold the door!' the voice shouted, accompanied by the fast tapping of shoes on tile. The doors slowly reopened to reveal the bushy eyed Retsuko, rushing for the door.

'R-Retsuko' Haida stammered. Out of all the people to rush for the elevator, it had to be her.

'Oh, Haida' Retsuko looked up to him with a small chuckle as she settled into the elevator 'I didn't even notice it was you' she smiled up at him and he looked down to her, dumbfounded. The doors closed with a ding and began its agonising rise to the fifteenth floor.

What the hell was happening to him this morning? First he overslept, then the hangover, then Koharu reminding him of things he would much rather forget and to top it all off he shares a lift with Retsuko before he even has a chance to wake up.

What god had he pissed off last night for his plans to be so far off target before the working day could technically even start?

Floor two

'So' Retsuko finally broke the Silence Haida didn't even realise he was causing 'how was last night?'

'Last night?' Haida lost his train of thought for a moment before the conversation with Fenneko came to the centre of his mind, making him choke on his sip of coffee 'pretty normal' he managed to choke out between coughs.

Floor four

'Really?' she seemed dubious 'you seem a bit out of it'

'I do?' he stalled, trying to form the sentences Fenneko and he had planned meticulously last night.

'I mean….' he rubbed his neck 'I could have slowed down a little last night, and I'm suffering for it…in more ways than one' he mumbled the last part into his coffee lid.

Floor ten

'Do you still want to go out tonight?' Retsuko asked delicately 'sounds to me like you might be all partied out'

'Yes!' he almost shouted. He had practiced this conversation all night on the way home last night 'I-I mean no…' and he already screwed it up. He bit his tongue and took a second to reset his confidence. He took a sip of coffee and a deep breath before continuing.

Floor thirteen

'What I mean to say' he spoke calmly 'is that tonight is still happening as far as I'm aware'

'I'm glad' Retsuko beamed at Haida, making his heart melt for a moment 'This week has just…let's just say I'm hoping for a surprise free Friday'

Haida let out a chuckle 'You have no idea how much I agree with you on that one'

The elevator slowed to a stop and announced that they had arrived at floor fifteen. The doors peeled open and the two of them stepped out into the tiled hallway leading to the accounting department. Their steps echoed through the hallway, piercing the silence between them as they took a right turn around the corner. Haida had a wave of things he wanted to say, but he thought it best to keep his mouth shut for the time being, lest he ruin the plan even further. He just needed enough time to recover from the hangover and wake up properly before anything could move forward.

'Alright let's make a deal' Retsuko finally broke the silence. Haida looked down at her with a raised eyebrow, prompting her to continue 'we keep our heads down, fly under the radar and get out of here on time today'

'Seems…' Haida thought for a moment 'seems pretty easy. Deal!' he nodded his head with a smile and she smiled back.

'No surprises' She stated

'No surprises' Haida confirmed.

They rounded the final corner and Haida placed his hand on the door handle leading into the accounting department, pulling the handle down to open the door.

The door swung open and Haida's heart instantly sank to the bottom of his chest.

'Surprise!' was sung by the chorus of Accounting staff as they gathered at the entrance to the department. Kabae stood front and centre of the group, a large, pink frosted cake held in her outstretched hands. Haida didn't need to count to know that the cake was topped with exactly twenty-six burning candles. His eyes shifted over the crowd and finally landed on Fenneko, who's stony death stare spoke volumes on how she felt about this revelation. He screamed inside his mind.

The nightmare was real.

'You thought you could slip by unnoticed on your special day' Kabae almost shouted in her signature tone

'How did you…' Haida left the question trailing, to be honest he didn't really want to know.

'All birthdays are recorded down in our system deary' the snake like Tsubone spoke with a slight lilt to her voice 'We wouldn't want our employees to think they don't mean anything to the company, now would we?'

'No surprises huh?' Retsuko queried to Haida, a slightly frustrated look on her face. Haida rubbed the back of his neck as he looked down to her. He tried to form a sentence, an excuse, anything that would kill this moment. But he was paralysed in place.

'It seems our Haida managed to forget his own birthday' Fenneko spoke in a tone that Haida knew all to well. He was in trouble…big trouble 'Lucky for him it seems Ookami and Kabae have taken the liberty of organising his birthday party'

A sharp stabbing pain ran through Haida's brain at this sentence. Now he knew why he was getting the Fenneko death stare.

'M-my what?' He stammered. He tried to edge his way around the crowd and to his desk, but he was set firmly as the centre of attention.

'Don't "my what?" me Haida' Ookami swooped in, putting his arm around his neck 'We're all going out tonight and we're going to give you the birthday party of a lifetime'

Haida buried his head in his hand 'that's not necessary' he mumbled

'Nonsense!' Ookami waved off 'Retsuko, you're coming too right?'

'Uh…' she stammered for a moment, clearly as confused as Haida was 'I…guess so' She finished with a plastic smile.

Haida was ready for the sweet embrace of death at this point. He wondered silently if he would have enough force to throw himself through the window and onto the pavement below. Maybe Fenneko would take pity on him and kindly strangle him to death.
Maybe there was a service that catered for this exact situation? Some kind of hotline? 1800 fuck my life had a good ring to it.

'That's enough' Tons demanding voice cut through the crowd like a hot knife through butter 'there's not going to be a party if we don't finish the Hark & Co merger account today'

A Hush fell over the department and people slowly began to move to their respective desks. Haida moved over and sat down behind his computer, powering it up. He took a moment to pinch the bridge of his nose and breath. This morning had been an unmitigated disaster. Fenneko and Haida had spent hours last night thinking over every iteration of potential drawbacks to their supposedly infallible plan of attack. However, nothing could have prepared them for this morning.

He dared to take a peek across the table at Fenneko, but instantly looked away like a scolded puppy as she maintained her deathly stare in his direction. He tried to take solace in Retsuko, and thankfully she shot him a quick and confused smile, mouthing the words "happy birthday" to him.

Today was going to be rough.

*Later at the bar

Fenneko leaned back against the bar, looking out into the room crammed full with half of the accounting department as well as some stragglers from other departments. Sheyda Bar in Roppongi was their destination for the start of the night, and Fenneko didn't like it one bit. Most bars in the Roppongi district tried too hard to accommodate the western tourist's and expats that it was famous for. As such the place was loud, crowded and woefully expensive. Not to mention the surrounding nightclubs brought out a particular breed of citizen that did not sit right with her.

Fenneko searched the dimly lit bar with her eyes until they finally rested on Haida. Surrounded by his male co-workers and with a beer in hand he stood awkwardly on the far side of the room. It was clear that he had no interest in whatever conversation he had been dragged into, but as the plan ruining birthday boy Fenneko felt he was getting his just desserts.

She had already taken their lunchtime break to remind him how stupid he was. He was the only man on the planet that could forget his own birthday. Of course, he had offered some lame excuses as to why he was so utterly inept, all of which were irrelevant.
"Don't try to put this all on me" he had defended himself "we had a deal remember? You remember the dates and I pony up for the tickets at the door". Fenneko reminded him that this deal was specific to remembering concert dates and not birthdays, but he was set in defence by this stage so there was no reasoning with him.

She let out a silent sigh before turning back to the bar and hopping up onto the stool, sipping from her wine in the process. Fenneko, Retsuko and Tsunoda had decided early on in this bar trip to leave the boys to their own devices, and as such now sat together at the bar. She wasn't exactly thrilled to have Tsunoda tagging along, but it seemed an inevitability at this point. At least the more obnoxious Kabae had called it an early night.

Fenneko took another sip of her drink and pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket, taking a moment to check her social media feed while Retsuko and Tsunoda spoke with each other. She wasn't surprised to see the standard Friday feed as she scrolled down. A few pictures of food from restaurants, some drink pictures and some nonsensical quotes posted by people who don't fully understand what they mean.

She rolled her eyes and put her phone down. Todays events had put her in a kind of pensive mood that not even glancing at others social media stupidity could fix. Instead she decided to go for a more local source, moving her attention towards Tsunoda.
She was deep into a conversation with Retsuko, who sat between the two of them, a glass of sparkling white wine sat in front of Tsunoda and in front of Restuko sat, no surprise, a half-finished beer. Though it was worth noting that this was her third beer in just over an hour.

Fenneko focused her hearing on the pair to try to catch up to the conversation.

'Over a year and a half at least' Tsunoda Spoke with a wave of her hand 'he was already there by the time I joined the company'

'I would guess maybe longer than that even' Retsuko replied 'he seemed to know what he was doing when I started'

'What are we talking about?' Fenneko finally joined the conversation, her curiosity peeked.

'Birthday boy over there' Tsunoda answered with a nod of her head back at the crowd of guys behind them 'we were just trying to work out how long he's been with the company'

Fenneko smiled and took a quick sip of her wine as she cast her mind back. It was easy for her to remember, unlike some people she had a memory capable of retaining important details…and dates.

'He would have started about four years ago' she nodded to herself 'give or take a few months'

'Wow!' Retsuko exclaimed 'that's longer than I thought'

'He started about six months before I did, so I think four years is correct'

'Has he always been Mr popular?' Tsunoda asked with a lilt to her voice. Fenneko took a moment to look back at the crowd behind them. Haida was still situated in the centre of the group, though a less awkward smile was sitting on his face now.

'Pretty much, yeah' Fenneko nodded as she pulled her gaze back to the girls 'he has the type of personality that doesn't really rock the boat; makes it pretty easy for people to get along with him'

'That's true' Retsuko spoke into her beer before taking a large swill to finish the glass. Fenneko followed suit and finisher her wine before waving the bartender down for another round.

'He's always been that personality type really' Fenneko continued 'though he tries to act like he's not a pushover, he really is too passive for his own good sometimes'

A fresh beer and wine were placed before the pair and they both took a quick sip of their respective drinks.

'Wait' Retsuko put a hand up in a stopping motion 'you knew Haida before you started working here?'

Fenneko silently bit her tongue as she realised she had revealed a little too much. She shot out a quick smile and played it cool

'A story for another time perhaps' she explained as she took another sip of her drink. It wasn't that she didn't want to tell Retsuko everything about it, it was more Tsunoda that she would rather was kept out of the loop.

"All in good time" she thought to herself "patience is a virtue"

'well you're no fun' Tsunoda pouted as she finished her glass, signalling to the bartender for another. Fenneko let a soft and distinctly fake laugh pass through her closed mouth, the phrase "this bitch" wafting whimsically through her mind for a brief moment.

'But enough about me and woefully inept memory man over there' Fenneko pulled the conversation away from the danger zone 'Let's talk about the fact that you're on your fourth beer within an hour and a half Retsuko' She ended with a look to the fresh drink in Retsuko's hands.

Retsuko looked down the bar for a moment as a light blush crossed over her face. It seemed that Fenneko had hit the topic button she was looking for.

'Rough week Retsuko?' Tsunoda asked in a strangely gentle voice that Fenneko had never heard from her.

'Not exactly' Retsuko chuckled 'rough weekend ahead is more like it'

'Sounds juicy, do tell' and with that she was back to her old self, making Fenneko roll her eyes slightly.

Retsuko took a moment to devour almost half of her beer in one gulp, making Fenneko raise an eyebrow. She slammed the beer back down on the table and let out a long gasp of air as if she had almost drowned in her own beer.

'My parents are coming to Tokyo for the weekend' she groaned

'Sounds rough' Fenneko Comforted

'What's so bad about that?' Tsunoda probed 'is it a bad family relationship?'

'Nothing like that' Retsuko waved it off 'I love my parents, just sometimes they can be a little…' she left it hanging.

'Embarrassing?' Tsunoda asked, but Retsuko shook her head.

'Overbearing?' Fenneko offered a solution

'That's it!' Retsuko cried out, the drink clearly showing its early effects 'every time they come to town I get the third degree from them'

'Satellite Parenting' Fenneko explained 'my parents are guilty of it too'

'I mean, its good seeing them again' Retsuko continued on 'but every time they come to visit they point out everything wrong with my job, my apartment and don't even get me started on the grandkids questions'

'Ew' Tsunoda poked her tongue out 'Kids at our age? No thank you'

'While Tsunoda is correct in that most women our age are preferring to focus on their career over child bearing' Fenneko explained, disgusted that she agreed with Tsunoda on something 'it's important to remember that your parents generation see kids as the sign that you've made it in the world' she took a quick sip 'it sounds like their third degree comes from a good place'

'I know' Retsuko nodded 'its just a lot to deal with for a weekend'

Their conversation was broken by an eruption of laughter from behind them. The three girls swivelled on their bar stools to look back at the group of guys who were now in the middle of a cheers, loudly clinking their glasses together.

'I bet the guys don't get this from their parents' Retsuko almost mumbled as they looked out to the group

'Japanese society is bent that way' Fenneko explained 'they don't get as much pressure to start a family, however their expectations to succeed and provide are far higher even though gender roles are slowly beginning to blend together for our generation and beyond' Fenneko swivelled her chair to look at Retsuko directly as she pulled out her phone 'I can show you some statistics on the subject if you would like'

'I'll pass' Retsuko nervously waved off

'You two are far too morbid' Tsunoda rolled her eyes as they all swung their chars back to the bar 'lighten up! we're young, beautiful and out on the town. Let's forget about life for one night and just party'

Fenneko raised a finger, ready to retort tsunodas statement, however she paused as she saw Retsuko crack a smile out of the corner of her eye.

'You know what Tsunoda?' Retsuko began, the slightest slur making an appearance in her speech 'you're right! I spend too much time worrying about what's coming and not enough time enjoying what's happening' She took a moment to down the last dregs of her drink 'forget the weekend, lets enjoy tonight'

'That's the spirit!' Tsunoda explained, pulling herself up onto the bar slightly 'this calls for celebration shots!'

'woah!' Fenneko flailed 'I don't think that's necessary' However Tsunoda took no notice, leaning on the bar in a way that pushed her cleavage out further than normal. As expected the male bartender was quick to respond

'Three Fruity Sluts' Tsunoda spoke in a sultry voice. Both Fenneko and Retsuko choked for a moment as the bartender struggled to find his words before she continued 'calm down sailor, I'm talking about the drinks'

The bartender took a moment to readjust himself before bowing and quickly moving to the drink cabinet. Tsunoda re-settled herself back on her barstool before looking back to the girls.

'Its important to keep them guessing' she winked. Fenneko shuddered and Retsuko let out a nervous chuckle.

'Having fun ladies?' a familiar male voice called from behind, making the girls turn in their stools to see Ookami and Haida standing behind them. Fenneko instantly homed in on Haida's stance. He stood slightly slouched, a dejected look on his face as Ookami held him by the shoulder. It was a look of defeat she had seen on his face many times before.

'Not as much as you guys it seems' She replied with a quizzical look at Haida who avoided direct eye contact.

'Well the nights only beginning' Ookami continued 'phase two will begin soon, so finish your drinks and get your dancing shoes on'

'Dancing shoes!' Tsunoda's ears perked up at this line 'I like where this is going'

'I don't' Fenneko added bluntly

'I second that motion' Haida's softly added but was quickly ignored

'What did you have in mind?' Retsuko asked curiously

'We're hitting the club for Haida's last breath of early twenties life' Ookami said in a voice befitting a boxing match announcer 'let's see if this old man has any moves left in him' He wrapped Haida in a playful headlock.

'He doesn't' Haida panicked 'we better just call it a night you know, head home before we do something stupid'

'I second that motion' Fenneko mirrored Haida's previous statement, starting to feel the same panic that had gripped Haida 'I'm not really the clubbing type'

'come on Fenneko' Tsunoda pleaded 'loosen up, it'll be fun'

Fenneko felt her resting bitch face begin to slowly settle in place, however her train of thought was thoroughly derailed by what Retsuko proceeded to say.

'Why not' Retsuko added with a smile 'we're in Roppongi, might as well go to a club…though it has been a while'

'That's the spirit!' Ookami announced before leaning into Haida and drunkenly "whispering" to him 'the more girls you're with the easier it is to pick up other chicks'

'You're a true gentleman' Haida mumbled, inferring heavy sarcasm

Fenneko slowly turned to look at the girl sitting opposite, a look of disbelief stuck to her face. Fenneko had never pictured Retsuko as the type to go clubbing. Maybe in her earlier years, but now?
That's when the puzzle pieces fell into place in her mind and she realised the intricate web that Tsunoda had slowly been weaving into Retsukos mind. This was Retsuko living for the moment and forgetting about what happens next. She shot a cautious glance at Haida to see he was just as dumbfounded as she was.

Fenneko felt her heart sink as she realised what she was going to have to do for the sake of her stupid best friend and any hope they had of rescuing the already sunken ship that was their plans from the previous evening.

She had to bite the bullet and take one for the team. Though she wasn't going to go down with the ship alone.

'Alright' she sighed 'Haida and I will come'

'excuse me?' Haida spoke in a dull and disbelieving tone. Fenneko shoot him a look; a very specific look that can only be developed through years of close friendship and trust. It was the "shut up, we're doing this and you have no say in this matter" look. Instantly Haida knew that his fate had been sealed.

Fenneko heard the soft clinks on the bar behind her, making her turn her head to see three vibrantly coloured shot glasses had been placed in front of the girls. Tsunoda swivelled in her seat and shot the bartender a quick wink.

'Can we get the bill please?' She asked. The bartender quickly nodded and rushed off to the register, clearly quite smitten by Tsunoda. She shot the other girls a quick look and Fenneko and Retsuko nervously picked up their glasses like they were holding weapons grade plutonium.

'To Haida' Tsunoda announced as she held her glass up high 'happy birthday!'

'Happy birthday!' Fenneko and Retsuko cheered in unison before quickly downing the sickeningly sweet drink.

If the overtly sweet taste of the shot was any indication on the night to come, tonight was going to be rough.

Authors note: I Didn't really think people would be too interested in this little creative writing project, but I do appreciate it. I just do this in my spare time at work, but if there are ways I can improve let me know. I enjoy writing but I wouldn't say I'm particularly good at it.