I don't own Beastars or any of Paru's characters.
"Hold still you little twerp!" the large panda dentist sneered through gritted teeth. The child-sized ferret before him refused to listen. Her head tossed and turned away from the bear, who held a serrated metal file in one hand. The ferret attempted to clamp her jaw shut, but the sharp metal gag blocked the way. Two nurses appeared from behind to help restrain her from the horror that was about to take place. The ferret shook, kicked, and yelled, but to no avail. "The more you struggle, the longer this will take." The panda said while adjusting the overhead light to get a better view of the little girl's mouth, blinding her. "Stop!" the ferret tried to beg. "Please don't!" she shrieked as the dentist invaded her personal space.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The alarm on Hanna's cell phone rang. She jumped and awoke with a gasp. Just another nightmare. She thought with a sigh of relief. She turned off the alarm and began her morning routine. Today was her first day at the Japan office for Legume Logistics, a shipping supply company her family founded over 80 years ago. The company's pride came from the mass need for carnivorous dietary needs. Although not a fan of beans, Hanna was honored to be trusted with such an important task so far away from home. Hanna yawned and stretched as she made her way to the hotel suite's kitchen. She squinted as she tried to figure out the coffee maker. She picked up the complimentary coffee packet and translated the kanji in her head to understand its contents.
"American Style Bold Coffee Beverage"
What the hell is American Style? She thought as she poured the coffee into the top of the maker. As the coffee brewed she grabbed a large green thermos bottle, opened it, and placed it back on the counter. She lazily trudged to the fridge to prepare lunch. The contents were bare besides a few necessities she grabbed after landing the night before. A small bottle of tomato juice, a large bottle of off-brand soju that already had a fourth of the bottle gone, and 4 cartons of bug broth. Hanna's nose twitched at the sight of the broth, but it was one of the only things she could consume comfortably. Reluctantly, she grabbed a carton and closed the refrigerator door.
By the time she finished preparing the thermos of broth, the coffee maker alarm sounded. Hanna turned and grabbed a teacup next to the maker. She filled the cup most of the way, then brought the cup to her nose, taking a small sniff. It smelt as if the coffee grounds were torched in battery acid. Hanna twitched her nose at the unappealing smell and added two sugar cubes to the alleged coffee. She took a sip with bated breath. She decided the grounds were, in fact, burned but not half bad. "American Style" would have to do in the meantime.
Clothes and shoes had been set out the night prior in anticipation. By the time her routine was finished, Hanna still had 45 minutes till she needed to depart for the train. She looked at the paper train schedule and then glanced at her phone to confirm the time. She then decided to take the early train. Before exiting, Hanna took one last look at her appearance in the mirror. Her pristine white fur complimented the light blue blouse she decided on. The black slack chosen complimented her backside with their hip-hugging cotton fabric. Thinking she looked professional enough, Hanna grabbed her black blazer and purse and headed out the door.
The train was… an experience. The ride was silent except for the clacking of the tracks below. There were so many different animals on board that Hanna found it awkward that no one made a peep. Then again, it was better than the loud public transport she had grown accustomed to back home. She figured she would relax and allow the caffeine to wake up her system. Hanna reached into her purse to find her wireless earbuds. She placed the earbuds in her ears, tapped the right side, and let the music replace the empty silence.
When Hanna exited the station, she was greeted with the bustling city. She took a strong inhale and closed her eyes. As notes of cherry blossoms and street food vendors hit her nostrils, she began to feel at ease. She made her way slowly up the street to sightsee. Hanna begged the universe for a decent ramen place within walking distance for her lunch breaks. She walked to the beat of the techno music bumping in her ears and took in the beautiful scenery surrounding her.
Reality struck like a freight train as she tripped to the sidewalk below her. The contents of Hanna's purse flew everywhere. As she frantically collected her belongings, a large hand appeared out of her peripheral. A kind stranger stopped to help her.
"Thank you." She said in Japanese and followed the hand to see who it belonged to.
"Not a problem." The large gray wolf responded as he continued to pick up her items.
Hanna couldn't help her instincts. Her eyes widened and took a small gulp out of ingrained fear. Not wanting to be rude and stare, she dropped what was in her hands in her purse and stood. The gray wolf rose but kneeled on one knee. He offered her items and apologized.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to trip you. I was lost in my head."
Hanna took her belongings from his extended hand and dropped them in her purse as well. She took an earbud out of her ear. "Same here," she gestured with it. "It's okay." She said with a smile. "Thanks again though, have a good day." The gray wolf politely bowed and stood up to attend to his day. Hanna grinned and put her earbud back in her ear. A carnivore of his size never lowered themselves to be at eye level with her before. She was happy with the societal changes here.
The morning was a boring blur. She met with her bosses who greeted her warmly. She sat in a meeting (that could've been an email) and filled out packets of onboarding paperwork. Half the day was over by the time someone showed her to her desk. "Each department has their own office." The male Bengal Tiger spoke while leading her. "We expect everyone to work as a team. After all Legume Logistics trademark is our hospitality." Hanna politely nodded already knowing the information. "And here is your desk!" The tiger said, finally stopping at an open doorway at the end of the hall. Hanna peeked in and saw a small rabbit at her own desk on the phone. She appeared to be focusing heavily on her computer screen, transfixed with numbers. "This will be your teammate Haru, she will continue with your training today. If you have any questions, my office is always open." Hanna slightly bowed her head and thanked her boss before turning back to the doorway.
After taking a step in, the rabbit slammed the phone down and rubbed one of her temples. Hanna cleared her throat to make her presence known. The small white rabbit turned her head over her shoulder.
"Good afternoon." Haru called.
"Good afternoon," Hanna replied. "I'm Hanna, I'm the new purchasing analyst."
The rabbit nodded "I'm Haru, and I'm annoyed."
Hanna cocked her brow. "Oh?" She questioned. "Anything I can help with?"
Haru sighed but pushed her office chair to the left for Hanna to get a better look at the screen. "This vendor's order won't go through and I can't figure out why." Hanna approached, trying to understand. She noticed a wallet-sized photo tapped to the lower corner of the screen. Haru and the large gray wolf from earlier taking a funny selfie.
"Hey, I know that guy!" Hanna exclaimed.
"What, really?" Haru asked, whipping her head in shock.
"Yeah, well, I mean not really. He accidentally tripped me this morning but helped me pick up my stuff. He was really nice!"
Haru sweetly smiled. "Yeah, that sounds like my Legoshi alright." Haru continued, giggling to herself.
"How do you two know each other?" Hanna asked, trying to make polite conversation.
"He's my husband." Haru cheerfully announced.
Hanna gasped. She didn't have a problem with interspecies relationships, she just wasn't expecting that answer. "Wow, that's great! How did you two meet?" Hanna asked, hoping for a gushy love story.
Haru's ears twitched but answered shortly "We met in school."
Hanna nodded and stood idly, not wanting to potentially interrupt the rabbit's dramatic pause. Haru sat silently and forced a small smile. "Oh, that's it? Sorry-" Hanna blurted out. To make up for the awkward social interaction, Hanna ended it by taking a seat at the bare desk across from her new teammate. The office shrouded Hanna in awkward silence as Haru turned back to her computer to try and fix her issue.
Not much of the workday was left when Hanna entered the office. By the time 5 p.m. hit she was walking out the door. Hanna squinted at the bright light from the evening sun that blinded her. Stop! She remembered begging. Hanna closed her eyes and took a deep breath to center herself. When she allowed her lids to open once more they blinked a few times to adjust and looked either side at the city moving past her. She stopped when she spotted Haru holding the tall wolf's hand from earlier. She smiled to herself. Hanna knew this awkward phase would pass as she got to know Haru a little more. The thought of her ex back home popped up and reminded her how much the two coworkers had in common.
A/N: That concludes our first chapter. Please leave a review and tell me what you think! I plan on posting everyday, but expect new chapters to be added to this story weekly. See y'all next time!
