Beastars: The Discover Check

Chapter 130: Psychiatry

The hare looked at her watch. It was time for their appointment. She stood from behind her desk and moved to the windows. She peeked out the curtains and looked out the window. The rain was heavy and the sky was dark. Probably best to keep the sashes closed and keep out the rain. She pulled out her notebook and a pen, setting them down on the table next to her chair. Tentatively laying a hand on the door, the psychiatrist took a breath and steadied herself for this patient. Twisting the knob as slowly and as carefully as she could, the door pushed open out to the waiting room. She looked out and saw her patient sitting with her husband, the only carnivore she trusted anymore.

"Haru?" she called, catching the rabbits attention.

The white rabbit looked up to her and heaved a visible sigh. She gave the wolf's hand one last squeeze before standing up and entering the office. The hare carefully closed the door behind her as quietly as she could.

"Drinking?" Haru asked, noticing the wine glass on the doctor's desk.

The hare had forgotten to put that away and bit her bottom lip a little.

"Yes," she nodded, not wanting to lie at the top of their weekly sessions.

"With a patient?"

"He," she emphasized as she sat down in her chair. "He was drinking with a patient."

The rabbit raised an eyebrow, still hesitating to sit in the chair opposite her doctor.

"I have my own unconventional psychiatrist," the hare explained.

"Well we have that in common," Haru remarked. She moved to one of the sashed windows and threw open the curtains. She looked out to the storm before moving back to her seat. The hare did nothing. Anything for the patients to feel comfortable. The rabbit took a seat opposite the hare and clasped her hands in her lap in front of her.

"Am I your psychiatrist Haru?" the hare asked. "Or are we simply having conversations?"

Haru swallowed before answering.

"Yes," she said. "I think that's the answer to your question."

"Then having a glass of wine before seeing a patient is very conventional," the hare said, standing and moving to her desk. "Especially for evening appointments."

The rabbit looked up, but not directly at the hare. It was one of those things of looking at the person's forehead to give the illusion of eye contact. As discovered in earlier sessions, the rabbit had taken up the habit a while ago when she was still in boarding school. Made it easier to acknowledge and speak to a person without having to read their expression entirely. It had helped her build confidence, but she still couldn't break the barrier between the forehead and eye levels. She had only ever looked two people in the eyes in her entire life. One of which was outside in the waiting room. The other had made headlines a few years ago, and since then, had vanished from the public eye.

The psychiatrist held up the bottle and Haru gave the smallest of nods. She sat silently in her chair as the har poured two glasses. The rabbit looked down to the floor again.

"How long have you been seeing a psychiatrist?" Haru asked.

"Since I chose to be a psychiatrist," the hare answered, walking forward with two glasses. She set one down on Haru's table next to her chair before returning to her seat.

The rabbit took a sip from the glass before returning it to the table. There was silence in the room and the hare took the moment to recognize that she would once again have to start a conversation.

"I read an article in the paper today," she started "About-"

"About the kidnapped hybrid girl they saved from Kopi Luwak," Haru interrupted, looking up at the psychiatrist's forehead again. "I know."