Me: Okay, this is outside of my usual line of creative works. But I can feel a really deep connection to Morenatsu, or more particularly, Hiroyuki.
Kouya: What does that mean?
Me: 0.0 KOUYA IS HERE!? Can I have your autograph please!?
Juuichi: Pay attention. *smack*
Me: Ow! I'm okay! Anyways, this is my first Morenatsu/Summer Vacation fan fiction. I've become obsessed with watching all of the routes on YouTube, since I can't seem to play it. And if anyone doesn't know by my reaction, you'll find out which route this is following.
Kouya: Why do I feel this is going to end badly? Sigh, I really need to stop looking so good…
Me: NO! I WANT TO OWN YOU AND ALL OF MORENATSU BUT I CAN'T!
Juuichi: Stalker much?
August 1
Minasoto, the Waterfront Village
The song "We Die Young" by The Showdown blares in my right ear, the other bud tucked into my plain light blue tee. Baggy green cargo pants hang on me, one side dipping a little low. I pull up the dipping side, only to have the other side fall and cover my black Vans skater shoes. A bump in the road causes the bus to shake greatly, and I have to take off my straw fedora to straighten out my dirty blonde hair. I study everything with hazel eyes, aware of the noon sun over the mountainous Japanese landscape.
I'm not actually from Japan, really. I'm an American with roots in Japan, on my mother's side. I am Lee Blade, an international kendo champion, and a recent high school graduate. I turned eighteen yesterday, when a strange letter arrived with tickets for a plane and a bus to come to a Japanese town known as Minasoto. You can't find it on a map, but my mother knew exactly where the village is located, since she moved from Japan with my grandparents about ten years before I was born.
I was outside, practicing kendo, as I usually did with my free time, when my mother called me in about some mail I received. I had sighed, entering the tiny house with a bored expression. "Lee-kun," my mother said, standing in the living room, "I've misplaced my reading glasses again. Could you read this letter for me?"
My mother taught me to speak and write in English and traditional Japanese, so I was able to understand the letter and translate for her. She let out a squeal of joy, having always wanted me to visit our homeland, and I was simply in shock.
I glance down at the duffel bag in my lap, which contains every last one of my belongings. My mother and I are poor, since she lost the divorce with father. He left her before I was born, because he wanted all of her money. Just shows how greedy and selfish some people are. Good grief, if only there were more people like the beastmen in my mother's stories.
They are what most people would consider a furry; a human with animal characteristics such as fur, claws, ears, and occasionally scales. Of course, according to some legends, beastmen died out when Japan was invaded. I've always believed that at least some of them may have survived, and they are either hiding or just kept a secret in Japan.
"Next stop, Minasoto," the driver says. "If you want to get off, press the stop button."
I jab the button with my thumb, standing abruptly. The door just in front of me opens, allowing me to depart before the bus races off down the road, kicking sand and dust into my face. Coughing, I look around carefully.
This is a small, typical Japanese bus stop, and I stand alone at it. Down the hill to the south-east, Minasoto rests peacefully, almost untouched by time in my opinion. It is actually as I have always imagined the old rural towns to look like. Since no one is waiting for me, I start off down the hill, stopping my music and tossing my IPod into my duffel.
An inn rests at the outskirt of town, since it is larger than every other building. The letter said nothing about where I would be staying, except for it being all of August, so with a sigh I enter the inn.
It is quaint inside, just like the village. No one stands at the counter, but I can hear someone in the back room, which has the paper door open slightly. A bell rests on the counter, so I tap it, listening to the soft ring it creates. Something crashes down in the back room, and I can't help but wince.
"Damn it! I-I'll be right out!" The voice is young but with a good depth, so my guess is that it is someone my age or a couple years younger. The door opens, and I must admit, I have trouble hiding my emotions. Pure shock spread through my body as the beastman, a grinning tiger in a red A-shirt with D-GET on the left side of the chest, blue denim shorts whose leg cuffs are decorated with a black silhouette pattern shaped like grass blades and drawstring cuffs, and a pair of orange, black, and white sneakers steps up to the counter.
His green eyes radiate joy and interest as he looks down at me. I can't help but feel like a child, seeing as he is, about nineteen centimeters taller, making him 186cm. "So, how can I help you?"
"I-I need a room, for the month." By the old gods, I really am out of society too much. I can't even speak straight!
"That's a long stay. I guess it's your business though, so I'll just get you all settled in." I changed my American money to yen when I arrived here in Japan, so I take out a bill that I'm hoping will suffice. "This will cover you," he says, taking the bill. The tiger hands me a small key, with a tag with the character for twelve on it. My room number, I guess. "Well, I hope you settle in nicely, uh-"
Oops, I think. I forgot to introduce myself. "Blade Lee." He gags, wide eyed with shock.
"L-Lee-sama?! The Blade Lee-sama!?" So this area does get news from outside. Not entirely secluded, I guess. "It's good to meet you, sir! I'm Ooshima Torahiko! It was my friends and I who sent the letter to you."
One mystery solved, I guess. "Well, I'm glad I was able to come. I guess I'm meeting you earlier than I was supposed to." The letter said that I was to be at a restaurant called Raimon's after I arrived.
Torahiko laughs nervously, scratching the back of his head. I can see his tail behind him, striped like the rest of his body, although everything from his chin down along his front is a tan-white color. A thin black belt, I see, is hanging down around his waist, but the excess is going down the front of his right leg.
"Well, I guess so. But, my friends will want to meet you still, so could you please come to Raimon's after you settle in?"
"Of course. It would be a pleasure." I move to the stairs that are just a little to my right while Torahiko leaves, shutting the paper screen.
My room is on the third floor, and it is small but very bare, minus a cherry blossom tree that is painted on the wall and a bonsai tree resting on the stand by the bed. I've never had a real bed, even as a young child, so I find it comfortable. I set my bag down, opening it with care. On the dresser, I set my kendo sword, my IPod, and the notebooks, sketchbooks, and various pencils and pens I brought. In the drawers I rest my few clothes, including my kendo gear. I set down the wooden sandals I brought by the dresser, sighing as my belongings barely impact how bare the room is.
I grab a sketchbook and a well sharpened and full length pencil before locking the screen door and leaving the inn. My guess is that Raimon's, being a restraint, will be on the main street with red lanterns, so I head in the appropriate direction. Sure enough, the only building with a red lantern has a sign saying 'Raimon's' on it.
I take a breath before entering, not sure as to what I'm expecting to see. I mean, beastmen are definitely real, now that I've seen one with my own eyes. Inside, the smell of roasting meat is powerful, and eight pairs of eyes turn my way.
Torahiko sits nervously next to a bear in a white undershirt and an unzipped blue and black jacket, blue string-tied trousers and a pair of sandals. On his other side is a large dragon with green scales, adorned in an open-chested black-collared blue cargo vest, fundoshi-tied red bandana, khaki pants and socks with sandals.
A raccoon dog comes from another room, which might be the bathroom, dressed in a white undershirt, open yellow outer shirt, blue trousers with slightly rolled up leg cuffs, a pair of sneakers, and a pair of pince-nez glasses with rimless lens tops. He sits next to a dark furred cat in a white dress shirt, grey slacks, and a pair of leather shoes, and a brown furred wolf in an aqua and white pullover hoodie with the hood always down, khaki cargo shorts, and sandals. A Labrador in a white polo shirt, brown or navy slacks, and a pair of black loafers sits with a lion in a blue soccer uniform, but my attention actually catches on the final member of the group.
He sits at the end of the bar, with two seats separating him from everyone else. As a husky, he is dressed in a loose-fitting black tank top, a worn pair of blue jeans, a set of dog tags around his neck, and two black arm bands. One band is on the wrist of one arm, while the other band is further up the upper arm of his other side. He has gray-blue fur everywhere, except on his underside. From his hair down, he has gray-white fur. Golden eyes are illuminated like moons, and I can feel myself drawn to them.
The door behind me opens, and another boy, a human to my surprise, a little taller than myself, steps inside. He wears a school uniform of some kind, with a white long sleeve button up, plaid neck tie, beige dress pants, and stiff looking dress shoes. He is smiling widely, though he gives me a strange look from the side.
"Hiroyuki-san!" The brown furred wolf attempts to jump from his seat, but the raccoon dog and cat hold him down with a sigh. "Hey, let me go! I want to see Hiroyuki-san!"
Hiroyuki laughs, stepping over and rubs the wolf's head. "I'm happy to see you as well Shun-kun. But I've only been gone a year, you know, and I saw you during Christmas." He moves over and sits directly next to Torahiko, and, to my embarrassed surprise, kisses the tiger's cheek. I'm not really used to displays of affection, especially those between people of the same sex. I mean, after all, I've never had many friends, except for the one who gave me my IPod with a few cover songs we did together. So I've never even been in a relationship.
"So, who's the newbie there?" Hiroyuki speaks up, and again the attention turns to me. If I was in a kendo match, I'd be fine, but now I'm all too aware of the attention.
"I-I'm Blade Lee. They wr-wrote a letter to me to visit."
"That's right," Torahiko laughs, snaking an arm around Hiroyuki's shoulders. "I guess it's time for introductions, then! Who wants to go first?"
Shun stands up again, tail wagging. "I'm Kodori Shun! I may look young, but I actually just started high school last semester."
The cat goes next. "My name is Kuroi Shin. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"I am Takahara Kyouji," the Labrador says. The lion is too shy to speak, so Kyouji introduces him as well. "This is my fellow soccer mate, Touno Soutarou."
Torahiko is next up with Hiroyuki. "I'm the aspiring chef, Ooshima Torahiko! This here is my best mate, Midiyoshi Hiroyuki."
"I thought we were dating." The small display has me laughing, and I can't help it. The bear and dragon stand next.
"I'm Mikazuki Juuichi, and this is Midoriya Tatsuki." I only nod to both of them, since they both seem to want this over. The raccoon dog follows up.
"I'm Kuri Kounosuke! I hope we can be friends!"
That only leaves the husky by my count. Kounosuke almost seems depressed from my small nod, but my attention moves to the husky beastman as he stands, though not fully. Even like this, and from a distance, nothing about his body, at least, above the waist, is left to the imagination since his shirt is tight.
"My name is Aotsuki Kouya. But don't bother with formalities, Kouya is completely fine." I nod, looking somewhere else so I can stop staring. It takes me a moment to realize that I'm still being watched, so I have to guess I'm supposed to make a full introduction.
"Just get it over with," Shin sighs, pulling out a book and flipping to a marked page. That seems a bit rude, but stalling is worse.
"I'm Blade Lee. I just graduated high school in America before summer started, and I'm glad I can be here. Thank you for inviting me to Minasoto." I can't help but feel the need to act formal, even since this group appears to be more casual about everything.
They burst into conversation, minus Kouya and Shin, and I sigh, looking for a spot to sit. By the look of things, the only two spots open are side by side, one directly next to Tatsuki, and the other directly to Kouya's right. But, being next to Kouya may not be my best choice, since he doesn't seem to want company.
I set my sketchbook on the bar, climbing onto the stool beside Tatsuki, who grins at me. A large glass is in his hand, and I can smell alcohol of some type. Then again, I'm not really used to it, so it stands out.
"What's that," the dragonman asks, tapping the cover of my sealed book. I unwrap the leather cord from around it, opening to the first page. A well done sketch of my friend at his computer lies there, with the shading and everything just right. Tatsuki whistles, scratching his stomach. "That's pretty good, Lee-san! But who is that?"
"That's CJ, a friend of mine from America. Well, more like my only friend. He gave me an IPod at my last birthday." He nods with a grin, staring at the pages as I flip through. Many of them are scenes that I liked whenever I went wandering back home, while others are people I randomly saw. Then, I reach the pages where I began to draw things to do with my life itself. Mostly hidden feelings.
The only sketch in this section is one of the cloudy sky, only a single ray of light shining through, and a lone bird is in that ray. I still remember the sadness I felt seeing that. I've always felt trapped, due to my kendo, my family's lack of money, and being stuck in the same place all my life.
I turn to the next page, looking around to find something to sketch. Torahiko and Hiroyuki are grinning at one another, arms snaked across one another's shoulders. Definitely something worth drawing. I pull out my pencil and begin the outline, creating it with fast and frightening accuracy. Tatsuki stares, but I can feel another set of eyes watching as I work my 'magic', as CJ calls it often.
The details fall into place on their own, and in about five minutes, I've completed a work that normally would take someone a good hour or longer. The dragon pats my shoulder, but it's a little too hard. I cry out, tipping over in my seat and drop my sketchbook to try and grab the bar. Sadly, I can't get a hold, so I tip over. My head hits something quite soft, but my back has the cushion of the stool in it. Wait a minute…
"Can you move your head," Kouya asks, blushing immensely. Something is on either side of my head, so, yeah, I know exactly where I am, disturbingly enough. I apologize rapidly, muttering as I pull myself up. Shun and Kounosuke both laugh, only to quiet down with a glare from Juuichi.
I'm so red faced with embarrassment, I take a good minute to realize I've lost my fedora and sketchbook. The book lies open, cover up, on the ground, but my fedora is… I turn around, and now I see why the raccoon dog and wolf had been laughing. Kouya has it sitting crooked on his head, though it does add a nice touch to his appearance. I grab my book and the pencil that surprisingly has stayed on the bar top, and on a fresh page, take a good sketch. He removes the hat, but in the ten seconds it takes him to do so, I already have a full outline.
I can remember details well, so even without the hat on, I remember how the shading went. I finish in three minutes, though it isn't a new record for me.
"You look good with a fedora," I say, showing him the picture. Kouya's fur stands on end in nervousness, and he looks around, still blushing. I pull my fedora back on with a smile, turning away. "You could really pull one off if it was black or a dark color."
"Thanks, I guess." I grunt kindly, excitedly sketching everyone. Shun laughing at a joke Kounosuke makes. Kyouji and Soutarou blushing as a drunk Tatsuki hugs them both to his uncovered chest, having tossed aside his vest. Juuichi placing a glob of honey in his drink. Shin, still reading, chewing on a piece of meat. I even manage to catch Torahiko and Kouya glaring at each other, fists raised as they prepare for a brawl that Hiroyuki is attempting to stop by holding back the tiger.
The day passes completely in this fashion, and before anyone realizes it, night has settled. I can barely keep my eyes open, so I lean on the counter, staring lazily around. My head is turned comfortably onto its right side, so Kouya is in my line of sight. He doesn't seem to notice, but I don't care in my exhausted state. Let him notice. I probably won't remember this in the morning anyways. My eye lids drop, and I find myself snoring in peaceful sleep.
Me: There you have it! This is the summer after Morenatsu, so one full year later! Please watch for updates, if I can stop staring at someone…
Kouya: Just forget it. I'm outta here.
Me: No! You're too cute to leave!