A/N: A bit shorter than Chapter 1, but enjoy.

December 16

A loud noise roused Hiroyuki.

His tired eyes glared at the glanced over to see if Shun's sleep had been disturbed as well. He stared at the empty spot next to him, and it took his brain a few moments to register that the wolf was missing.

"Shun?" he called out as he sat upright and rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes. "What the…" He scanned the room, eyeing his surroundings as if he had woken up in a place different from where he had slept. His video games had been organized. Freshly washed clothing no longer sat on top of his dresser, and clothes no longer hung out of the dresser itself from having been stuffed hastily inside. His dirty towel from last night had vanished.

A groan sounded from past the foot of his bed, and Hiroyuki crawled forward to find the source. "Shun-kun?" When he peered over the edge, he discovered the fully dressed wolf laying on the floor next to an overturned chair. His eyes were screwed shut, and he clutched the back of his head. "Are you alright?"

Shun's eyes fluttered open upon hearing Hiroyuki's voice. "Oh, good morning Hiroyuki-san." His bright blue orbs gazed at the face staring down at him. "I'm fine. Sorry for waking you."

"Are you sure? You looked like you were in pain." Hiroyuki moved off of the bed to pick up the chair that had fallen. Shun's eyes followed him as he maneuvered around the wolf's body. He stretched and let out a long yawn. "We should probably get you some ice." When Shun didn't move, Hiroyuki wheeled the chair out of the way and laid down on the floor beside him. "How'd you fall, anyways?"

"Well… I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. I laid there…" He started to blush. "Next to you… for a while." The blush spread to the rest of his face, and he turned his head away from Hiroyuki. He smiled at the back of the wolf's head. "I waited until the sun woke up, too. Then I noticed how messy your room was." Shun sat up and leaned back against the bed. "My mother gets really angry with me if I don't keep things clean. I didn't want your mother to get angry with you too. I thought it would be a good way to help out."

Shun hugged his knees, pulling them close to his body to rest his chin on. "I tried to be as quiet as possible, but I tripped backwards over your desk chair. I'm sorry…" He buried his face into the side of his arm.

"Hey, you don't have to apologize for that. It's time to get up anyway." Hiroyuki sat up himself and grabbed Shun's hands. "And besides, you did a great job here. I'm impressed."

Shun stared up at him with a small smile. Hiroyuki glanced around the room again. "It's a little embarrassing though, having you see all that mess. I wanted to clean it up before you got here."

"Oh, that's alright. I've been over to other people's houses before."

"I bet yours is the cleanest in the village, right?"

Shun let out a small laugh and a faint blush settled on his face. "From what I've seen, yes. Iwao-sama says it's important to set a good example for the rest of the village, so our family works very hard at everything we do." His head lowered slightly. "But… he can be very demanding sometimes. I don't understand why he cares so much about what everyone else thinks of us."

Hiroyuki frowned. "Well, I think that's what his generation cared about most. Tradition and honor, things like that. His strictness might be his way of showing he loves his family."

"Hmm…" Shun contemplated Hiroyuki's explanation for a few moments.

Before Shun could respond, Hiroyuki stood and pulled the wolf up with him. "Alright, that's enough stalling. Let's go get you some ice." He reached for the door handle, but stopped when he noticed his bare arms. "Oh… but first I should probably put on some clothes."

The smell of breakfast washed over them as the now-clothed Hiroyuki opened the door. Hiroyuki's mom stepped out the kitchen with a spatula in one hand. "Good morning, you two. I'll have breakfast ready in a bit." She turned towards the kitchen, but stopped to look back at Shun. "Shun-kun, how do you like your eggs?"

Shun's ears perked up upon hearing his name. "Oh, uh, any way is fine Nishimura-okasan." She nodded and returned to her position in front of the stove.

Hiroyuki followed her, and Shun wandered in behind him. "Hey mom, where are those little plastic bags with the zippers on them?" he asked as he began searching the cabinets littered around the kitchen.

"Right up here, hon," she said as she tapped her spatula against a cabinet to the right of the stove. "Why do you need one of those?"

Hiroyuki opened the cabinet and plucked a small bag from its box. "Oh, Shun hit his head on the floor and I wanted to put some ice on him to be safe."

Shun glanced at the floor to his side. His right arm crossed over his chest and gripped his elbow. "I'm fine, really. You don't need to worry about me."

"Mm, is that so? Come here." Without turning away from her cooking, Hiroyuki's mom motioned for Shun to approach. When he arrived next to her, she set her spatula down and turned towards him. She pressed a hand into Shun's thick brown hair and felt around the wolf's scalp.

Shun winced and drew in a sharp breath when her hand passed over a certain spot. "Oh yeah, he's got a lump back there." She walked over to the sink and gave her hands a quick rinse. "Keep some ice on it 'til breakfast is ready. And no more protesting, young man." She looked back at Shun with a small smile and winked.

"Yeah, there's no arguing with my mom," added Hiroyuki.

"Heh. Alright," said Shun as he returned an embarrassed smile to the two Nishimuras.

"Here," said Hiroyuki as he finished the makeshift icepack and passed it to Shun. "Wanna watch some T.V. while we wait for breakfast?"

Shun shrugged and pressed the ice pack against the back of his head. "Sure."

The two made their way over to the couch. Hiroyuki grabbed the remote and started flipping through the channels. "What should we watch… got any ideas?" He flipped through several more channels before settling on an anime he recognized. "Shun-kun?" He glanced over at Shun, who was staring at the floor rather than the television.

"Huh?" Shun turned his head towards Hiroyuki, and then glanced at the screen. "Oh, I dunno. Anything's fine…"

"Hmm." Hiroyuki tossed the remote aside and took hold of Shun's free hand. "You sure you're alright? You seem a bit distracted."

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just…" Shun let his head fall to rest against Hiroyuki's shoulder. "I've had a lot on my mind lately."

"Oh? What's bothering you?" asked Hiroyuki. "Remember, if you need to talk, I'll always listen." He squeezed Shun's hand.

Shun smiled. "I know. And I'm really glad that you will." He paused and adjusted his head to rest more comfortably on Hiroyuki's shoulder. "I've been thinking about my family, and what they expect me to be. This is the first real break I've had in months, between high school and my training. Iwao-sama says I'll have to take over as head of the Kodori family soon…"

"That is a big responsibility. Shouldn't your father be next in line, though?"

"I… Uh…" The wolf looked up at him in confusion. "Why would he be?"

"Well, I always thought the eldest son of the current head of the family would be the one to succeed him. But Iwao-san's your grandfather. So… how did you end up with the title of heir?"

"I'm… not sure. I never questioned it." Shun frowned. "I only know what Iwao-sama told me. Maybe Gaku-san knows." The light from the television bounced off of his blank stare. "I just hope I can be a good leader so I don't disappoint everyone. Hiroyuki-san?" Shun lifted his head away from Hiroyuki's shoulder and turned to look at him. The hand holding his ice pack fell to rest on a vacant couch cushion.

"Yes, Shun-kun?" said Hiroyuki as his eyes met the wolf's.

"When I do become the head of the family, I probably won't be allowed to leave the village…" He hesitated, briefly lowering his gaze before returning with a determined stare. "You're definitely gonna visit me then, right?"

Hiroyuki smiled and gave a short, silent laugh. He leaned in and engaged Shun with a brief kiss. "I want to do more than just visit you. I hope to spend every day with you as soon as I get out of high school."

Shun broke out in a wild grin as Hiroyuki spoke, exposing several of his sharp teeth. "That'd make me really happy."

"And I don't think you should worry about your future too much. I'll always be there for you, and I'm sure Gaku-san will be too. You won't have to deal with things alone."

A content smile replaced Shun's grin. "I'm lucky to have you guys around." He nestled his head back against Hiroyuki's shoulder, and the two of them watched television in silence for the next few minutes.

"Boys, breakfast is ready!" called out Hiroyuki's mom from the kitchen. Hiroyuki and Shun made their way to the table and took their seats. A plate of eggs and bacon, along with a bowl of rice and a cup of steaming tea, had been placed in each of three separate spots.

"Careful with that tea now, I just finished making it," said Hiroyuki's mom as she joined them. Hiroyuki glanced at the other members at the table between bites, and he noticed that Shun took careful bites of his meal. Hiroyuki's mom nodded in approval. "It's good to see you slow down and enjoy your food, Shun-kun." Shun smiled and nodded back at her, keeping his mouth closed as he chewed.

After they finished eating, Hiroyuki's mom called out to him as she carried her dishes to the sink. "Hiroyuki dear, could you clean out my car like we talked about yesterday? I need to leave for work soon."

Hiroyuki stood up. "Sure, I'll go do that right now."

"Great, thanks. The keys are by the door." She piled up the pans from her earlier cooking next to the sink. "I'll take care of the dishes."

"Ooh, I'll help!" said Shun. The wolf jumped up and began collecting the remaining dishes. Hiroyuki chuckled, grabbing the keys to his mother's car as he walked out the door.

It was a short walk from the front of the apartment building to the parking lot where his mother had parked. Hiroyuki tossed his mother's keys up in the air, catching them before they fell out of reach. As he approached her red car, he clicked the unlock button on the keychain's remote, and the car beeped in response.

"Alright, let's see what the damage is," he said as he opened the door to passenger side. A small mix of brown and beige hairs littered the bottom of the seat. "Huh. That's not really "all over.""

He sighed and rubbed one of his temples. Although the mess wasn't large enough to warrant a special trip, he was already out here. He popped open the glove compartment and reached for a black handle sticking out of the disorganized junk pile, pulling out a lint roller.

'She coulda done this in two seconds…' he thought as he rolled the adhesive cylinder over the loose fur. He knew it wasn't right for him to complain, though. It was technically his fault the car needed the minor cleaning in the first place. His mom didn't have to do what she did for him and Shun, so this was the least he could do for her in return.

He gazed down at the sticky material, rotating the cylinder with his thumb to observe how much fur it had picked up. Shun's behavior from that morning wasn't sitting well with him. The young Kodori was under more pressure than he had realized. He'd have to be sure to make to most of their time together, for his sake.

"Gah-!" Hiroyuki jumped, dropping the lint roller onto the pavement when a pair of hands grabbed him from behind.

"Gotcha!" said a female voice, followed by snickering.

The hands fell away, and Hiroyuki turned around to face his assailant. Kameyo, Akemi, and Kaden stood in front of him. "Oh, hey guys. What are you doing here?"

"We came to get you, of course." Kameyo placed a hand on her hip. "C'mon, we're gonna go to the mall."

Hiroyuki raised his eyebrows at the forced invitation. "Whoa, wait a minute." He bent down and picked up the lint roller. "I can't go anywhere today. I've already got plans."

"Whaaat? Already?" Kameyo's shoulders drooped forward.

Akemi pushed up her glasses and shrugged. "If you're busy, I guess it can't be helped."

"Yeah, sorry. Some stuff happened and now I have a lot on my plate." Hiroyuki picked at the corner of the fur-covered adhesive paper, avoiding eye contact with his friends. "I wish you guys had called, I'd have saved you the trip over here."

Kameyo's eyebrows lowered, and she leaned forward with both hands on her hips. "Well, mister, we DID call you. Twice, in fact. You didn't answer your cell, so we called your house phone."

Hiroyuki felt his pocket. "Oh. I must've left it in my room. Whoops."

"Yeah, whoops." Kameyo straightened back out, though she continued her half-angry stare at Hiroyuki. "Your mom said you stepped out for a minute, so we decided to meet you out here. Say, did you guys get a dog or something?"

"W-what?" The sudden topic change threw him off. Had Shun given himself away somehow?

Akemi pointed at the object in Hiroyuki's hands. "That thing in your hands. It's covered with pet hair, right?"

"Oh, n-no, it's nothing like that." Hiroyuki quickly peeled off the used layer of paper and crumpled it up in his hand. "It's, uh, cat hair. From a stray. Jumped right in while my mom wasn't looking. Shed hair all over the place."

Akemi's eyes narrowed, and she tilted her head to stare down at him. "A stray cat, huh?"

"Yep." Hiroyuki swallowed and pushed the car door shut. "Well, I gotta run." He started backing away. "We'll hang later, alright?"

"Hey, wait!" said Kameyo. "We're coming up with you."

"Huh? Why?" Hiroyuki raised one eyebrow at his friends as they caught up with him. He glanced back at his apartment building. "I don't think that's such a good idea…"

"Why not?" Akemi pulled out her cell phone, swiping a few times on the screen. "We've got about twenty minutes before the next bus, and I am NOT waiting for it out in the cold."

"Yeah!" agreed Kameyo. "Besides, we planned to meet you at your door anyways. It's coincidence that we met out here." She raised her hand to stop Hiroyuki from protesting further. "Oh, and your mom already invited us up. So, come on!"

"But-" Kameyo placed her large hands on Hiroyuki's shoulders and spun him around, pushing him forward. He felt the blood drain from his face as they drew closer to the front of the apartment building.

He wanted more time, but what little he had left was rapidly disappearing. He closed his eyes and attempted to calm himself. It wasn't like his friends would reject him. If they were going to do that, they would've done so when he first came out to them. But he still wanted to break the other half of the news on his own time.

That didn't matter any more. In just a few minutes, his furry secret would be exposed. He let out a defeated sigh. 'Time to let the wolf out of the bag…'

The four of them rode the building's elevator to the fifth floor, and they nodded greetings towards one of Hiroyuki's neighbors who passed by them.

Hiroyuki's hands trembled at his sides as the group stopped in front of the door to his apartment. "Here we are." he mumbled as he stared at the floor. His hands tightened into fists in an attempt to steady them. "Listen, guys…" He turned to face his friends. "I haven't exactly been honest with you. And well," he glanced back at the door. "I guess I'll just let things speak for themself."

Kameyo shot him a confused look, while Kaden remained stoic. Akemi simply crossed her arms as she smirked at him. He ignored her smugness and reached for the doorknob.

The anxious radiation resurfaced in his stomach as the door creaked open again. His eyes darted back and forth across the interior of his home as more area was revealed. He prayed that Shun would not give his friends a repeat performance of yesterday, and his arms twitched in anticipation of having to stop the wolf from excitedly running into somebody again.

The only sound they heard was the television. Hiroyuki led the way inside, replacing his mother's keys to where he had picked them up earlier. "I'm back," he called out as they approached the living room.

Shun sat alone in front of the television with his mouth slightly parted. Both of his hands each gripped one of his hoodie's drawstrings. He turned towards Hiroyuki's voice, but his eyes remained glued to the screen. "Oh! Welcome back, Hiroyuki…" Confusion replaced excitement when his eyes caught up with the rest of his head. "-san?" His vision shifted between the three new figures. "Um…"

"Oh. My. GOSH!" said Kameyo as she rushed towards Shun. The wolf flinched back at the six foot woman barreling towards him, and he yelped when she picked him up and began squeezing him. "He's so cuuute! I thought you said you didn't get a dog?"

"W-woof! You're… crushing me…" gasped Shun though Kameyo's bear hug.

Hiroyuki stepped up beside her. His hands hovered inches away from the two, unable to decide how to separate them. "Kameyo-san, please stop squishing my boyfriend!"

Kameyo froze. "Boyfriend?" she repeated, releasing her grip on the small wolf. "This little furry thing? No way!" Shun landed on his feet and stumbled around before he collapsed, sprawling out onto the couch. Hiroyuki took the seat next to him as Shun panted to recover his breath.

"I knew you were hiding something," said Akemi as her eyes studied the creature before her. "Hmm, fascinating…" Her hand moved to rest on her chin. "I've never been able to study one up close before."

By now, Shun had fully recovered. He stared at the two females that towered over him. Hiroyuki cleared his throat, and their attention shifted to him as he spoke. "Everyone, this is my boyfriend Shun-kun." He gestured towards the wolf sitting next to him. Shun smiled as he blushed at his introduction. "Shun-kun, these are my friends from the city, Akemi-san, Kameyo-san, and Kaden-sa-"

The front door slammed, and the four around the couch jumped at the sound. Kameyo quickly scanned the room. Kaden was nowhere to be found. "Oh no… I'm going after him." The door slammed again as Kameyo ran into the hall.

"What's going on?" asked Shun. He glanced back and forth between Akemi and Hiroyuki.

"I… I'm not sure," said Hiroyuki. He turned towards the remaining female. "Akemi-san, what's wrong with Kaden-san?"

Akemi closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. "I'm not certain either, though I might be able to guess." She sat down on the couch diagonally from Shun and Hiroyuki, and the other two focused on her as she began explaining. "Kaden-san's had this… problem, with people like your furry friend here."

"Problem?" Shun tilted his head at her. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, no. It's not your fault," reassured Akemi. She relaxed back into her seat. "It's about his father. This Christmas marks seven years since he was murdered."

"M-murdered?" Shun trembled as he repeated the word. He stared at her with concern and subconsciously grabbed Hiroyuki's arm.

"Whoa, are you serious? I mean, you guys told me he died but I had no idea…" Hiroyuki glanced down at Shun.

"Of course I'm serious. We just didn't tell you more than you needed to know. Kaden-san doesn't like for us to talk about it." She sighed. "But... I guess I should tell you the whole story anyways. Kaden-san's father… was mauled to death."

"No way…" said Hiroyuki.

"Yep. It was all over the news." She paused to adjust her glasses. "Someone even leaked a photo of the body onto the internet." She shivered. "Whatever did that to him certainly wasn't human, and you won't find an animal in the city large enough to do that sort of damage."

"Man. I see where you're going with this," said Hiroyuki. Shun's grip had tightened on his arm, and his wide eyes stared off into space as he frowned. "I think that's enough description, though. Did they at least catch who did it?"

Akemi shook her head. "Nope, and they still haven't. The police scrambled around for answers, but they never found any." She folded her arms. "It's astonishing how poorly the situation was handled, even if one of their own was the victim."

"What'd they do?" asked Hiroyuki.

She rolled her eyes. "Ugh. They lost their heads, that's what they did. They started arresting anyone with claws who dared to even sneeze in front of them. It was disgusting. They almost started a few riots with their unprofessionalism."

"Wow. Sounds like things got really bad here. I'm glad I wasn't around to see all that."

"If you ask me, things are still bad." Akemi raised an eyebrow at him. "Haven't you ever wondered why there aren't many furry people in the city?"

"Well… No, actually." Hiroyuki scratched the side of his face. "I mean, yeah, I noticed I didn't see a lot of beastmen around, but I hadn't thought too much about it."

"Well now you know why. This city's not the most friendly it could be towards furry people."

Just then, Kameyo walked back in through the front door and plopped herself down next to Akemi. The large woman leaned forward and partially covered her face with her hands.

Akemi sat up and looked at her. "How'd it go? Is Kaden-san alright?"

Kameyo sighed and straightened herself up. "Yeah, I think I managed to talk him down. He's waiting down in the lobby for us."

Hiroyuki lowered his head. "I'm sorry, Kameyo-san. This is all my fault. Akemi-san told us about what happened to Kaden-san's father. I didn't know-"

"Hey, it's alright." She held up her hand to stop him. "He's just a little shocked. Christmas time's a bit tense for him, as I'm sure you can imagine." She tilted her head slightly upwards. "I am curious, though. Why didn't you tell us about your boyfriend's… fur, earlier?"

Shun had released Hiroyuki from his grip, and Hiroyuki settled his now-free arm around the wolf's shoulders. "I dunno. I knew I should've told you guys, but part of me panicked. I thought, "What if they're not okay with it?"" He scratched the back of his head, avoiding eye contact with his friends.

"Pff, that's a silly thing to think," said Kameyo. "Of course we're okay with it. Even Kaden's okay with it." She held up a hand over her heart. "I promise."

Akemi nodded. "Yeah, you don't need to keep things from us. We're not that shallow."

Hiroyuki smiled and let out a short laugh. "Heh. Thanks, you guys."

"So." Akemi adjusted her glasses with her index finger. "You weren't lying to us about having plans later today, were you? While we were outside."

"Oh, that," said Hiroyuki. "No, I actually do have to be somewhere. You see… Shun's not the only one of my friends who came to the city for the break."

"Really now?" Akemi raised her eyebrows. "How many are visiting?"

"Well… All of them, I think." Hiroyuki looked down at Shun, who nodded. "Nine, including Shun-kun here."

"Wow." Kameyo whistled. "That's a lot of fur."

"Actually, one of them has scales. But yes, it's a lot of fur," said Hiroyuki. "I'm supposed to meet up with them later today."

"Ooh! Can we come?" asked Kameyo.

"Now Kameyo-san, it wouldn't be nice to intrude like that," said Akemi. Kameyo pouted at the disapproving look Akemi was giving her, but after a few seconds the two of them simultaneously turned towards Hiroyuki. "But can we?"

Hiroyuki glanced between them. "I dunno… I don't want to just invite you without their permission." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair before he turned towards Shun again. "What do you think, Shun-kun?"

"Hmm." Shun studied the two females for a few seconds, and then looked back at Hiroyuki with a smile. "I don't see why not. I'm sure everyone would love to meet your friends from the city!"

Kameyo grinned. "Then it's settled!" She stood up and brought her hands together. "What time are you all meeting?"

"Well, we're supposed to have dinner, so we should probably meet here at around 4. They're staying pretty close by, so we can walk the few blocks to get there," said Hiroyuki.

"Sounds good." Akemi stood up to join Kameyo. "We should probably get back to Kaden-san now, though. I'm sure he's bored just sitting around."

"Alright." Hiroyuki and Shun stood as well. "He's welcome to join us this afternoon, but I don't imagine he'd want to…"

A door behind them creaked open, and the four of them turned towards the sound. Hiroyuki's mother stepped out dressed for work. She fiddled with the chain on a golden necklace as she tried to connect it behind her back, and her eyes were focused towards the side while she walked towards the front door.

She looked up once she had finished adjusting her jewelry, and paused as she looked at the new figures standing in the living room. "Oh, I didn't see you two. Hello there." Akemi and Kameyo gave her short waves as she continued towards the front door. "I hate to run out on you, but I have to get to work." She grabbed her pocket book and slipped on her shoes.

"That's alright, we were just leaving as well," said Akemi. "We'll go down with you." She turned towards Shun. "It was nice meeting you, Shun-kun." Akemi and Kameyo bowed slightly.

"Oh!" Shun returned their bows. "Nice meeting you two, as well!" The two joined Hiroyuki's mother by the door, and they exited, leaving Hiroyuki and Shun alone. Shun looked over at Hiroyuki. "So… what should we do now?"

Hiroyuki grinned and took hold of Shun's hand. "Well, we're alone. I can think of a few things to do."

"Ooh! Right there!" Hiroyuki pointed to the glowing spot on the boss's chest. "Shoot him there!"

"O-okay!" Shun aimed his character's bow and fired arrows into the indicated spot. The monster groaned and fell over, disappearing into thin air as a treasure chest was revealed.

"Yes! You got him!" Hiroyuki grabbed Shun's shoulder.

"Oh, we did!" The wolf looked up at him with a huge grin on his face. "Thanks to you, Hiroyuki-san."

"Naw, you're the one with the controls," said Hiroyuki. "You've gotten really good at navigating these 3D maps, too. I remember at the game store in Kazenari, you'd spin yourself around and around and make yourself dizzy." He patted the wolf's head. "You've come a long way since then."

Shun blushed lightly. "Heh. Gaku-san taught me how play games like these. It still takes some getting used to, though."

"Well he did a good job teaching you." Hiroyuki checked his phone as Shun grabbed the treasure chest. "It's almost four, we should head down to the lobby to wait for the others."

"Alright." Shun saved and then exited the game, and the two walked out of the apartment to make their way to the first floor.