Tibo: See, here's the next chapter just like I promised.Oh, and it's also MUCH longer than any other chapter! Be happy!

Notes and Disclaimers: I don't own YYH, but everyone else is mine.

Chapter 10

They found a small pile of books, not all of them solely on red foxes. They had found books about other types of foxes too.

Autumn came back to the table they took over with two more books and slid down into the chair across from the redhead. Suiichi looked up at her and gave her smile. She returned it, setting the books down in front of her and opened the one on top.

But Suiichi's eyes were drawn to her gloved hands. The material was white but through the day at school and the searching through bookshelves left them dusty and a little dirty. In a few spots there were pen marks and there were also a few smudges from makeup and dirt.

"Wouldn't you like to remove your gloves?" he asked.

She quickly looked up at him; he couldn't help but notice a tiny touch of fear now in her light blue eyes. But she lowered them to her hands, trying to hide her face.

"No," she finally said, "I am fine. I hardly notice them." It was true that she never really noticed the gloves; she had been wearing gloves for years. But she also didn't want to reveal her deepest secret. She didn't look up for a few minutes, knowing that the older boy didn't believe her.

Suiichi just stared at her for a few moments more and then returned his attention to the book before him. He tried not to let his thoughts wanders, but as he took a few notes, he couldn't help it. He barely even noticed most of what he wrote, his written words running away with him. But as least everything he wrote pertained to foxes; just not everything he wrote came from the books. He was in fact quite knowledgeable on foxes, animals in general, but he wanted to help Autumn and become closer to her as a friend.

A few minutes passed before Autumn broke the silence, "Oh! This is what I need." She half exclaimed. That drew a few stares, causing her to blush and duck her head.

Suiichi was watching her with a touch of amusement in his eyes when she lifted her head once again.

"What did you find?" he asked, steering her gently away from her embarrassment.

Her cheeks returned to their natural tone as she looked down at the page again. "It says that when the kits reach the age of five weeks or age their mother begins to feed them less often and slowly switches their diet to meat." She summarized the best she could. She lifted her gaze to see her companion's reaction.

Suiichi looked thoughtful, nodding when she finished reporting of her findings. "Did you find anything more?" he inquired, glancing over at her book, reading a little.

Autumn slightly shrugged and lowered her eyes to skim the rest of the page, one with a few pictures and then turned it over. Her face lit up, obviously finding something and put her finger to it.

"It says here that their parents continue to provide food until they're about six months old or so, though throughout that time they learn and practice their hunting skills by scrounging around the den for insects and fruits." She said, phrasing it her way.

Suiichi nodded, "Sounds about what I have just found," he said, handing her his own book. She looked at it, curiously skimming through it and nodded. When she finished she tried to give the book back to him, but she simply shook his head and said, "I have already taken notes. You may continue looking through it."

She studied his face for a moment more before turning back to the book he had given her.

A little more than an hour passed before they realized the time.

"Oh no!" she remembered to be quiet, her gaze locked in the clock above the circulation desk.

"What is it?" he asked, following her gaze, "Oh. I didn't realize it was getting so late." He said, stacking up the books. Autumn helped him, but was saying,

"I should've already gone back home."

His eyes flicked up to look at her and then said, "You left a note. Your parents won't worry, so just relax Autumn-san. I'm sure you will not be penalized if you are a little late in returning home."

She stacked the last of her books on the pile and lifted her head to look at him. Her body slowly relaxed at his words, "Yes, I left a note and my parents know that things like this can run overtime." She said finally.

He nodded and then picked up their stack of books. Autumn gathered their notes and her purse and followed him as he went to put the books on the cart near the circulation desk. She was folding the notes to slip into her purse as he led the way out of the building.

"Would you object to a quick dinner?" he asked.

She was a little surprised at the question and hesitantly replied, "I wouldn't object."

Suiichi turned his head, a little bit surprised that she had agreed so readily. He shook his head a tiny bit to clear his thoughts.

"So is there anything in particular you want to eat?" he asked.

She shook her head, watching the setting sun. "No, not really." She answered truthfully.

Suiichi nodded, "There's a little American deli shop coming up soon. Would you like to go there?" he inquired.

She looked up at him, her face lit up, "I've been here for six years and I've never heard of an American shop." He said, shock of the news still running through her features.

He smiled at her, "The shop has only been open for a few months." He said.

He was walking her up to her doorstep when she turned to face him. A smile graced her lips as she looked up into his face. She didn't mind that he was covered in shadows; she knew what he looked like by memory from when she sat across from him at the shop.

"Thank you Suiichi-sempai." She said, a little shy.

He knew what all she referred to and returned the smile, "You're welcome Autumn-san."

Autumn's eyes dropped a bit as she felt heat seep into her cheeks. She raised a hand to tuck hair behind an ear, but Suiichi took it himself. The girl froze, eyes slightly glazing over, unfocused.

She had finally taken off her gloves at the deli to eat and hadn't bothered putting them back on. Now her hands were bare; bare skin against his bare skin. A vulnerability she couldn't afford, especially with people she didn't know very well. She was open fully to his emotions and visions of thoughts.

--Sitting in a literature class, a bit bored with the structure, reading a completely different book than everyone else.-- Flashes kept coming, brief and a little fuzzy, but she received them as strongly as they continued to touch. –Flashing on Autumn herself, seeing the smile on her face and feeling warm thoughts. He liked her, liked in a way that he would court her.—And then there was one last vision:--A large silver fox with blue markings around the eyes, paws and tip of tail was running through a forest, a sense of freedom and elation filling his being.—

Suiichi grew concerned at the girl's sudden silence, leaning a little closer to her. But then she blinked and snatched her hand away.

"Don't touch me!" she exclaimed, a little breathless and hesitant. She rubbed her hand as if his touch shocked her and then took a step away from him.

The elder teen looked extremely puzzled and a little hurt as he straightened up again.

"I'm sorry Suiichi-sempai," she said softly in Japanese. "I wish I could explain my actions to you, but I regret that I cannot just now. Please understand." She looked up into his shadowed face once again. Her body was a little tense from the images and emotions she had just received. The last one had her a bit shaken; it had seemed so real despite the fact that there were no such color for a fox.

The connection between them hung very faintly through the air, but was fading. Her shields had dropped quite a bit at his touch and while he was still within her immediate range she couldn't strengthen them back up again. So with her shields and the slight link she could feel the tangle of puzzlement, concern, and curiosity Suiichi was giving off.

Then he gave off a sense of calm, canceling out some of his other emotions. "I understand Autumn-san. I can be patient and give you as much time as you need." He said, his voice steady.

She was a bit surprised at his reply and was silent for a moment. "Arigatou for being so understanding." She gave a slight bow.

He returned the motion and said, "I will see you tomorrow then Autumn-san."

She nodded and watched as he turned and walked away silently.

Autumn remained out there until she could no longer feel his presence within her hearing range and then slipped inside.

The three kits waited for her, all sitting semi-patiently near the door and watched as she slipped out of her shoes. She dropped her purse onto the small table in the foyer and scooped up the closest kit. It was Russet.

He licked at her cheek as she cuddled him close and then with the other two following she went deeper into the house. Her father was watching TV in the den and her mother was paying bills at the kitchen table.

"Hi, I'm home," she said, switching to their native language. She scratched Russet behind the ears lovingly as the other two paced around her. She knew they were happy to see her, as well as content with how their life was now; her shields were still partially down, having strengthened them soon after Suiichi had left, and she could pick up on the kits.

"How did your research go?" her mother asked, looking up from her bills.

Autumn glanced over at her mother and then replied, "Fine. I think we compiled quite a bit of information. And I'm sorry that I'm late. When we realized how long we had been at the library it was already around our usually suppertime and Suiichi went ahead and took me to dinner." She said as blandly as she could.

But that didn't stop her parents from hiding smiles.

TBC

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