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The following is a fan-based

FICTION

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Chapter 17: Brain and Brawn (1)

Beta-Reader: Ant0nius

It's only been a week since that little bonding session I shared with Naerie happened.

With my recovery slowly but steadily happening without any issues, I managed to get back to work in about three days since that interesting meeting I had with the Bear Prime. I wasn't exactly happy with how I felt constrained to my own room under the vigilant eyes of both Hope and Angel, but at least they didn't try any of that 'spoon-feeding' stuff some TV series would get women to do to 'patients'.

Things at Prism Uni were generally uneventful for the students, and there was a good reason to see this much interest in keeping focus on school-related stuff. Since the first exam period was closing in with its two-weeks long session, many had already rushed to create study groups for specific subjects.

With numerous individuals, some who barely knew each other, rallying by the tables in the cafeteria, I was quickly pushed to form a group of people that I surprisingly knew well about, but I never had the chance of being around at the same time during the past couple of days.

Angel huffed as she quietly sketched some new designs to try out, at first ignoring the cast of people that had decided to see us as the main 'mentors' of that group of students that needed help in History. My attention was slowly turning to give another look at the group of individuals that were sitting at our table, and I found it surprising in a particular case.

"I didn't know you were in need of help, Vixy."

The Fox Prime sighed as she started to tap the trigger end of the pen. "I don't struggle much about it, but I wouldn't mind improving to a better grade for once."

I could see that the reason she was really annoyed today was related to the fact that she couldn't join Tiggs' group. A feeling I was sharing too since I would've wanted to be dealing with cooking rather than History since the former point was easier for me to explain compared to the other one.

I could still manage with the subject, but Cooking was… something I could handle better.

"Fair enough," I mused out loud before turning the conversation. "I suppose you all have the textbook and some paper you can use for this first session."

Toby nodded, a small smile finally poking through his nervous expression since he didn't like the subject, but he was still interested in putting some effort into passing it this year. With the guy looking determined, Miles couldn't help but try to copy him regarding his interest as he displayed the emptiest notebook he brought for the occasion.

Some doodles, a minor attempt at taking notes… I really needed to discuss this with both Shin and Hope, or else the Cat Prime was really going to have problems by the end of the semester. Speaking of the two 'missing' friends, I glanced briefly at the table they were sitting by, the very one that had Naerie joining in for the sake of 'studying the situation'.

It would be a lie to say that the Bear Prime really needed to be in a study group since most of the subjects she was going through weren't commonly taken by those at their 'first year'. And it certainly created a suspicious situation about this decision from her part if one was to consider how well she was handling the homework. I just had a few situations where I could pay attention to her notes and problem-solving, and while I couldn't understand much of it, I could tell from her 'emotions' that she knew what she was doing.

As I thought about the red-haired young woman, I couldn't help but ponder once again about what happened just a week earlier. Not the conversation… but what led to the conversation to happen. I was attuned to Wisdom Magic, and for some unexplained reason we ended up creating a bond of sorts through our minds by… 'making something similar to hallucinations'.

While we both tried to explain our own reasoning behind the sudden appearance of younger versions of ourselves, all theories fell short from actually giving us a solution to that unexpected conundrum. The phenomenon didn't happen once again, and we were unable to study some more about the topic beyond the theoretical.

Naerie tried to contact her mother for some assistance, and while it took her awhile to get in contact with the suddenly 'busy' High Prime, the Wisdom Crest was more than happy to provide an answer that would only push us to study the situation even more.

'I can't tell.'

She knew what was going on, but for some reason she was denying us a proper answer. Even a hint about the odd predicament would've been taken better, but Ambar was adamant in keeping quiet about the whole matter. The fact that she sounded 'mirthful' when Naerie first contacted her should've eased our worries of this being something troublesome.

But it didn't and we were both seen spending a considerable amount of our free time by her room to brainstorm about this situation. Seven days went by without a proper road to take on the situation, and the fact that the others were getting suspicious of our serious meetings was enough to also force us to be discreet about the way we handled things.

"I believe we… are missing someone," I finally muttered, turning to the empty chair beside Toby. "Actually, I don't remember receiving requests from a fifth member."

Angel hummed, looking up from her drawing. "That's because it's a guy that asked me for help about this. It's a little surprise."

I frowned. "A surprise?"

"Let's just say that he normally doesn't bother with study groups, but this time he really need this," The Bunny Prime explained with a mysterious voice. "He is nice… most of the time."

That really wasn't helping me understand who it could be. But while I struggled figuring out the identity of the fifth member, I saw Toby's eyes widening in realization and nodding at Angel while… Vixy groaned and facepalmed.

"Oh no..."

My frown deepening at this last reaction, I decided to inquire about it.

"You know who it is?"

She merely nodded, as before she had the chance to reply to me properly, I saw someone close up to Angel from behind her.

"Hello there, lovely," A mirthful voice came from the newcomer, the guy lowering his head to plant a quick kiss on the Bunny's cheek. "Is this the table?"

"Yes," The young woman calmly answered. "We were just waiting for you."

He shrugged, giving a swift apologetic smile. "Sorry pals, had to finish some businesses with the team and… this is my seat?"

I nodded, finally getting a good look at the Raccoon Prime that had decided to come by. Red-haired, the guy was built like a professional athlete, and since he was sharing a brief high-five with Toby while taking a seat, I could tell he was part of the Football Team.

But as I glanced even more at him, I couldn't help but feel like I had already seen him before today.

"Oh, didn't expect to have the 'only human' in this group. I'm Davin," He reached out, trying to get a handshake, and… I returned the favor, just a little slower.

The name started to ring numerous bells at once. I could remember Vixy mentioning him when we first met, but I could recall her giving a… less flattering introduction compared to the restrained attitude I was currently facing. But while I could connect this without hesitation, I was quite sure that it wasn't the reason why I felt like I had seen this guy before.

"Frankie…"

As our hands grasped, I could feel him tense up as he gave me a proper look. His yellow eyes widened just a fraction, and he gave a fascinated look.

"Did we meet before, human? I feel like your face is familiar."

That sentence drew the attention of everyone at the table back at me. I felt their eyes silently scrutinizing me as I studied that very curious question myself.

"I… I was actually thinking the same. I think we've met each other a long time ago..."

"Really?" Toby asked, looking surprised. "Maybe it was during one of the few times Davin went to California. Did you say you live somewhere in there, Frankie?"

"Yes, but the city isn't a major point for people to go and visit," I admitted with a frown. "Still… It was either there or..."

I paused, blinking as I felt my mind slowly connecting dots.

"I know this might sound like a sudden question but…" I gave the guy an interested look. "Do you still have your first football?"

Davin looked surprised by the question, and he contemplated it for some time. While the query might have sounded unexpected and oddly specific, the reason why I had asked him about it was correlated to the very thing that saw us meet. I could remember it, and, if he was really that much attached to the sport he was practicing, then he was going to remember that event too.

It took him a while to offer a slow nod as an answer, his eyes narrowing on me as he confusedly addressed the situation.

"Yeah, but why did you need to know that?"

"Do you remember who specifically gave it to you?" I pressed on quietly.

His look lessened for a moment. "I think it was a kid that wanted to play with me-"

"What about his name?"

He snorted. "Funkie or something like-"

…

"You mean to tell me that you were that kid," The Raccoon Prime resumed with a surprised tone. "You were the one that gave me that football?"

"And the one that asked if you wanted to play a game with it," I added with a small smile. "But I remember you as 'David', not Davin."

…

"We were kids," Davin answered with a shrug. "Still… I remember that being my first game ever."

"You serious?" Toby quipped with a shocked tone. "Are you saying that Frankie was the one that introduced you to Football?"

I gave a slow nod at that, the details still not as complete as I would've wanted about the situation.

"It was during a rare time I was away from home and going for a trip in New York. I think dad was asked by a couple of old friends to help coach some fighters and I remember mom taking me to central park to play," I explained with a calm voice. "I remember playing for about twenty to thirty minutes before I saw him sitting mostly alone by one of the benches. He was looking at us and-"

"I couldn't play with other kids," The football player interrupted, taking over the narration as he added extra perspective to the tale. "My parents were still reluctant to let me spend time with children that were poorer than me. I was lucky enough that the guys watching over me didn't have any orders that prevented me from accepting Frankie's offer when he asked me to join their game."

"And… how did that go?"

"We had a blast," I replied with a bright smile. "It took Davin a while to get most of the rules down but he was natural. I bet you're one of the best now."

"Damn right," The Raccoon Prime exclaimed with a grin. "I've been quarterback for a long time now. And Toby here tries to get my comfy position all the time."

The mutual friend facepalmed at that. "That's not… always true."

"Still, quarterback? That's a big achievement for sure."

Before we had the chance to continue this conversation any longer, Angel sighed and closed her sketch book.

"Look, how about you two take your time to chat after we're done with the study session," The Bunny Prime offered blankly. "I'm sure you can do that instead of wasting our time now."

…

"Sorry," I muttered. "I guess we can do that."

Davin gave a frustrated look at first, looking ready to ignore Angel's proposal and go ahead with the talk, but he seemed to concede defeat at this turn as I complied with the implicit request of resuming the big activity of today.

As we all started with the session, I could feel Miles' eyes on me as he tried to convey his absolute interest in knowing more about this newly-revealed connection I had with one of the most famous guys in the college. Vixy's stare was less intense than that, and I could tell it was more disbelief than anything that could intend any accusations she was throwing at me.

I suspected she was just shocked by the novelty, but her mind was doing a fine job soothing her emotions from having her jump the gun at the situation. A talk was going to happen once we were done, but I was sure it was between me and the leader of the cheerleaders rather than with the quarterback.

Much to my surprise, I also discovered that Davin wasn't much experienced with this kind of situation and seemed rather difficult to deal with at first. While he initially looked confident over the whole 'study group' effort, he was close to losing interest once he realized that he couldn't be passed any answers during these important exams.

The news was as stunning for him as it was for most of the table since we couldn't believe he had managed through that few years without having to handle this kind of test. I knew Quarterback would receive some favoritism for the fact they were expected to spend a considerable amount of time training and getting done with their practice matches, but to see how much it means here at Prism Uni… I couldn't help but feel a degree of jealousy.

Could it be something that was extended to other sports? I was so tempted at the chances of trying out something serious with soccer, knowing that I had a decent capacity in playing as a Striker. It wasn't going to be my route to legitimate work, but if I could ease up a little bit the burden, I wouldn't mind giving it a go.

With the session going smoothly, I soon ended up making my way back to the dorms alone with Vixy. Miles decided to linger around Davin a little longer, and I could just sigh as I knew what he was trying to accomplish by doing that.

I had plans to discuss it with him later… but right now I found myself dealing with a completely unexpected situation as I found myself discussing with the Fox Prime about a particularly interesting topic.

One that easily threatened the current peace of things that currently existed.

"Do you think I should drop some of the sessions with the girls to allow everyone to study properly?"

I blinked, glancing away from the shelves I was filling with the textbooks and notes I had brought to the cafeteria. Vixy was sitting by my bed, her eyes aimed at me as she regarded me with a curious look. With Shin still busy with his own study group, the dorm room was devoid of any individuals beyond us two.

"You could try to ease a little bit. I don't think you should drop too many since activities like that could also be taken as means to relieve frustration," I offered as an advice. The girl hummed, accepting my answer as she quietly waited a little more, looking around the room.

"Also, there is something I wished to ask since you've not mentioned it just yet," The young woman spoke once more. "Do you know what will happen once the exam period is over?"

…

Blinking again, I turned once again to stare at her. This time, since I was done with my tasks, I decided to approach her before continuing that conversation. I sat down beside her, giving her a quizzical look before nodding.

"I believe there is going to be another month before the Christmas holidays," I suggested, still confused by the sudden question. "Is there something I'm missing?"

"Well, by the end of the month there will be the… Parents' Visit Day."

Oh. I had completely forgotten about that very occasion. It was one of the few unique 'holidays' that the school offered to its students. Families would be allowed to visit and spend time together for the rest of the lessons-less day.

It would be a difficult day for me since I would have to prevent my mother from causing any absurd ordeals while reacting to my current situation and my friends. And the possible candidates to become my girlfriend. I could feel dread at the chance of facing that kind of situation… but I was more than certain that it could've been managed without too much of a hassle.

"I kind of forgot about that… but I guess you've a good reason to bring it up now, right?"

Vixy gave a slow nod, appearing for some reason… nervous about it. Tiggs had told me that she had some trouble with her mother, but I knew too little about it to make any assumptions. Maybe it was about not embarrassing herself in front of her parents? I couldn't tell until he told me the truth.

"Well, dad said he was going to be there and… mother made plans to join too," She started with a shaky tone. "Things are going to be complicated. I really thought I could just… you know, ignore being judged by her but-"

"But you don't feel you can do this without support," I interjected, getting another nod from her. I sighed, thinking about it for a moment before offering a continuation to that. "I can be around when she arrives. But that means you will have to deal with my mother too."

Curiosity replaced part of her uneasiness, a gleam of interest building up at the mention of my mom.

"You know, you haven't mentioned much about your own parents. You did mention your father a while ago, but you were rather quiet about your mother," She said while tilting her head to the side, her light-blue orbs aiming once again at my own eyes. "Do you mind if I ask you about her?"

I eased down a little bit. "I don't see why you can't. Sure, go ahead."

A small smile finally appeared on her lovely face, and soon Vixy started a long list of mostly nice questions.

"Is she just a housewife? You didn't say if she had a job or not," The girl started to ask.

It was a fair query since I never brought up if mom worked or not. I had mentioned before that dad used to be a boxer, but now as a semi-retired coach, it was easy to be interested in knowing if my mother did have a job before having me.

"To be fair, mom never told me what she used to do before having me. Once I was born, she was always at home to either tend to the house or take care of me whenever needed," I explained with a quiet hum. "She said that while it was tough at times, she felt that leaving me to the care of a stranger like a babysitter wouldn't have helped me become the 'good man' I am right now."

Vixy nodded at that. "I can see the logic. Dad was the one that was around the most since his workplace is nearby home."

"And now I want to know about your father," I pointed out, drawing a snort from the girl.

"He is a mechanic. He had the means to drop his shift in case he needed to be at home to care for me. He was… rather considerate and kind throughout my childhood," She replied softly. "And, to be honest, I'm excited to see him again quite soon."

"Sounds like an interesting man. Wouldn't mind meeting him."

She giggled. "I don't think he would be that happy to know I hang around a guy like you."

I frowned at that, confusion exuded by my stare aimed at her.

"Why?"

"Well," The young woman said with a calm tone. "I think he will think you're someone that might try and steal her 'princess' away from him."

...Oh. That would land me in a sudden minefield of uncomfortable questions. Very interesting that I was told about this so soon, and I could feel something in her voice that just suggested… that she wouldn't have minded the misunderstanding herself.

I recalled the discussion I shared with Tiggs, my mind gearing up for that kind of occasion as I knew I couldn't have alluded to any interest to go down that path. Not when I knew Traci was so invested on the matter and I didn't want her to suffer because of my inability to stop this unexpected assault.

"I-I'm sure he will understand if I push it that we're only good friends."

I saw something crash within Vixy's mind, but instead of reacting to this, she did her best to hold onto that composure of hers and try to divert the situation to a more favorable twist to the conversation. One that I was surprised to be subjected to considering how little chance of maneuver I had on the matter.

"Do you think she will mind the fact we will be close to each other when she comes here? Will she think that, you know, misunderstand too?"

I would've facepalm, the thought of the woman coating the Fox Prime with compliments, praises, and hugs all to ingratiate her and get her to make bolder attempts to get to my heart more than enough to leave me dreading that day as I knew I had to make plans to avoid the worst from happening. Seriously, why did I have to be put in that quandary? I was just a college student that wanted a simple time at Prism Uni, not someone that aimed at so many girls at once.

"It's my mom. She will make all the misunderstandings whether we are close or not," I admitted with a huff. "If there is something that I can tell without hesitation is that the woman is quite… chaotic when she wants to."

Vixy's smile twitched. "Sounds like someone is still close to their moms. Does that make you a… momma's boy?"

I sighed, a smile appearing on my own face to match hers.

"I believe that's better than being called a daddy's boy."

She let out a half-snort at my comeback. "Oh Gods, that would be... incredibly horrible and amusing at the same time."

I chuckled, and that was the last hit that broke her composure and drew some laughter from the girl. We enjoyed the little reaction for a while, and I allowed the young woman to recover from that interesting rebuttal.

"Still, not as bad as being Daddy's little girl."

"You said that your dad was a nice father from the very beginning. I don't see anything weird… yet."

Vixy delivered a playful punch on my shoulder, nothing that really hurt me.

"I don't believe you," She remarked. "In fact, I know you're just telling me that to make me feel better."

I frowned. "Why would I do so? You don't seem the kind of person that wouldn't want that."

…

"Wait, you mean to tell me that you wouldn't sugarcoat anything I ask you about?" The Fox Prime inquired with a strange voice.

"I mean, I don't see why would I need to-"

"What do you think of my clothes? I had to pick these quickly so… I didn't have the time to check myself in the mirror back in my room," She commented before I had a chance to finish that response.

My attention steered away at that request, I ended up looking down and… I noticed that her shirt had an opening to her modest cleavage. It was far from Tiggs', but it was enough to get me to tense up a little at the clear attempt to get me to look down at her bosom.

"The shirt matches… well with the pants," I curtly mentioned, drawing a sigh from her as she 'fixed herself' on the bed. Shaking a little to adjust her sitting, my eyes were once more caught by that fluffy sea.

"Yes, but… do you think I should've worn another shirt? I feel this one isn't doing much with my back pain."

…

"H-Have you tried a sports bra?"

"I have some, but most of those I had to send to the laundry since I had used them a lot," The girl replied, almost appearing smug at my umpteenth effort to divert the attention away from the topic being foiled by her quick-thinking.

Dammit, she knows how I think.

"Well, maybe you… you could ask Tiggs if she wants to go on a shopping spree," I suggested. "I bet she would be giddy to do that."

Could this be the solution to the problem? I thought it was indeed the case as I saw a surprised look appear on Vixy's face… only for the girl to smile deviously and give me a coy look.

"Or maybe you could be the one accompanying me," She countered quietly. "You know, I never had someone besides Tiggs to accompany me in those trips, and I believe you're rather unbiased about this kind of stuff."

I felt a shiver go down my spine as she finally managed to land her head on my shoulder. I hadn't seen her do that until it was too late, and it all happened while I was distracted by that fight of words and wills. She was good, but I was quite sure that this wasn't just hers doing this.

…

Could I actually tell Hope that I couldn't go after Vixy anymore?

Now I could see why the Fox Prime was being so flawless with her approach and… I felt frightened by the idea that I had been set up in that situation by my indirect intervention on the matters. I really needed to talk to Hope, lest things were going to grow uglier by the time Traci decided to confess her love to her close friend.

Despite my discovery, I decided to still keep an eye out for the present since Vixy was now close enough to land a kiss if she wanted. I needed a distraction, one that would work well against the girl without drawing any suspicion or hesitation from bailing in this close victory.

"How about… we go for some jogging today?"

…

"Jogging?" The Fox Prime inquired with a confused tone.

"Tiggs said you usually go for some training during the afternoon. I was thinking about going out for a run," I elaborated, feeling hopeful that I had actually managed to find a way out. "So I was thinking to ask if you wanted to go out for some training with me."

…

"I guess we could go try that," She hummed quietly, her mood dampening a little bit. "But I will have to go back to my dorm room to change to something meant for running."

"I will wait by the entrance of the dorms near the tracking field," I offered, seeing a light at the end of that awkward tunnel.

Nodding, the girl looked ready to leave… but before she did that, she took a moment to look at my face with a curious expression. At first I thought she had seen something odd, prompting me to check with my hands about it, but soon she had her own fingers on my left cheek.

"Hmm, there is some leftovers from the food we ate with the others," Vixy finally explained

Her thumb went to wipe off the piece which was close to my lips, and, retreating her hand away, she brought her thumb closer to her own lips to clean it.

My jaws almost dropped at the sight, almost provoking and alluding strongly to her interest on my part. Now I knew that she really wanted to become my girlfriend.

"I will go now, but I hope you will not get yourself in trouble while I'm away."

I sighed.

"I will not."

Hopefully.

AN

Who would've thought that Hope's meddling would have quickly screwed with Frankie's chances of doing things properly.

I believe the Author might be somewhat aware of-

Oh please! I'm just the metaphysical manifestation of the guy. And I don't know what's going on here.

...What if I brought Hope here and we asked her ourselves.

A terrible idea-

Oh? And why so?

You know better than me that Hope and I-

Would definitely love chatting together again? Sure thing, I will call her now~!

Ambar, don't you dare!