Chapter 4: A Bittersweet Taste
C'mon c'mon c'mon! What is going on!
Yasui took another glance up at the clock. He was sure that at least thirty minutes had passed since his last look, yet the minute hand had only moved forward by one. He breathed heavily through his nose and tried desperately to pay attention to his last class of the day, History. The student sitting directly in front of him, a female snow leopard, rolled her eyes and turned slightly so she could whisper menacingly.
"Hey freakshow, could you quit doing whatever the hell that is. Some of us are trying to zone out."
Yasui flushed with embarrassment and mumbled a quiet apology. He had never experienced something like this before. Ever since the start of the day he had been bouncing back and forth from excitement to panic as he thought about his first club meeting after classes. He had no idea what to expect.
How many club members are there going to be? What's the balance of guys to girls going to be like? Will they be really focused and serious or relaxed and fun? What's the balance of carnivores to herbivores going to be!?
The leopard once more turned towards him and growled,
"If you don't stop grinding your teeth and humming right now I will rip that oversized tail of yours off and wear it as a scarf. Do. You. Understand."
Yasui's eyes widened and he nervously nodded.
"S-sorry! I didn't realize I was doing it!"
With renewed self-consciousness, he clamped his mouth closed and stared at the teacher, half paying attention and half wondering about his club.
Finally, the bell rang after an eternity of dates and names. Yasui snatched up his things and walked as quickly towards the club room as possible. It didn't take long before he was outside an inconspicuous looking door with no markers or plaques or anything to denote its club-roomyness. He reached out and tried the door, but it was locked. He rapped on it with his knuckles and waited but there was no reply.
"Maybe I'm early? Well, I do have a key so I might as well set my bag down at the very least."
He fished around in his bag for the key he got from the bizarrely enthusiastic duck from yesterday and unlocked the door. He pulled it open and got his first look at the club room for the Cooking Club. It was a relatively small room, with a small area by the door with cubbies for bags and other personal effects to be stored. The rest of the room had a single refrigerator, a sink, a long countertop with cabinets below it, and a stove/oven combo only slightly larger than the one he had used back home. All in all it was quite a bit less impressive than the room he'd been imagining. He set his bag in one of the empty cubbies and flipped the switch. The lights flickered on to reveal that the entire room was coated with a thick layer of dust. Looking around, it became obvious that nobody had been in this room for months.
"What the... oh, I get it. That lady at the desk must have sent me to the wrong room. Fine, I guess she'll be seeing me sooner than expected. She'll probably be happy."
He grumbled to himself all the way to the Student Help Desk which was just as empty and dead as it had been yesterday. Sure enough, the same female duck from before was boredly clicking away at her computer. As Yasui approached she straightened up a bit and muttered,
"What type of garlic bread am I? Oh I definitely have to know. I bet I'm the fancy stuff made with a bit of parmesan on top."
Her clicking redoubled as Yasui just stared at her.
I guess she's really immersed in her... work?
"Um... excuse me?"
She jumped, her glasses unsettling into a jaunty skew on her bill.
"Jeez! You gave me a heart attack!"
"Miss... Kabuya? It was Kabuya right?"
She slowly turned to him with a look of surprise.
"Did you... did you just remember my name?"
"I... think so?"
Tears formed in her eyes and she scooted a bit closer.
"Nobody's done that before. Even my parents call me by my sister's name."
"Oh... I'm sorry?"
She wiped her eyes and sniffled.
"Thanks for coming back! Do you want something to drink or something? I have a lot of juiceboxes."
Yasui blinked a few times, struggling to remember why he was even here.
"Uh... sure."
"Grape or apple?"
"Grape I guess."
She reached below her desk and pulled out a small, brightly colored box with a cartoony grape smiling at him. She handed it over and beamed.
"Welcome back! What can I do for you?"
Yasui swallowed his juice.
"Well, I think you might have given me the wrong room number yesterday. I went to the room in the auxiliary building but it looked like nobody had gone in there for a while. Did the club move?"
"No. That's the room."
Yasui frowned.
"Oh... maybe they don't meet today. Is there a schedule or something?"
"Not until you make one!"
Yasui stared at her.
"Wait... me? Why would I make one!"
"Well you are the club president."
"I'm the club president?"
"By default. You are the only member. Congrats Mister President!"
Yasui shook his head and gestured with his juicebox.
"Wait, you never said that there weren't any members! What am I supposed to do!"
Kabuya shrugged.
"Well, whatever you want. Set a schedule, make your club budget, try to recruit some members. You name it, the world's your oyster."
"But I don't want to be the only member! Or the club president."
She smiled and leaned back in her chair.
"Why not?"
"Because... because I was supposed to make friends in my club!"
"Still can! Just recruit them!"
Yasui looked down and sucked on his juicebox for a moment before sighing.
"I don't know the first thing about cooking, let alone running a club."
Kabuya crossed her arms.
"Well, why not research it in the library. Just watch some cooking videos online. I've watched tons during w-I mean when I'm on break. And besides, this is a golden opportunity for you. Only a first year and already club president. That will look great on a resume or something."
Yasui frowned.
"You think so?"
"Absolutely! And don't worry about the paperwork for your pass, I already got it taken care of."
"Pass?"
The duck nodded and handed over a small piece of paper with the school logo on it. He skimmed the writing before asking,
"What's this for?"
"It lets you leave campus so you can go grocery shopping. Just be back in time for curfew."
Yasui's juicebox made a hollow *sssllllluuuuurp* sound as he skeptically took the pass. He smacked his lips before continuing.
"Thanks, for... all of this? Wait, did you know this was going to happen?"
She nodded eagerly.
"The way I see it, this is going to be a lot if fun for both of us."
Yasui grit his teeth.
Why why why why why! Is everyone at this school a total nut job!?!
"But why... how could... I don't... whatever. I'll try being a club president, but... do you know any good... things about cooking? Like books or whatever?"
She giggled and pushed her glasses back up her bill.
"I already told you, just look something up online. I don't even cook and I watch tons of cooking videos. Especially this foreign chef who goes by Chef Ramsley. He's hilarious to watch."
Yasui sighed and moved a bit closer before asking,
"I've never used a computer before. Could you show me how to do that?"
Kabuya gave him a look of sheer flabbergastation and gasped.
"You've never used a computer before!?!"
Yasui shook his head.
"Well... you can look it up on your phone I guess."
"Don't have one."
She gave him a disappointed look and sighed.
"Sheesh, you grow up in a hole or something?"
"On a mountain far away from big cities like this."
"Oh... I guess that explains it. I guess just hop back here and I'll show you."
Yasui nodded and lept ontop of the desk before dropping down to stand beside the now bemused duck.
"I didn't mean literally."
"Sorry."
"You have some serious legs on you though. That was impressive."
Yasui scratched his neck and shrugged.
"Well... I'm a fox. We have legs suited for pouncing."
"Oh yeah, I think I remember missing a test question about that when I was in school. Anyway, here. You just click on your web browser, and type what you need to know into Zoozle."
She typed a few words into the search bar and pulled up a video. A male sheep wearing a white apron appeared and greeted them.
"Hello everyone, and welcome to today's video. I will be showing you how to make the perfect eggs benedict. You're going to start with your sauce—"
Kabuya turned to Yasui.
"He's better in his tv shows. He has the best insults."
"Like what?"
"Well, one time he held two slices of bread up to the face of this snooty cheetah chef who was all 'I'm super good at cooking and stuff!' and he was like 'You know what you are? An idiot sandwich now fffffff-er-frick off.'"
Yasui snickered a bit.
"Idiot sandwich. That's good."
Kabuya grinned and started typing again.
"You have to see it, it's priceless. Where is it... uhh... aha! "Chef Ramsley Best Insults Compilation." Here it is! Want another juicebox?"
"Uh... sure? But shouldn't I be researching stuff for my club?"
She scoffed.
"This is research. Now pull up a chair. I've got some pocky if you want a snack."
"Oh, um, I'm good."
She shrugged.
"More for me."
The video started and Yasui watched as the slender herbivore tore into both carnivore and herbivore alike with insults so good it was impressive. However, there was very little cooking involved. As Kabuya queued up another video she began loudly crunching her snack.
"So *crunch* you're a first year? That makes you like *munch munch* sixteen or something?"
"Mhm."
"Cool, cool cool cool cool cool. You have a girlfriend yet?"
"No... I'm bad at talking to people."
She picked a piece of pocky off her shirt and scratched at her elbow.
"Yeah, I hear ya. I never had a boyfriend in high school... or college... or now. I think it's all these unrealistic standards people have about what's 'normal' for people to want to do. So what my idea of the perfect date is eating pancakes in our pajamas while watching anime? It's more meaningful than going to some fancy restaurant and blowing a weeks salary on something you're just gonna eat anyway! Right?"
Yasui thought for a moment before shrugging.
"I guess. I probably would rather do the pancakes thing."
"I know! But nobody ever seems interested! They don't even care about how much money I'd save them. And there's the fact that I love cosplay. Guys dig that right?"
Yasui scrunched his face up and took another drag from his second juicebox.
"I don't see why not?"
Kabuya smiled and held her wings over her heart.
"You get it. Why can't there be more guys like you!"
"Because nobody wants to kiss an awkward midget with an overbite and no jokes."
Kabuya blew a raspberry.
"Oh please, loads of girls like smaller guys. You're all cute and sweet looking. And less likely to sleep with other ladies if you have confidence issues. Well... in my opinion at least. Honestly, apart from the species thing you'd be a real catch in my book."
"You think so?"
"Totally. Highschool me would have totally awkwardly stared at you from across the class if you were a bird. Well... actually the species thing doesn't play in now that I'm thinking about it. If some carnivore wanted to take me on a date I wouldn't say no. It's... actually kind of hot now that I think about it. A whole 'forbidden fruit' scenario. 'Two souls, separated by species but bound by love.' Especially if there was some kind of age difference or something that spiced it up. Like some sort of sexy professor-student thing at a college. Hold on, I gotta see if there's a manga like that."
Yasui set down his drink and gave Kabuya a sidelong glance.
This is getting a little... awkward for my tastes. I think I've spent more than enough time here.
Yasui slowly started to edge his way towards the exit. He nervously smiled and said.
"I'll... leave you to that. I need to go, so..."
"M'kay, have fun. Come back soon."
Without a sound Yasui was no more than a speck darting down the hallway. Kabuya scrolled a bit more before finding what she was looking for.
"Ooooooh, 'My Teacher Is A Total Fox.' A thrilling love story about a student and his professor's forbidden love. Wait, did I just scare off that guy?"
She glanced around for any trace of Yasui or any witnesses before grabbing her bill and groaning.
"Great, way to go idiot! You came across like some creepy lady who's into minors! I guess it's time to write another apology letter."
She pulled out some paper and started scratching away with a pen.
"Dear... Student... I am sorry... if it sounded like... I was hitting on you..."
(Outside)
Yasui spent the rest of his day trying to come up with a plan for what to do about what apparently was his new club.
I have a sneaking suspicion that this is going to be more work than I originally thought.
He was trying to think up a schedule while sitting on one of the benches scattered around outside the main building when a familiar voice interrupted him.
"Hey! It's you!"
Yasui's ears swiveled towards the noise and he looked over to see Shinrai waving while walking towards him. Yasui smiled.
"Oh, hey Shinrai."
The squirrel came to a halt next to the bench and looked at him inquisitively.
"What's up? Just hanging around here by yourself?"
"Yeah, just thinking."
"Abooouuut?"
Yasui rubbed at his nose and squinted.
"Well... I'm trying to come up with a schedule for my club."
"Ooh, what club?"
"The, uh, Cooking Club."
Shinrai looked up thoughtfully and stuck his tongue out a bit as he tried to recal ever hearing about a "Cooking Club." He shrugged.
"Never heard of it, but good for you! Although... why are you making the schedule?"
"Because I'm apparently the club president."
Shinrai leaned in a bit, face lighting up.
"Woah, time out. You're the president of a club?"
Yasui glumly nodded. Shinrai bounced up and down excitedly as he continued.
"That's so cool! You're only a first year but you're the club president! That's gonna be super good for impressing people!"
"Really?"
"Oh yeah, especially adults. They eat up all that stuff about students taking leadership rolls and whatever."
"Huh, I guess I never really thought about it like that."
Shinrai sat down next to him and began absentmindedly tossing the water bottle he had been carrying from hand to hand.
"Anyway, did you talk with that guy you were telling me about?"
"Hmm?"
Shinrai rolled his eyes and made a pouting face.
"Y'know, that friendly dude who you wanted to be friends with. Have you talked with him again?"
Yasui sighed.
"No, I'm too embarrassed. He probably thinks I'm a loser. Heck, I feel a bit like a loser right now."
Shinrai assumed what probably was supposed to be a heroic pose that unfortunately lost some effect due to his diminutive stature.
"Oh no, not on my watch. My self improvement regiment taught me to never let a moment of embarrassment keep me from my goals! You just have to walk up to him like you own the place!"
"I-I guess."
Shinrai pumped his fist.
"Come on! Be confident!"
"O-okay! I'm going to go find him!"
"Woohoo! That's my dinner-pal!"
Yasui looked away and began nervously twiddling his fingers.
I don't think I can face him alone. If there's more than one person he wouldn't laugh at me, right. So maybe I should ask Shinrai to come with me.
"Hey... would you mind... coming with me?"
That seemed to throw Shinrai right off his train of thought.
"Huh? Me?"
Yasui nodded.
"Why me?"
The fox nervously glanced at the floor.
"Well... I don't feel very brave by myself. I kinda, sorta, panic. And I crack under pressure. So having you there would really help."
"I get that, but why me? I'm not exactly the most suave of folks, I won't be any good at helping you out."
Yasui bunched his pantslegs up in his fingers and mumbled.
"Because... I want... well... if you don't mind... that is... if it's not too much..."
Shinrai tapped his foot with mock impatience.
"I'm a squirrel, we don't do patience very well. Spit it out,dude."
Yasui squeezed his eyes shut and whined.
"Would you... let me be your friend!"
There was a stretch of silence before Shinrai spluttered,
"Sp-what!? You want me to let you be my friend?"
Yasui bowed his head and clasped his hands together placatingly.
"Please! I know I'm not interesting like your other friends probably are, but I think you're really nice and being around you makes me happy. So please, let me be your friend!"
Shinrai's face grew stern... before he immediately burst out laughing.
"Dude! What the heck!"
Yasui just cracked open one eye as Shinrai doubled over in mirth. It took a while but the squirrel finally managed to control his breathing and wipe the tears from his eyes.
"I was just confused because you were acting like this is some big deal or ceremony or something. Of course you can be my friend. Heck, you already are. You don't need to ask me if you can be my friend. You just... do."
"But then how do I know if I'm friends with someone?"
Shinrai shrugged.
"You just do. So long as you like being around them you can feel free to call them your friend. Whether they think of you as a friend is entirely up to them."
Yasui nodded.
"Wow, that was really smart. You're good at this."
The smaller mammal sheepishly stuck his hands in his pockets.
"Well... I can't take too much credit. That's just what my Dad says. Anyway, time's wasting! We need to go find your new friend number two!"
Yasui nodded.
"Okay! He said he stays in room 701. Let's try there."
Shinrai jokingly bowed and held his arm towards the dorms.
"Lead the way!"
As they walked from the main building towards the male carnivore dorm, Yasui glanced down at Shinrai as he kept pace beside him. He hadn't realized it before, but squirrels really were small. Yasui was considered runty for a fox and he was more than a good head and shoulders above the smaller male. Yasui was walking at a relatively relaxed pace yet Shinrai had to take two steps for every one of his. Yasui began to feel a bit guilty about dragging a small breed herbivore into the carnivore dorm.
"Hey... um... I just realized, well, you really don't need to come with me if you don't want to."
Shinrai rolled his eyes.
"I'm going to stop you there. Yes, I am small. Yes, large carnivores intimidate me. Yes, I am a little nervous about wandering around the carnivore dorm. However, I am trying to improve my relational skills, especially those involving carnivores. So please, don't sweat about me. Besides."
The squirrel looked at Yasui and grinned.
"If anyone does try to attack me I'm sure you'll fight them off for me."
Yasui stiffled a laugh at the thought of him fighting somebody.
"I don't know about that. I've never gotten into a fight before."
Shinrai stretched his arms out and lept onto a bench they were passing, balancing along the top before hopping down.
"Huh, I guess that disproves that stereotype."
"Hmm? What stereotype?"
Shinrai shrugged.
"Y'know, that foxes have violent tendencies and love to fight. I mean, a lot of people say that about all carnivores but I've heard a-lot of people mention foxes in particular."
Yasui's ears flattened.
"Oh..."
"Oh, I'm sorry dude. I spoke without thinking. That sounded insensitive."
"It's fine. To be honest I'm not exactly a normal fox so I wouldn't know."
"Huh? How so?"
Yasui rubbed his arm and looked away.
"Forget it, it's kind of embarrassing."
"Aw c'mon, we're friends right! I won't tease you about personal stuff."
"N-no, just forget I said anything."
Shinrai huffed.
"How about this, I'll tell you something embarrassing about myself if you tell me. Deal?"
Yasui grit his teeth and nervously glanced around.
Well... this could be an opportunity to bond and learn more about him.
Yasui nodded.
"Okay. Deal."
"Alrighty, want me to go first?"
"If you don't mind."
"No problemo, something I'm embarrassed about is that I'm super afraid of girls."
Yasui waited for him to laugh or say "gotcha" but he looked dead serious.
"Wait, seriously? You're scared of girls?"
"Seriously! Not even just like talking to them. I'm just straight up nervous about being around girls. It's not that I don't like girls. I mean, I am a teenage guy so... you know. But still, that and the fact that I was always too scared to talk to carnivores led me to start doing this self-improvement course thing. It's supposed to help me learn skills that will help me relate and communicate to members of different species and whatever."
Yasui nodded before a thought crossed his mind.
"Is that... why you decided to talk to me? It was part of your course?"
"Well, yeah, but only the first time. I decided to talk to you again because I like you."
Yasui immediately perked up.
"Wait, really?"
"Mhm, is it that hard to imagine?"
"Well, yeah. I know I'm not exactly very cool or funny or have sweet skills like you and your photography thing. I'm about as interesting as tap water."
"Sheesh, why are you so negative. There's no need to put yourself down like that."
"S-sorry. I'm just... not used to this whole talking to other people thing."
Shinrai smiled.
"Honestly, that's why I decided to keep hanging around you. I know we barely just started being friends, but I like talking with you. You make me feel better about myself."
"I do? How?"
Shinrai stretched his arms over his head before resting them behind his neck.
"Ya see, I'm the youngest of my siblings and the least talented and poorest of my friends. I hadn't even realized it but I had gotten used to always just being in the background. I'm not saying that I've been neglected or that my friends are bad friends, it's just... I never realized what this feels like."
"What what feels like?"
"Having someone be... excited to see you. Even though we've only know each other about a day and only talked twice, you visably become happier whenever you realize I'm here. It just... I dunno... feels nice to be wanted. Sorry if that's sappy or corny."
Yasui held his hands up placatingly.
"No, not at all. I get it. I feel like a background character in my own life all the time. It seems like the only time anybody cares that I exist is if I'm doing something for them. That's why I'm so excited that someone just wants to talk to me, no strings attached."
Shinrai laughed and shook his head.
"Wow, this got touchy-feely fast. Besides, I think I understand how you're feeling better than you know."
"Really? Why do you say that?"
Shinrai pointed at Yasui's rear.
"Your tail has been wagging nonstop since I first talked to you."
"Wait, really?"
Looking behind him, Yasui saw his large, fluffy tail was lashing rapidly back and forth without his knowledge. He reached down and grabbed it, trying to stop the wagging.
"Wow, I hadn't even noticed. This kinda has to do with what I was saying before, about me being an odd fox."
Shinrai looked intently at the twitching tail that was still attempting to free itself from its owners hands.
"How so?"
"Well, foxes typically don't wag their tails like that. They also aren't as expressive or sociable as other canids."
"Huh, you don't say. Y'know, I kinda forgot that foxes are close to canines and all as a species. I tend to think of you guys as being your own thing."
Yasui continued wrestling his tail into submission as he said,
"Yeah, it's one of those weird things where foxes are similar to canines in some ways but also similar to felines in others and have some unique characteristics or whatever, same as hyenas."
Shinrai raised his eyebrows.
"Huh, the more you know. But why does that embarrass you? I mean, oh no! You wag your tail! I don't see why it's a big deal."
Yasui sighed.
"It's more the fact that I'm much more... emotional than the rest of my family. Seriously, I'm always bouncing between highs and lows. It's kinda... frustrating that the littlest things can either completely make or ruin my mood."
"Oh... that's rough. But hey, look at us having a deep, meaningful conversation so soon. We're a regular couple of adults, huh."
Yasui scowled.
"Be serious. I just told you something really personal."
Shinrai waved him off.
"Relax, I am taking it seriously. It's just... I think that that's nothing to be ashamed of really. You're more in touch with your feelings. Big deal. If that makes you a 'bad fox' than I think everyone should be a bad fox."
Yasui stared at him for a moment before replying.
"Wow, Shinrai, you're like some sort of wise guru or something."
"Oh please, I'm totally not. And you can call me Shin by the way. Everyone does."
"Okay... Shin."
They paused at the main entrance to the male carnivore dorm. Shinrai gave Yasui a double thumbs up and beamed.
"Let's do this thing!"
"Y-yeah."
"Go get 'em champ!"
Yasui groaned and opened the door.
"Sheesh, you sound like my Dad."
"Way to go sport!"
"Stop."
"Are ya winnin' there bud?"
"Now it's just weird."
They climbed the stairs and traversed the hallways until they reached room 701. They got a few weird looks along the way, mainly directed at Shinrai, but nobody bothered to stop them. Yasui was rocking back and forth on his heels as he stood in front of the door with Shinrai a good space away offering moral support by leaning out encouragingly from around the corner.
Okay, you can do this. Just be confident and act casual. Maybe... talk about whether there are any classes we both have trouble in.
Yasui shook himself back to the present when he realized he's begun nervously biting down on his finger again.
Dang it, I really need to stop doing that. It probably comes across as really creepy.
He wiped his hand on his pants and slowly knocked on the door.
knock knock... knock*
There was a brief pause before the sound of footsteps could be heard. The door opened to reveal a coyote standing in the doorway. He peered out (and down) at Yasui and asked,
"Hey there, need something?"
Yasui clasped his arms behind him and shuffled back a little.
"Y-yeah, I'm here for- I mean- is... Jack here?"
The coyote leaned back and shouted,
"Yo, Jack. Some dude's here to see you."
A familiar and amicable voice responded.
"Who is it?"
"That short dude who knocked himself out getting the frisbee."
Yasui winced.
Great... they remember that. I was kinda hoping those other guys wouldn't recognize me.
Quick footsteps approached and soon Jack's face was poking out from over the coyote's shoulder.
"Hey, it's you! I was wondering when you'd drop by."
The coyote frowned.
"Oh, is he another friend of yours? It's getting hard to keep track given how social you are."
Jack smiled wider and rubbed the back of his head.
"Ah, you know me. Anyway, I told him he could borrow my scissors to trim his fur. So long as he cleans them of course."
Yasui did his best to mimic Jack's friendly smile and effortlessly bright tone.
"Yeah, thanks for that."
Instead of having the effect that Yasui had hoped it would have of prolonging the immediate conversation. Jack froze and grew a confused expression.
Oh no, what did I say? Or was it my voice? Or face? Or everything!
"I... didn't think I'd lent you them yet. Did I?"
Yasui stayed silent for a moment before attempting a laugh. The attempt was weak.
"Heh... heh. My bad, I guess I got ahead of myself."
Jack simply shrugged and walked back into the room. He returned with a pair of scissors wrapped in a small cloth.
"Here you go. And that store that will buy the trimmed fur is right on the road that leads to the school. You can't miss it. Well, catch you later!"
Yasui closed his eyes and smiled.
"Y-yeah... will do."
The door closed and he wordlessly started to leave the building, Shinrai in tow. For his part, the squirrel was excitedly springing along while asking questions nonstop.
"So, how did it go? You guys gonna hang sometime? He invite you to do... whatever carnivores do for fun?"
Yasui stayed silent until he had exited through the front door. He pressed his hand against his forehead and sighed. He jumped a bit when Shinrai spoke.
"I guess that means it didn't go so well?"
Yasui nodded glumly as Shinrai moved to stand beside him.
"Oh well, you'll do better next time."
"I doubt it."
Shinrai scowled at him.
"You can't give up yet! You can do it."
Yasui held up the scissors and glowered at them.
"I just seem to screw up everything! Whenever I try to talk to people I freeze up and say the wrong things! I'm like some kind of... of... I dunno. I just don't think I'll ever be able to talk to people. I wanted to use this to like introduce myself or whatever but instead I just stood there like a dope."
Shinrai shrugged before walking down the steps that led to and from the doors. He kicked a rock that was sitting on the sidewalk and started to slowly move away from the building. Yasui's ears drooped.
Oh, he's probably sick of my crap now. I really can't seem to get this friend thing right can I? I should just let him go spend time with his other friends.
"You coming?"
Yasui flinched and looked back at the squirrel.
"Huh?"
Shinrai put his hands in his pockets and stood with his foot ready to keep kicking his rock.
"I figured since this was kinda a flop, we should just go get a snack and do homework or something. Dinner won't be served for a few more hours, and my club doesn't meet today. If you're free we could just go hang out in the library or something."
Yasui hurried over and fell into stride beside the squirrel.
"You mean it?"
"Why wouldn't I? Nothing better to do anyway. And besides, you need to not spend all your time alone. Apparently it can cause depression and hinder development of social skills."
"Oh."
"So we can hang out and do boring school stuff! If you want to of course."
"Totally! I was going to try to find a book about cooking anyway."
Shinrai nodded before halting at a vending machine that was situated on the way to the library.
"Seems legit. You want something from this?"
Yasui shook his head.
"I don't have any money."
"Not what I asked."
Yasui looked down at Shinrai with a surprised look on his face.
"Huh? But why would you—"
Shinrai rolled his eyes as he fished around in his pockets for some change.
"Because we're friends. And besides, you're probably a little bummed about that whole Jack thing not going the way you wanted it to. And in my experience nothing fixes a crappy mood quite like junk food."
Yasui smiled and bowed slightly.
"I appreciate that, but I wouldn't be comfortable getting something for nothing."
Shinrai picked up the chips he had bought and popped them open.
"Fine then."
He grew a mischievous smile and held the bag under Yasui's nose.
"We'll go halfsies, how about that?"
Yasui laughed and took a chip.
"Halfsies it is."
"Aha! I knew it!"
Yasui was startled and almost dropped his chip when Shinrai had shouted that. He gave the squirrel a confused look to which he replied.
"I knew I could make you laugh! I just needed to figure out how. I was honestly starting to give up when my ridiculous pose earlier didn't work.
Yasui looked down at the chip held between his fingers and smiled.
"Thanks, Shinrai."
"No prob, it's just a chip."
"Well, for the chip too. I was more talking about you letting me be your friend. This whole week has been the hardest thing I've ever done."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Are you, y'know, hanging in there okay?"
"Yeah, I just didn't realize how difficult leaving home would be."
Shinrai shrugged.
"Nobody does. I cried for two hours my first day here. And my family lives in town. I can't imagine what it's like for you to be so far away from them."
"It's tough, but... hearing that makes me feel a bit better. You know, these chips or whatever they're called are crunchier than I expected."
Shinrai shot him a curious glance.
"What, you never eat chips either?"
Yasui shook his head.
"Like I said, we pretty much grew our own food. Only things we would buy that were food was stuff like flour and salt. Y'know, things you cook with, never stuff that was already made."
Shinrai shook his head and popped another chip into his mouth.
"My friend, there is a whole lot of stuff I need to introduce you to. I'm assuming you haven't ever watched a movie?"
"Nah, we don't have a tv. And the town didn't have a theater or anything either."
"That settles it! This weekend I'm buying a ton of junk food and we'll watch a bunch of my favorite movies!"
"That sounds great! But... where are we gonna get a tv?"
Shinrai gave him a blank stare.
"You realize that there are common rooms in each dorm where there is a public use tv. I'll just have to reserve it."
Yasui's jaw dropped.
"There's just... free television in each dorm?"
"How did you not notice?"
Yasui shrugged.
"Never went into the common room. Too crowded."
Shinrai shrugged as they ascended the steps towards the library.
"That's fair. Man, I am not looking forward to all this homework."
Yasui adjusted his backpack and smiled at his friend.
"If you want, I'll help you if I can. I used to help my siblings out all the time."
Shinrai rubbed his chin thoughtfully before snapping his fingers excitedly.
"That could be a good idea! We could make a, like, two person study group! My other friends never need to study like I do, so I usually have to do it on my own. And I get distracted. Yasui, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to stop me from slacking off when I study. Do you accept?"
Yasui blinked a few times and scratched the back of his head.
"I... guess?"
"Than this message will self-destruct in five... four... three... two... one."
He puffed up the empty chip bag and bunched it up before slamming his other hand into it. It popped with an obnoxious "BANG" and a cloud of barbecue seasoning. Yasui jumped back and Shinrai began to laugh... until the cloud of salt and spice hit his face. He quickly devolved into a fit of coughing, his eyes watering.
"Oh gosh! Bad *hack* idea! My eyes! Barbecue in my eyes!"
Yasui grabbed his arm and began pulling him towards the bathroom.
"Don't worry, we just need to wash your eyes out!"
"My eyes are spicy!"
"It'll be okay!"
"Spicy eyes!"
Yasui held open the doors and ushered Shinrai towards the bathroom. Once inside he helped his friend to a sink and watched as he frantically splashed water on his face. Finally, he managed to relieve his torment and slumped to the ground, eyes red and watery.
"Oh gosh, why did I have to make that reference. You didn't even get it."
Yasui rubbed his shoulder and shifted his weight awkwardly from foot to foot.
"Are you... okay?"
Shinrai sneezed and continued rubbing his weepy eyes with his palms.
"I think I'll live."
"How about... your arm? I didn't mean to grab you, I panicked. I wasn't too rough was I?"
Shinrai looked down at his arm and gently prodded it. He winced a little, noticing that his flesh was starting to bruise a bit. Yasui noticed it and blanched, backing away from the smaller animal.
"Oh no, I-I'm so sorry! I should have been more careful."
Shinrai got to his feet and wiped a bit of water off his face.
"Don't worry about it. It's going to be fine. I'm just a little bruised. Anyway, let's study while we can. It's almost time for dinner."
The two headed off in the direction of the tables situated on the ground floor. As they went about their respective studies, Shinrai noticed that Yasui seemed more subdued than he had earlier. He also noticed that he had returned to the more clipped, nervous way of talking he had used when they had first spoken. This persisted throughout their study session and through dinner. As they parted for the evening, Shinrai couldn't help but wonder what it could have been that had bothered Yasui so much. His speculations continued until he reached the usual meeting spot and found Kashi and Don already hard at work sketching on a piece of graph paper.
"Wow, you guys are taking this really seriously."
Don rolled his eyes and chewed on the eraser of his pencil.
"Of course we are! This plan has to go without a hitch."
Kashikoi sighed and rubbed his eyes.
"Honestly, I'm really not sure about this. I haven't done something this dangerous... ever! I mean, I've never even chewed gum in class, let alone sneak out!"
Don spun to face the alpaca, long ears flattening against his head.
"Eyes on the prize! We need your thoroughness and my brains to make the perfect plan."
Shinrai sat on a nearby box and kicked his feet like a little kid.
"Whatcha need me to do?"
His two friends looked at each other and then back at him. Don idly tapped his pencil against his chin as Kashikoi awkwardly stared at the plans. Finally, Don spoke.
"Yeah... here's the thing. No offense, but you kinda can't keep secrets."
"What! What's that supposed to mean!?"
Kashikoi sighed and crossed his arms.
"Do you remember the broken window three years ago?"
"That was an accident! I didn't mean to tell anyone!"
Don huffed and glowered at the squirrel.
"Or what about the faulty vending machine that was giving out free drinks?"
Shinrai scowled at him.
"I'm so sorry my parents raised me right! But come on! This is important!"
Don stood and paced over to him.
"It is, that's why we need to take... precautions. Besides, we all know you aren't exactly the brains of the group. Your specialty is more... being... you know... charmingly immature? Oh, and making movie references!"
Shinrai huffed and sprang from his seat.
"Fine! I'll only show up when you text me to! I wouldn't want my 'immaturity' to screw up your precious plan!"
He then turned and stormed off the roof. Kashikoi was about to chase after him when Don grabbed his arm to stop him.
"Let him go, dude. You know how he is. Sometimes he just gets into one of these moods."
Kashikoi sighed but reluctantly nodded.
"Yeah... you're right. Back to the plan then?"
Don nodded.
"Back to the plan."
(Later that night)
Yasui was lying wide awake in his bed, staring without seeing at his left hand. He could practically still feel the sensation of Shinrai's slender arm in his grip. That was first time he'd ever touched a small animal before, and he had hurt him.
I need to be more careful. I'm a fox, nobody will ever completely trust me, and herbivores will never be comfortable with me touching them or being too close.
He rolled over and sighed, dragging his fingers across his eyes. His sharp claws gently scratching his skin as he stretched his cheeks between his fingertips.
I'm just glad he wants to talk to me. That's more than enough for me. It's good of him to give me a chance. I just... I wish that there was something I could do, something I could say that would change what it means to be a fox. Or even to change what it is to be a carnivore.
He restlessly rolled onto his other side and stared at the sliver of moonlight on the wall.
Sometimes... I wish I'd just wake up as a herbivore. Sometimes... I don't like being me.
He yawned as drowsiness finally crept upon him.
I want... nobody to be scared of me. Nobody... nervous... or.
Slowly, his eyes drooped and his breathing slowed as his hands unclenched, his body finally losing the tension that all carnivores carry while awake.
Author's Note*
Hello, author here! I apologize that this chapter took a bit longer than usual. I finally got the opportunity to visit some family after a long time! I want to thank those of you who have read this far for caring about this story, even as rough as it is. And also, as my little gift, I will impart some useless knowledge. The punctuation mark I use frequently that is both an exclamation mark and question mark together is called an interrobang! It's probably my favorite punctuation. Maybe!?