The Cherryton Cooking Club

by Mr.Dr.Sadperson

Taking place one year before the events of the show, this story is a simple look at the (relatively) normal lives of average students attending Cherryton Highschool.

20. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Festivities in Full Swing

It was a little surprising how crowded the festival grounds were despite it only being around eleven in the morning. Given that the actual Festival of the Meteor didn't start until late afternoon, Yasui was pretty sure that these were all individuals here to set up stands and booths for tonight. He saw quite a few other students from Cherryton and loads of adults from the city, all decorating or setting up booths. This festival was even larger than he had expected.

As Yasui finished preparing the last ear of corn for roasting, he took a minute to close his eyes and enjoy the weather. It was a beautiful day out. It was warm, but a pleasant breeze from the sea kept it from being unpleasantly hot. The storm earlier that week seemed to have quashed the hot weather for the time being.

"So, Yasui. Everything all set up?"

He turned as Miss Diana approached and leaned on the table they had situated at the front of the tent to serve as a place to set down the food for pickup. Yasui nodded.

"I think so. The corn is all shucked, the sauce for it is made, the fruit and creme is prepared, the batter for the crepes and fritters is all made, and we have the curry ketchup all mixed together."

"Goodness, you're on top of things! I'm impressed!"

Yasui blushed a bit at the unexpected praise.

"Thanks, Miss Diana. I couldn't have done any of it without your help."

"Oh please, you would have figured something out. I just helped smooth the process. Anyway, that's all besides the point. I actually have something for you. Close your eyes and hold out your hands."

Yasui did as instructed. He felt something made of fabric fill his palms.

"You can look."

Looking down, Yasui saw a bundle of black cloth with a black baseball hat on top. The hat read "Cherryton Cooking Club" in embroidered characters, identical to the one Diana was wearing, and upon unfolding the other item, he realized what it was.

"An apron! And it has my name on it!"

Sure enough, in small, silvery embroidery were the words "Yasui, Club President." He clutched the apron to his chest and grinned.

"It's amazing! Thank you thank you thank you!"

"If you're running a stand, you have to look the part. This is actually what I was doing at the mall. They have a store where you can get custom embroidery on clothing. I also got a hat and apron for Chaussette as well, specially made for a snake."

"You're the best! I doubt any other club has as cool a sponsor as we do!"

Diana adjusted her sunglasses and inspected her claws.

"It's highly unlikely, and they probably don't have as much style, either."

She looked at him as he just stood there watching the crowd. Finally she sighed and began shooing him away.

"Go do something fun, Yasui. Festival doesn't start for a few hours! Go on!"

"Are you sure? But what if I forgot to do something? Or something gets taken or broken or—"

"Then Charles and I will sort it out! Go do something stupid and embarrassing with a friend, or ask a girl out, or something! Be a high school student for a change, and stop being so responsible!"

Yasui laughed.

"Alright, alright! I'll try! No promises!"

"Go on! Make a mistake you can laugh about later! You better have at least a somewhat funny story when you get back!"

Yasui shook his head and walked into the main portion of the square where the festival was to take place. A giant meteor statue was in the final stages of being set up as an electrician checked the wiring for the lights one more time. Farther away Yasui saw a large stage that he wandered over to. Nearby was the dinosaur statue from Wednesday, and the stage was packed with various beasts practicing a dance of some kind. Nearby he saw Jack and the other guys from Legoshi's room lounging in the shade of one of the nearby trees. Yasui waved as he walked over to them.

"Hi, Jack! Hi guys!"

Jack's ears perked up and he turned his head towards Yasui. Once he saw him, the Labrador smiled and returned the wave.

"Hiya, Yasui! Nice day, huh?"

Yasui nodded and stretched a bit.

"Yup! Great weather."

Miguno the hyena jerked his chin upwards and pointed at Yasui.

"Frisbeeee! How ya doin?"

"I'm fine. All set up for tonight so I have some time to kill. Also, are you ever going to stop calling me Frisbee?"

Durham laughed.

"No way, dude. That's your permanent nickname. Mainly 'cause we didn't learn your actual name for a solid two weeks after you started hanging out with Jack."

Yasui shrugged.

"That's fair. So what are you all doing? Waiting for Legoshi?"

Jack nodded and stifled a yawn.

"Yeah. We're all going to get lunch at our favorite taco place. You're welcome to come with if you want."

Yasui nodded and tapped his chin.

"Maybe… depends on how expensive it is. I'm not exactly loaded, even with my job."

Collot chuckled.

"Dude, why do you think it's our favorite? Tasty tacos, dirt cheap."

Yasui found a spot nearby in the shade and sat with them. A short distance away, Shinrai was finishing up the last bit of setup for his club's booth. He and the two other members of the AV Club had worked together to make a sort of photo booth for those who wanted to take a picture at the festival. The youngest member of the club, a red panda named Akechi, was actually pretty good at drawing so they had made a decent cardboard cutout of two dinosaurs with a meteor in the background, with holes for you to poke your head out and pretend you were the dinosaurs. They also had a few props in a basket for people's photos and a small lockbox that was firmly attached to a wooden post for any donations beasts who used it wanted to give them.

Once they were certain it was all secure, Shinrai and the two other members stepped back and admired their work. The oldest member and president, a rooster named Ishia, stepped back and nodded.

"Nice. Here's hoping we get lots of donations. Alright, I'm off. Meeting my brother to see a movie in an hour. Catch you two later!"

Shinrai and Akechi waved as he left. Shinrai turned to the red panda and asked,

"So, do you want to go do something?"

Akechi shrugged.

"Not really. I kinda just want to go back to my room and play some video games until it's time for the festival."

"Okay, see you later! We can all hang out at the festival if you want."

As Akechi left, Shinrai picked up the random tennis ball he had found in one of the boxes of props they brought over and bounced it aimlessly. He scanned the various booths for any sign of anyone familiar and saw a large white sheepdog sitting under a tree with some other slightly familiar looking dogs. He then saw that Yasui was with them. Finally having something to do, Shinrai jogged over.

"Hey! Yasui! How's it going!"

Yasui looked over and waved at his friend.

"Hey, Shinrai. Doing fine. How about you?"

Shinrai threw the ball up into the air and caught it.

"Pretty good. The booth is all set up so I'm just chilling until the festival starts. You guys got any plans?"

He looked away from his ball to see that every set of canid eyes was glued to him. He watched as they all slowly approached him, crouched and waiting to pounce. Shinrai blinked frantically and felt some sweat bead on his neck. To calm himself he began passing the ball from one hand to the other and chuckled.

"Uh… so… nice weather… right?"

The dogs were all getting closer. As Shinrai began to back away and looked around for someone to help him, he lost control of the ball and it went past his hand and off to his left. Immediately the carnivores sprang into action and dashed wildly after the ball. The large sheepdog was the first there and he hurried back to give Shinrai the ball before crouching down in front of him, panting excitedly. Shinrai's eyes were wide with surprise.

"Uh… what!?"

The hyena whined.

"C'mon! Throw it again! I want a chance to get it!"

As they all began to crowd him again Shinrai panicked and threw it as hard as he could directly behind them. Once again they all ran after the ball, and this time Yasui was the first to get it. He returned it to Shinrai, looking proud of himself. Shinrai wasn't exactly sure what was going on. But whatever it was, the guys seemed to be enjoying it. They were all excitedly wagging their tails and waiting for him to throw the ball again. Shinrai hesitated before doing so. Once again, they all ran after it, jockeying to be the first to reach it, before returning it as fast as possible. This process repeated until the canids were worn out and sweating heavily. At that point Legoshi the gray wolf approached them from the stage.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late. Little problem with the wires for…. Uh… what did I miss?"

Collot laughed.

"Dude, it was great! We were playing fetch! I can't even remember the last time I did that!"

Voss puffed a bit as he spoke.

"I haven't since elementary school. It takes me back."

Shinrai was still in disbelief at the fact that he had practically controlled an entire pack of dogs with a small tennis ball. He met Legoshi's gaze who stared blankly back at him. Shinrai gulped.

"H-hiya! I'm Shinrai's friend Yasui, I mean, Yasui's friend Shinrai! Hi."

"Oh. I'm Legoshi."

He glanced down to where Yasui was splayed out on the ground catching his breath.

"Oh, hi Yasui. How are you today?"

"Pretty *huff* good."

"That's good. Soo…. I'm pretty hungry, are we all going to get lunch together?"

Jack nodded and looked at Yasui and Shinrai.

"Do you two want to come with? We're getting tacos!"

Shinrai pumped his fist.

"Aw heck yeah! I love tacos! Count me in!"

Yasui shrugged.

"Yeah, I can always eat. Never had tacos before but I'm willing to give them a try."

Shinrai swept his arm wide,

"Let's get—"

The ball slipped from his grasp and flew across the lawn. Immediately all seven canids sprinted after it.

The taco place that the boys from room 701 had in mind was a tiny little restaurant that barely fit all of them. The chef and owner was a large lizard that greeted the boys with some degree of familiarity. Immediately Collot approached the counter and ordered.

"Gimme two bean and cheese burritos, a samurai taco, and a fiesta taco."

"You got it." Said the chef.

Slowly the other guys filtered through the line leaving only Yasui to order. He looked over the menu for what felt like the thousandth time before shrugging.

"Can you just pick for me? Two of what you think is the best?"

"No worries, I can do that. That'll be one seventy-seven."

Wow, that is cheap.

Yasui looked up and saw that that price was written as the lunch special for two tacos. It explained why the other guys liked this place so much. He joined them at their table and listened in on the tail end of their conversation. Miguno was talking animatedly as he gestured around his face.

"—And so then I was like, 'what do you mean I'm going to be dead weight?' And she just says, 'You don't exactly look very smart.' Can you believe that!? I look plenty smart, right?"

Jack shrugged.

"I dunno, dude. What exactly makes people look smart?"

Collot tapped the side of his head.

"Glasses. Just use Yasui for an example. Without glasses, he just looks like a little kid. With glasses, I think he looks like one of those genius kids who's in high school by the age of ten."

Yasui tilted his head.

"You think my glasses make me look smart?"

Durham scoffed.

"Yeah my guy! Everyone knows glasses make people look smarter. Some people just look better with glasses than others."

Legoshi looked at Miguno and hummed.

"Hmm… I bet you'd look good in glasses, Miguno. Maybe you can get a fake pair or something?"

Miguno stroked his chin.

"Huh, you really think so?"

Shinrai frowned.

"I dunno. Glasses just seem like such a pain. They get dirty, and crack, and fog up, and all this other stuff! I don't think I'd want to deal with it."

The conversation continued until the cook strode out with a massive tray and began handing out the food. Yasui had two small plates with some sort of crunchy flatbread filled with different things. One had fried tofu and stir fried veggies; the other had beans, cheese, rice, and some sort of protein that was all chopped up. As the guys all dug in, Yasui realized that he was the odd one out. Shinrai was currently deep in conversation with Voss the fennec fox; Jack, Legoshi, and Durham were talking; and Miguno was trying to arm wrestle with Collot. Honestly, this wasn't anything new to Yasui. He was used to being the one who sat by themself whenever his family would visit another family in the village, or at school lunches back home.

The food was unique and tasty, and soon it was early afternoon as they left the restaurant and wandered around the block. It was actually a little impressive how quickly Shinrai was able to ingratiate himself into the boys from room 701, but he was talking and joking with them as naturally and effortlessly as they did amongst themselves. This was something Yasui still couldn't do, he always felt a little bit like an outsider who didn't know all the jokes. They all stopped in a few stores where the other guys would buy some things as Yasui followed them around, until eventually it was time for the final set up for the festival. Yasui excused himself and hurried back to the festival square where he threw himself into making sure everything was perfect.

It was getting later and later, close to when the Festival of the Meteor would officially start. As it crept closer and closer, a cold pit of fear grew in Yasui's stomach. He began to play over and over again in his head all the ways he could mess it all up.

What if I burn a bunch of the food! Or what if the food is too salty! Or not salty enough! Or undercooked! Why am I even doing this! I'm not a cook! Not really anyway! This is way too much for me to handle!

Yasui groaned internally as he nervously paced around the booth. Every little flaw and imperfection with the setup seemed painfully obvious to him all of a sudden. He could tell, this was probably going to end poorly.

Maybe I should just let someone else take over for me. I mean, why exactly am I the leader!? I have absolutely no leadership experience or skill. My own little sisters don't listen to me when I have to watch them. They know I'm a joke, same as everyone else! This was a stupid idea! I'm going to screw it up like I screw up everything! Mom's mother's day breakfast, Kime's surprise party, the special anniversary dinner for Mom and Dad! Each and every time I was the one who screwed up and ruined it for everyone!

Yasui sighed and looked around. The other booths were getting ready to start operating as beasts from all over the city made their way to the festival grounds. They all were confident and had done a good job of setting up. Yasui had just done what he'd been told. He didn't feel particularly good about this anymore.

I can't do it. I know I can't. I was an idiot for thinking I could. I'll do Miss Diana, Charles, and Chaussette a favor and get out of their way. They're better off without me.

Yasui sighed and slowly slunk away. This was all he was good at really. Sneaking off with his tail between his legs to go hide in his room and read a book so he didn't have to feel any of the bad feelings about what he did. Yasui found a quiet place under a tree by the water to watch the sun slowly dip down as afternoon began to become very early evening.

Meanwhile back at the booth for the Cherryton Cooking Club, Chaussette was sitting listlessly near the grill when Miss Diana arrived. The female leopard clasped her hands together and grinned.

"The calm before the storm, how I've missed it! That little wait before opening night is so exhilarating! But… where's Yasui? He should be here by now, and I've never known him to be late in the short time we've been acquainted."

Chaussette flicked her tongue.

"I don't know where he went. I can tell he wassss here only a little bit ago because everything issss in the right place, but I don't know where he issss now."

"Maybe he had to use the bathroom. Hopefully he won't take too long."

The minutes began to stretch by until they were getting close to the wire. Many booths had begun operating and Diana was getting a little worried and frustrated. She pulled out her phone and called Yasui. After a few rings he answered, sounding dejected.

"Hello."

"Yasui? Where are you? It's time to get started!"

"I'm sorry. I just… I can't do it."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"I can't do any of it. I'm really sorry. You'll manage without me."

"Yasui what the heck is going on? Are you seriously leaving us all in the lurch?! Why?"

There was a pause and the voice that responded was a bit choked up.

"I'm sorry. I know I'm disappointing you. I… I just… I'm sorry."

He hung up. Diana scowled and let out a frustrated growl.

"When I get my hands on him I'll make him sorry."

Chaussette tilted her head.

"What'sss wrong? Where isss he?"

"I don't know and I don't know. I'm going to go look for him. Hopefully he didn't get too far. And when I find him, I'm going to knock some sense into him."

"Jussst be gentle. I think thisss isss a lot for him really fassst. He never really ssstruck me asss a boy with much ssself confidence."

"No promises."

Diana stalked off in search of the missing fox, internally fuming. How could he do something so selfish, after all the work that had been done, all the time and money spent, everything she had—

Diana caught herself and sighed before massaging her temples.

"Get a hold of yourself. Do you really want to yell at a child? Just take deep breaths."

She then had an idea. She shouldn't be looking in the crowd, she should look for where it wasn't crowded. He was a farm boy. Yasui probably got scared of crowds and hated how noisy the city was, he would probably head somewhere isolated to mope. With this plan in mind, she made her way to the edge of the crowd and began looking around at the sparsely populated corners of the park where the festival was held. Sure enough, she caught a glimpse of red from behind a tree as a large tail sat limply on the ground. She immediately marched over, having to take deliberate measures to slow her pace and calm down as she approached. There, with his knees under his chin, was Yasui. He looked absolutely despondent, and as he noticed her he grew a look of deep shame. Miss Diana simply crossed her arms and gave him an expectant look, not quite trusting herself to speak yet. Finally he broke the silence.

"Sorry."

"You already mentioned that."

His ears drooped even further as he curled himself into an even tighter ball. There was a long pause.

"Shouldn't you guys already be selling food?"

"Not without you."

"I can't, I'm going to screw it all up if I try to. You're better off without me."

"And why exactly do you say that?"

"Because it happens constantly! Whenever I try to do anything like this back home I just ruin everything! I'm a loser and everyone knows it!"

Diana pursed her lips and looked around for anything or anyone who was better suited to this than her. Unfortunately, it was currently just the two of them. She sighed and stood a little bit away from him.

"Do you really believe that? That you're a loser?"

He nodded miserably.

"And people just constantly tell you how much of a screw-up you are?"

Yasui nodded again.

"Oh really? Name five."

"Yone, Kime, my aunt, my cousins, everyone from school who bullied me. I ruin everything."

"I find that hard to believe."

Yasui was silent after that. Diana sighed. This was very awkward for her. She usually just would have barked at him to pull himself together or get lost back in her old days of running a large business, but this needed to be handled with care. She had an idea.

"Yasui, do you know what I think about you?"

"Probably not something good. I just left you all hanging and wasted your time."

"I meant about you as an individual."

He was silent again. She sighed.

"I think you are a very sweet and thoughtful boy who wants to do your best at everything and make your family proud."

Yasui slowly turned his head towards her. She continued.

"I also think you are naive, insecure, and very lacking in emotional maturity and real world experience."

His eyes furrowed a bit.

"W-was that supposed to make me feel better?"

"No. That was my honest opinion. And a brutally honest one at that."

Yasui buried his head in his knees again.

"You're right. I'm all of those things. I'm naive and insecure all right. I'm a waste of space."

"Yasui, you just proved the point I'm trying to make. You only mentioned the bad things I said, not the good ones."

He looked over at her again, confused. She sighed and gingerly moved closer to him. With a little bit of awkward trepidation she carefully put a hand on his shoulder. Although it was more accurate to say she put a few fingers on his shoulder

"You're too hard on yourself. You've convinced yourself that everyone thinks poorly of you. And you put too much stock in what people think about you. Who cares if you mess up every now and then, mistakes happen! Learn from them and move on. I've made loads of mistakes! Stop beating yourself up, okay?"

Yasui sniffled and miserably croaked out.

"I don't know if I can."

"Well how about this. Do you think I'm an idiot? That I can't be trusted to make smart business decisions?"

"No, of course not! You're super smart about stuff like that, as you've shown me by helping with the booth."

"Well if I believe that you can succeed, can't you at least take a little confidence from that? Until you can find a little of your own?"

Yasui shrugged.

"Maybe… I can try at least."

"Then stop moping and get back to your food stall!"

Yasui wiped his nose and got to his feet. He looked bashfully down at his shoes and stammered out,

"O-okay. I'll try. But I'll probably mess it all up."

"That's not going to happen. I believe in you."

Yasui grimaced.

"I just… I can't seem to do that for myself."

"Then I guess I'll have to do it for both of us. How about it? Can you at least try to be a little confident? For just a few hours?"

Yasui looked down a bit before nodding. Miss Diana smiled.

"Well then, that's all I ask. Even if it does go sour, it's better than giving up because you're afraid it will."

Yasui smiled, seemingly feeling better.

"Thanks, Miss Diana. I needed to hear that. You're good at cheering people up."

"That's the first time I've ever heard that. Usually people always called me a cold-hearted bi… uh… nevermind."

The female leopard squinted a bit and awkwardly held her arms out from her sides just a bit.

"Are we supposed to hug now? I don't have much experience with offering emotional support to people but this feels like the moment for it."

Yasui laughed.

"I'd like that. I could use a hug right now."

She gingerly patted him on the shoulder only for him to wrap his arms around her and give her a brief squeeze. She was about to keep on doing what she had been doing and pat his shoulder again before thinking better of it and instead patting his head. She laughed awkwardly.

"Sorry. I've never been much of a hugger even when I was little. My parents weren't exactly… affectionate. This is still new to me."

"Well I'm definitely a hugger, so I can help you get used to it."

As they walked back to the festival grounds, Yasui looked up at the older female and said,

"I wish I was like you. You're so confident and brave. You've probably never been nervous in your life."

"Well, we all react to pressure differently. I thrive under pressure, but not many people do. And there are many things that I want to change about myself, things I'm not proud of."

"Really? What? If you don't mind me asking."

She sighed.

"Honestly? I wish I was more straightforward like you are. I constantly feel the need to try to persuade people and manipulate circumstances to my favor, a hold over from my earlier years. I also am not proud of how angry I can be. You just say what's on your mind."

Yasui scratched his neck.

"I really don't. I just don't say much if I can help it. That way I don't sound stupid."

"Well I also have a quick temper, as you might have gathered from our brief phone call. I've been trying to control it lately, but I used to just explode at the drop of a hat. I admire how even tempered you are."

Yasui shrugged.

"I dunno, I've just never been a particularly angry person. And if I do get mad I just make sure to control it."

"That's good. Anger… well, nothing good comes from acting out of it."

"That's true. Instead of being angry I just get sad easily. Like, whenever I'd get made fun of at school or bullied or something, I never felt mad. Just really gloomy and then I just wouldn't ever want to leave the house if I didn't have to."

Miss Diana frowned and looked down at him.

"That's… not good either. Did you tell your parents about that?"

"Yeah, they said to dust myself off and move forward because I shouldn't dwell on stuff like that. So whenever I feel something that I don't want to, I just take it and push it back down. Like you said you do, control it."

"Oh gosh, uh, Yasui? That… doesn't sound healthy. That sounds more like repressing your emotions than controlling them. I don't think—"

They had reached the stand again and Chaussette was approaching them.

"There you are! I wassss worried."

Miss Diana sighed.

"We'll put a pin in that conversation for later. For now, we need to get caught back up. The other stalls have a head start on us."

Yasui nodded and looked guiltily at Chaussette and Miss Diana.

"I'm really sorry for leaving like that. I hope you can forgive me."

Chaussette flicked her tongue and waved the tip of her tail.

"Honessstly, I'm really nervousss too. It'ssss good to know I'm not the only one. I forgive you. Now, I think we need to get ssstarted."

Any last minute preparations were sorted out quickly, and they were ready for business. Miss Diana wasn't personally involved in running the stand, she was just keeping an eye on them in case they needed some help. Yasui and Chaussette had delegated so that she would take orders and cook the corn, and Yausi would make the crepes and fritters as well as hand out the food. However, nobody stopped within the first few minutes. Yasui was idly picking at the table as he watched a few people casually stroll by. This area of the festival didn't seem particularly busy.

Well, I guess I got all worked up for nothing. Nobody's even here.

However, just then a familiar face came into view. It was Shiro from the study group, surrounded by some other dogs who Yasui assumed were his roommates. The Doberman saw Yasui and rushed over.

"Yooo! Yasui! What's happening!"

"Hi, Shiro. Nothing much, just waiting for customers. How about you?"

"I'm just chilling with the fellas. Hey, what have you got for sale?"

The larger boy read the menu and tilted his head.

"A sweet potato fritter? Never heard of it. Gimme one of those!"

He took his wallet out and slapped some yen on the counter. Yasui stared at the money for a few seconds before jumping into action.

"Right away! Give me just a second!"

As Chaussette put the money in the lockbox they had gotten for the festival, Yasui quickly fried up a fritter and added a little swirl of curry ketchup before handing it to Shiro in a small paper tray. Shiro's friends had caught up now and watched with interest as Shiro picked up the food and took a large bite. He chewed with an audible crunching sound before swallowing and remaining perfectly still. Yasui was getting worried about whether or not Shiro was about to be sick when he took another massive bite and spoke through a full mouth,

"Howly cwap! *mph!* This is the tits!"

He finished what remained in one final large bite before taking his wallet back out.

"Dude, Yasui. Give me five more of those!"

"R-really! Five!?"

"Yup. Here, shut up and take my money!"

His friends all laughed and followed suit, ordering in total eight fritters, four orders of hot corn, and three crepes. Yasui grinned as he and Chaussette began cooking as fast as possible before giving the boys their food.

Leave it to Shiro and his friends to have big appetites. Although I'm not surprised. Shiro always seems to eat snacks during study group meetings.

Once the canines had left, Yasui and Chaussette faced each other and grinned.

"First sale!" Yasui cheered.

"That wasssn't assss hard asss I thought!" Chaussette hissed.

Over the next handful of minutes a few more customers trickled by and they sold a few more items, but business was pretty slow. Yasui checked the time.

"Maybe people aren't hungry yet. It isn't quite dinner time yet."

"That could be it. Hopefully ssssome more people will come sssoon."

Their next customers were two female tigers who were both high school age. The one who was first in line looked at their sign and smiled.

"Oh! You're Cherryton students too! I didn't know we had a Cooking Club. Hey, Yufine, do you want something to eat?"

Her friend was wearing a pink skirt and a white shirt that had a cute character from some kids show or another on it. She also had a pink ribbon and had her claws painted pink. Yasui got the sense she liked pink. The tiger, who Yasui assumed was Yufine, looked up at the menu before glancing down at Yasui for the first time. There was a brief pause before she squealed with joy and leaned in a little too close.

"Oh! My! Gosh! You are ADORABLE! What's your name!"

"Uhh…Yasui?"

"Daaaaw! Even your name is cute!"

Yasui didn't know how to feel about being called cute. But Chaussette was stifling a laugh and he noticed Miss Diana trying not to smile from her seat a little bit away. Yasui steadied himself and gave her his best smile.

"We have all sorts of tasty food for sale! Do you want anything?"

Yufine propped her head up on her hands, her elbows on the table and kept looking at him like he was a fuzzy stuffed toy.

"How about… a crepe! I love crepes!"

Her friend shook her head and chimed in.

"I'll have one as well. Sorry about her."

Yasui closed his eyes and smiled as pleasantly as he could.

"It's alright! I'll take it as a compliment!"

Once the crepes were ready the two girls took them and turned their backs on Yasui and Chaussette before taking a picture on their phones. Yufine giggled as she looked at hers.

"Yup, that's a good one. I'm going to post that one."

Her friend nodded and turned to face Yasui again.

"Thanks for the food! Good luck!"

Yufine gave Yasui another meaningful look and waved at him.

"Bye! I'll be sure to find you later! Have a good night!"

And once again there was nobody at the stand. A few more customers trickled in until it had been an hour since they had begun operations. Overall it was looking like they were going to have a lot of leftover food. Yasui was checking the various storage containers where they had the ingredients when a few more high school girls came by, this time a group of five herbivores. One of them, a zebra, got in line and looked at Chaussette.

"Hey, is this the booth that was selling crepes? I saw a post about it on Beastbook and wanted to try them."

"Uh, yessss. We sssell crepessss. And we have fritterssss and roasted corn."

"Oooh, those all sound tasty! But… I'll have a crepe please."

As the girls began ordering and getting their food, other festival goers seemed to notice the line and wandered over to see what the fuss was about. Many of them got in line after the girls. Slowly, this started causing a ripple effect where people saw the line, got curious about what was causing it, and then joined the line. Pretty soon they were a little too busy, and couldn't seem to balance taking orders and making food well enough to not aggravate their customers. After a bit of a struggle, Miss Diana stepped in and offered to take orders so they could focus on making food. Without needing to mess with money or orders, they were able to eventually hit a sort of rhythm. A chaotic and very sweaty rhythm indeed.

Holy moly! Where did all these people come from! I'm getting too tired for this! I feel like my entire body is getting stiff and sore from all the repetitive movements. And I've burned my fingers about twenty times so far! For the love of everything nice make it stop!

After about an hour and a half of extreme cooking, Chaussette made a discovery. She tapped Miss Diana with her tail.

"Excuse me? Misssss Diana? We have a problem."

The leopard paused and looked back at the serpent.

"What is it? What's the matter?"

"We're almosssst out of corn. Only ten left."

Yasui spoke up.

"Yeah, same with everything else. We're running low on everything. But mostly just corn, I guess there's still a decent bit of crepe batter and fritters left. But not a whole lot."

Soon they were completely out of corn, and had to cross it off the menu with lots of apologies to the customers in line. The next to go were the sweet potato fritters, leaving only enough crepe batter to make a few more crepes. And finally, this too ran out. With the last of their stock sold, Yasui had the unpleasant job of explaining to anyone remaining in the line that they were all sold out. And so, with much grumbling and griping, the line dispersed leaving the members of the Cherryton Cooking Club to wearily find places to sit around their booth.

Yasui pulled his apron off and groaned.

"That was exhausting! I'm covered in sweat!"

Miss Diana chuckled a bit.

"Even I didn't see that coming. Maybe there aren't as many food stalls this year? I never expected us to have a line like that."

Chaussette flopped limply across part of the table, and she lifted the end of her tail and waved it feebly.

"I think I ssssprained my tail. I didn't know I could even do that."

Yasui wiped his forehead and looked over to the lockbox where they had stored all the money they had received.

"How much did we make?"

Miss Diana shrugged.

"I don't know, and I'm too thirsty and tired to count it tonight. I'll leave it to you two for Monday or something. There's no rush."

Chaussette yawned.

"By the way, where'ssss Missster Charlesss?"

"Yeah, where is he?" Yasui grunted, "we could have used the extra help."

Miss Diana waved his questions off dismissively.

"Oh, you know, just doing a quick errand or something like that. I'm sure he'll be around sooner or later."

Before Yasui could press the question, he heard the gruff voice of the aforementioned gorilla from behind him.

"Did I miss it all? Everything's already sold out?"

Diana nodded.

"Just missed all the fun."

Charles set down a large basket he was carrying and sighed.

"That's too bad. Well, at least we can enjoy this while it's fresh. I made a little something for you all to have as a reward. Dig in."

Inside the basket were various types of sandwiches and other handheld foods that were perfect for a picnic. Yasui hadn't even realized how hungry he was until he smelled the food and began devouring as many sandwiches as he could. When they were finishing up their meal and beginning to decide how to best clean up their now empty stand, Yasui took out a small box he had set aside and began to cook what was inside it. Miss Diana noticed and asked him,

"What's all that?"

"Oh, it's just one of each thing we sold today. I promised a friend of mine I'd save him some. I was going to go run it over to him while you all finished eating. Then we can get everything here cleaned up."

"How thoughtful! No need to hurry though, we can manage well enough. I hope he enjoys it."

It didn't take long for Yasui to cook everything he had saved, and he was then able to hurry to the large stage where he knew Legoshi would be waiting, food in hand. He skirted around the stage and towards the tent that was set up behind it for the actors to change into their costumes. He poked his head into the interior and looked around. There were a few animals scattered about either rehearsing or chatting with each other. Yasui saw Legoshi in one of the far corners fiddling with a large stage light. Yasui snuck over to him and made a quiet "pssst" sound. The wolf's ears pointed straight up and he turned towards Yasui.

"Hm? Oh. It's you. What are you doing here?"

"I brought you some food! I remember you said you hoped you could try some, and I said I'd bring you a plate. So here you go!"

"You didn't have to do that. I completely forgot about it anyway, but thanks. Honestly I am starving right now. What did you make?"

"There's some spicy roasted corn, a crepe, and two sweet potato fritters with curry ketchup."

"It smells really good! Thanks, Yasui."

Yasui smiled as the usually pretty glum looking wolf gave him a rare smile. Just then someone spoke to them from a little bit away.

"Huh? Hey! What's going on over here? Legoshi, who's that?"

An anteater had sidled up to them followed by a peacock and a red panda. He saw the plate in Legoshi's hands and crossed his arms.

"You ordered food and didn't get us any! Not cool!"

Legoshi held his hands up in a defensive gesture.

"H-hey! It's not like that! I didn't even know he was bringing me anything!"

Yasui nodded.

"Yeah, I just brought it to him because he said he wanted to try the food our club was selling. He didn't even ask for it."

The peacock sniffed and looked at the food.

"It smells pretty good. Are you going to eat all of it, Legoshi? I can help with the crepe if you want."

Legoshi looked at the other Drama Club members awkwardly and stammered as he thought of what to say. Just then the flap of the tent opened and in sauntered Louis. Immediately Yasui felt a little bit of revulsion enter his mood. The only experiences he had with this deer were being insulted and told off.

The deer looked around rather haughtily and asked,

"Is everyone here? There had better not be any stragglers."

A female cheetah stopped what she was doing and turned to face him.

"You're the last one to arrive, with a minute to spare. We've been rehearsing a bit in advance."

"Good, tonight's performance must be flawless. The reputation of not only the club but also the school rests on it." Louis scanned the various club members before stopping on the small cluster of them gathered around Legoshi and Yasui. Immediately the deer's eyes fell on Yasui and he scowled.

"What are you doing here? This is for Drama Club members only."

Yasui gulped. This deer was scary, and he was currently looking at him like something nasty he had accidentally stepped in. Yasui pointed towards the exit and squeaked,

"I was just… leaving."

Legoshi seemed to struggle internally before stammering,

"H-he was, uh…."

Seeing every eye turn towards him the large canid began to sweat and looked around nervously, lowering his posture a bit. Louis looked at the food in his hands and rolled his eyes.

"Of course. You canines are always hungry. I guess I should be grateful that's the only thing you're eating. We need all hands on deck tonight."

A bitter taste filled Yasui's mouth at that comment, especially because of how crestfallen Legoshi immediately looked.

How could he! Who does this deer think he is to talk to anyone that way! Especially to make a comment like that in front of everyone!

Yasui felt something he hadn't really felt in a while. Something hot and prickly was climbing up his throat. Yasui felt very… angry. He was angry at this stuck up deer who made his friend feel bad for no good reason.

I can't believe this guy! Why is nobody telling him off! If I said something like that my mother would die of shame! I mean—

"—WHAT A NASTY THING TO SAY!"

All eyes immediately clapped on Yasui, and Louis's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"What did you say, fox?"

Yasui blinked his eyes in surprise.

Ooooooh I said that out loud.

Immediately he felt embarrassed. Louis stalked forward and glared down at him.

"You have a lot of nerve speaking to an upperclassman like that. Didn't you ever learn any manners in whatever backwater town you came from?"

And now the anger was back. Yasui was about to give this jerk a piece of his mind. However, it seemed that Legoshi could sense trouble brewing and plucked up some extra courage from somewhere.

"S-sorry! I never told him he wasn't allowed back here. T-this is just something the two of us had chatted about while we took cover from the storm after we covered the dinosaur statue."

The peacock tilted his head.

"Wait, you two were the ones who covered up the statue?"

Legoshi gulped.

"Yeah. We were about to walk back when he said it was going to rain soon. Uh… Apparently he could smell it or something. We got it covered just as it started raining."

The peacock clasped his wings together and rushed towards Yasui.

"Thank you so much! You saved all our hard work from getting ruined in that storm!"

Yasui felt his anger die down like a candle getting blown out. He felt embarrassed again as all the attention shifted and the mood changed.

"Uh… it wasn't a big deal. It was mainly Legoshi. I was too short to do anything on my own."

The female cheetah came over and smiled at him.

"That was quick thinking! Maybe we should get you to join the stage crew!"

Legoshi shook his head.

"Oh, he's already in a club. A-Actually he's the president of the Cooking Club."

Murmuring erupted from the onlookers. Somehow, it seemed that the tables had turned. And some people even gave Louis some rather unapproving looks as whispers of condemnation erupted over his dressing down the president of another club who had saved their statue. He seemed to notice this and immediately relented.

"You could have just said all this from the beginning. I misunderstood the circumstances."

Yasui nodded but kept edging towards the door.

"Uh… yeah, sorry. I'll be sure to do that next time. Gotta go, bye!"

The peacock spoke up again.

"Wait! Do you want to hang out here with Legoshi? You'll get a really good view of the performance."

"Sorry I have to go bye!"

And with that Yasui darted out of the tent, passing an elderly stork who was just entering. Gossip immediately ensued among the members of the Drama Club. Louis scowled and rounded on Legoshi.

"You, wolf."

"Uh… y-yes, Louis?"

"Don't spill that on anything."

As Yasui fled from the tent, he felt his embarrassment grow.

So much for being even tempered. I wish I could undo that whole conversation!

Upon arriving back where the Cooking Club booth was, he saw that Charles was currently dismantling the tent while Miss Diana organized everything. She noticed him and waved.

"How was it? Did he like the food?"

"I don't know! This guy I really don't like said something so I got mad and… oooooh, how embarrassing! Especially after I told you that I didn't get mad easily."

Miss Diana frowned.

"I'm confused, who said what?"

"This deer, Louis, saw me give my friend who's a wolf the food. Then he made a comment pretty much saying that he thought Legoshi, the wolf, wanted to eat the other students in the club. I got mad and yelled at him!"

Diana scowled and crossed her arms.

"You had every right to yell at him! Saying such a vulgar, nasty thing to someone is terrible. You're certain this deer's name is Louis?"

Yasui nodded. Diana pursed her lips and Yasui heard he mutter,

"I guess Oguma's heir isn't living up to expectations after all. Interesting."

She then addressed Yausi.

"What I said about anger doesn't really apply here. There's no shame in getting mad at somebody bullying others. In fact I'm proud of you for sticking up for your friend."

"Really? But… I feel really bad about it. I did yell at him, and he's older than I am."

"Well if you really want to play that game, I guess you could say both parties are somewhat at fault. However, you're substantially less at fault than he is."

"I still don't think I could ever face him without feeling embarrassed about it. And, well… I don't know how to say this without it sounding really bad."

Diana raised an eyebrow and Yasui motioned for her to get closer. She crouched down to be at his level and Yasui whispered.

"I really hate that guy. He's been super mean to me every time we've crossed paths, and he just seems like a real stuck up jerk."

Diana gave him a wry smile.

"I can see why you don't want to go shouting that loudly. Especially given the species difference."

"And I just feel really bad about it. I don't want to hate anyone, but I do."

She shrugged.

"Some people just don't get along. It happens. And he seems to be particularly prickly if what you've said is true."

A femine voice came from behind Yasui.

"Yasui! Hey!"

Turning around, Yasui saw that Juno the gray wolf was striding towards him with a wide smile. He met her halfway and waved to her.

"Hey, Juno! What's up?"

"I just wanted to congratulate you about how well your stand turned out. I got a crepe and it was so good! You did such an amazing job!"

Yasui blushed a bit and bashfully tucked his hands into his pockets.

"Really? You think so?"

She smiled cutely and nodded. Yasui grinned.

"Thanks, Juno. Not too late to join up if you change your mind. I'll always keep a spot open for you."

"Aww, that's sweet."

Miss Diana approached and gave Juno a smile that hid her quick appraisal of the newcomer.

"Hello! I don't believe we've met. Are you a friend of Yasui's?"

Juno tilted her head a bit, still smiling.

"Well, you could say that. We seem to keep bumping into each other, so we keep talking. He even helped me with my chemistry report in the library once."

Diana nodded.

"That's definitely Yasui. He seems shy and quiet at first, but he's a good boy."

Juno folded her hands behind her back.

"And what about you? How do you know Yasui?"

"Oh, I'm the sponsor of the Cooking Club. Just a friend and all that."

Yasui laughed.

"She's been helping me learn how to live in the city, and making sure I don't do anything stupid."

Juno nodded and Diana pressed on.

"So, enjoying the festival?"

Juno shrugged.

"I was planning on walking around with one of my roommates, but then this guy she likes asked her to go with him. So now I either have to be a third wheel or go solo."

Diana clasped her hands together.

"Why, how about you and Yasui enjoy the festival together? He's never been to a Festival of the Meteor, so you could help show him around."

Yasui frowned.

"But I thought we needed to clean up the booth?"

"Oh please," Miss Diana purred, "Charles and I will have it all sorted in a jiffy. Go enjoy the festival!"

"But we haven't even counted the money yet!"

"We can join you at your club room on Monday. The festival won't last all night you know, so the counting can wait."

Yasui pouted a bit.

"I dunno, it doesn't feel right leaving all the work to you."

"Yasui, I'm not exactly young and spry anymore. I'm using this as an opportunity to leave early and go to bed. Go enjoy being young and leave us old fogies to do the boring stuff."

Yasui shrugged.

"I guess… if you don't mind. And if Juno wants to."

Juno smiled.

"I'd be happy to show you around! I love festivals so much anyway, so helping someone else enjoy one too would be really fun!"

Yasui nodded and pointed back towards the Cooking Club stand.

"I have to go get my backpack and other stuff together first and find a place to store it. I brought some things with me just in case I needed them, like spare clothes and whatever. Be back in a sec!"

Yasui trotted over to where he'd set his backpack and stuffed his new apron and hat inside it before retrieving his wallet. He turned back around to find Miss Diana giving him a mischievous look.

"So… you and Juno are… close?"

"Not exactly. We really don't know each other any more than I invited her to join the club once and we occasionally say hello in the hallways and such."

"Well now you could get to know her a bit better."

"Yeah! I wouldn't mind being better friends with her, she does seem super nice."

Diana nodded.

"Mhm. And you have to admit she's also really cute!"

Yasui frowned.

"Uh… I guess so."

"What? You think she's ugly?"

"No! She's super pretty! But definitely not interested in me so why does it matter! I mean we aren't the same species and all, and she totally doesn't think I'm handsome. Heck, nobody does, but that means it doesn't really matter, right? Because that would never happen."

"Well, if you say so." Miss Diana smirked. "But stranger things have happened than a fox and a wolf dating. Never say never!"

Yasui shook his head.

"Okay, Miss Diana. And thanks for all the help tonight. We couldn't have done it without you."

She patted his head and began to shoo him away.

"Enough of you! Go have fun! Go on!"

As Yasui left, Charles crossed his arms and looked at Diana with some mild surprise.

"Did you just… touch him?"

"I did."

"…And it doesn't bother you?"

"Not really. And I've even hugged him twice now."

"Who are you and what have you done with Diana? I still remember when you broke someone's nose for putting an arm around you at a party."

Diana huffed.

"He deserved it for trying to feel me up. But I know what you mean. I don't know why, but I don't feel… repulsed by touching him. It's… refreshing."

"I swear, you're unrecognizable. You went from being a cold, calculating business mogul to playing house with a teenager."

Diana smiled.

"Could you believe I offered him emotional advice just a few hours ago? Me! Dealing with emotional problems!"

"Never thought I'd see the day." Charles laughed.

"And yet… I like this version of myself. I'm actually happy for once. So stop killing my good mood you old curmudgeon."

Once reunited, Juno led Yasui into the heart of the festival grounds. Booths of all kinds were set up to sell candy, toys, costumes, sparklers, flowers, drinks, and any other thing you could think of. Children of all species were weaving around clusters of adults who each would chide their charge to stay within sight of them or to stop running. Couples were strolling hand in hand as they enjoyed the pleasant night air. It was a scene of harmony between all species of animals great and small. Yasui grinned.

"This is amazing! Everyone is so happy all together!"

Juno laughed.

"Yeah! Festivals have a way of bringing everyone together."

"So, where do we go first?"

"Well we can't miss the Drama Club performance, but we have some time before it starts. Let's just look around for a bit."

They passed games and vendors who all promoted their colorful, dinosaur themed wares. Juno pointed to a stand decorated with shooting stars.

"Oh! Fortune telling! I want to have mine read!"

Yasui followed behind her and saw a familiar black cat sitting at the table with another group of schoolgirls gathered around as he traced his finger over the palm of one who was sitting across from him. He kept his intense, unblinking gaze on her as he spoke in his usual flat manner.

"The love line is convoluted. You will have many fierce and tempestuous relationships that have many highs and lows. But at the end it curves up, so you will find your one love after it all."

The girls all giggled and whispered as he moved his finger again.

"The life line is long and deep. You will lead a lengthy and fulfilling life."

The girls smiled at him and stood up to join her friends.

"O-M-G! I knew it! It explains what happened with Mikai!"

The girls slowly wandered away and Yasui followed Juno as she sat down. Yasui squinted at the cat and pointed at him.

"We've met a few times. It's… Yishima?"

"My name is Yijima."

"Sorry, it was close."

He turned his baleful eyes on him and stared as he monotoned.

"I do remember you. The strange fox. Very complicated."

He looked at Juno who had taken a few yen out and handed it to him. Yijima accepted the money wordlessly and stored it in a lockbox. He then took her hand and began to trace her palm.

"I see a very unique love line. It starts out straight and narrow. It then twists and splits. You will have two great loves. The first will be simple and shallow. The second will be complicated and unusual. After that it is unclear."

He moved his finger again.

"The life line is gentle and smooth. You will lead a happy and fulfilling life. You will have many friends. You will face few serious problems ."

Juno stood as Yijima removed his hand and shuddered.

"I can't tell if that was a good fortune or a bad one."

Yasui shrugged.

"Sounded like a little of both."

Yijima looked at Yasui.

"Sit."

"No thanks." Yasui said, "I'm saving my money."

"I will do one for you for free. The last time I read your fortune was very… interesting."

Yasui shrugged and took Juno's spot at the table. He offered Yijima his hand and the cat immediately began to trace his finger across Yasui's palm. His unblinking eyes narrowed a bit but his voice remained even.

"A very unusual love line as well. Deep yet sloping. A love that is unrequited. The rest is blank. A burn scar covers it. This means that there are many unknown and unusual chances for love in your future."

Yasui grimaced.

The unrequited love is probably my weird… thing for Miss Diana. I knew she would think I was too young. But at least there's hope apparently. I always figured I'd be single forever.

The cat moved over a bit, to an area he hasn't touched with Juno.

"That is… surprising."

"What?"

"You have the deepest money line I have ever seen. And it becomes deep very suddenly."

Yasui shrugged.

"Probably means I'm going to stay as broke as I am now forever. Saw that coming."

"The opposite actually. You will soon become inordinately wealthy."

Yasui scoffed and Yijima's usually blank expression shifted to one of mild confusion and he traced Yasui's palm and inspected it closely multiple times. Finally he frowned.

"I do not understand."

"Huh?" Yasui grunted.

"You have two life lines. They weave around each other. Touching and separating. Twisting and weaving."

"So what does it mean?"

"As far as I can tell, it means this. You will lead a life that is torn between two distinct yet separate lives. You will always be someone who never quite fits in. An outsider. Your life will be complicated and confusing. Full of doubt and fear. You will never know who you truly are."

Yasui sighed as Yijima removed his hand.

"Sounds about right. Thanks Yijima."

"Goodbye, strange fox. I hope to see you again."

Yasui stood and the two of them left the booth. Juno shuddered and grinned.

"He did a good job! He really acted all spooky."

"Yeah. I guess I should have known mine would be bad. Well, except for the money one. I wonder why he didn't do yours?"

Juno rolled her eyes.

"I'm not sure, but it's not like it's actually going to come true. It's just fun to get your fortune read!"

"Well he was pretty spot on with the other stuff for it being fake."

Juno crossed her hands behind her back and giggled.

"So… you have an unrequited love?"

"I…."

Yasui blushed as he realized what he had admitted to. He looked down at his claws and shrugged.

"Kinda. It's, well, not exactly. There's… she's just a friend of mine. The first girl who wasn't related to me to actually be nice to me. And… well… I know it's never going to happen but…. She just makes me feel less like a loser, and I end up feeling all romantic-y when I see her. It's dumb, I know. I feel stupid because of it."

"Aw, that's sweet! Are you sure she doesn't feel the same way?"

"She's a lot older than me and a different species. Like I said, just a weird little thing, nothing actually serious."

Juno shrugged.

"Well, don't let it make you sad then. At least you still have a good friend."

"Yeah. And how about you? Two tragic loves, huh."

Juno laughed.

"I know! How cheesy! That's why you shouldn't take fortune telling seriously!"

Yasui snickered.

"I'll blame you if I have a tragic life and wasn't prepared for it though. I was warned!"

They stopped at a few more booths that sold various candies and souvenirs until they arrived at a small jewelry stand. As they skimmed over the various pieces Yasui saw a necklace that immediately caught his eye. It was a small deep blue gem shaped like a teardrop on a thin silvery chain. He looked down at it and got Juno's attention.

"Hey, Juno! Look at this one!"

"Hm? Oh wow! It's so pretty!"

"Yeah! And it's an aquamarine, those are Mom's favorites. It's her birthstone."

"Are you going to get it for her as a souvenir?"

"Well… maybe. I don't have much money though."

He looked up at the animal who was running the booth, a middle aged duck with bedazzled glasses.

"Excuse me, how much for this necklace?"

She looked over at it and hummed.

"Let's see, that one is a thousand yen."

Yasui looked at his wallet and grimaced.

"Oh, nevermind. I don't have enough."

Juno gave him a sad look.

"I can lend you some money if you want. It would be a shame not to get it for your mom."

"I can't take your money, Juno. But thanks."

The duck smiled.

"Shopping for your mom?"

"Yeah, I want to get presents for all my family members while I'm here. But I'll find something else."

She shook her head and pushed the necklace towards him.

"I'll take five hundred yen for it. Because it's a special occasion."

Yasui gasped.

"No no! I can't let you do that! It's half of what it's worth!"

"I'll break even on it then. I make all this jewelry myself so it's not exactly expensive. I'm sure your mom will love it. I know I would if my son got me a nice piece of jewelry."

Yasui smiled and handed her the money.

"People here are so nice! Thank you so much!"

Yasui took the necklace and clutched it in his hand. Juno led him to a few more booths she wanted to visit, and as they walked Yasui grinned.

"I swear, people in this city are super nice! It's a really good place to live."

"Well… every place has its good parts and bad parts. So long as you avoid the bad areas of town people are generally polite and kind. Oh! Look at those!"

They wandered around until it was time for the drama club performance. A few minutes before it started they found places where they could see the stage well and waited for it to start. Juno looked at the stage and smiled.

"I really hope I can join the Drama Club by next year. It's one of my dreams to dance on that stage someday."

Yasui gave her a thumbs up.

"I'm sure you will! They'd be idiots to turn you down."

She giggled.

"Thanks, Yasui. That's a kind thing to say. It's been fun walking around the festival with you."

Yasui tilted his head, smiling warmly. He held out his hand.

"Friends?"

Juno laughed.

"Do you even have to ask?"

They shook hands and Yasui chuckled bashfully.

"Sorry, I haven't really talked to girls much. I wasn't sure how exactly you did it."

She rolled her eyes.

"It's not like we're alien lifeforms. Although, I can relate to where you're coming from. I've never really had guy friends either. Especially once I got to middle school."

"Why not?"

"Well… every guy I was friends with ended up wanting to be something different with me than just friends."

"Huh? Like what?"

Juno laughed.

"Like boyfriend and girlfriend, silly. Not to sound arrogant, but I know that I'm, well, pretty. I have been for a while. Lots of girls were jealous of me, and all the guys wanted me to be their girlfriend. It's just nice to talk to someone who isn't fawning over me. It gets a bit annoying to have to be careful not to give anyone the wrong idea when you tall to them. Sorry if that sounds a bit… arrogant."

Yasui shrugged.

"I wouldn't know about those sorts of struggles. I've always been ugly."

Juno laughed and shook her head. She looked down at the necklace Yasui still had clutched in his hand.

"Can I look at your necklace?"

"Oh! Sure, here you go."

He handed it to her and she held it up to inspect it a bit closer.

"This is really nice, I'm sure your mom will love it."

"I really hope so. Actually, if you were getting a present, what would you want?"

"Hm?" Juno's ears perked up. "Me? Why?"

"Well the oldest of my little sisters is around your age and I was trying to think of a present for her. Something small and not too expensive."

"Oh! Well what's she like?"

Yasui squinted as he thought about his recent interactions with his sister Kime.

[Back home, the recent past.]

[Yasui knocked on the door to the room his three sisters shared.

"Kime! You in the there?"

The muffled voice of his sister replied.

"What do you want!"

"Mom was wondering if you had any dirty clothes. She's going to do some laundry."

"I don't care! Go away!"

Yasui frowned.

"Uhh… do you want me to tell her that or—"

Yasui stumbled as a lump of fabric was thrown at his chest followed by his sister's shout.

"There! Now leave! You're so annoying!"]

[Yasui walked into the living room to see Kime with her head in her arms, shaking slightly as she muffled her sobs. Yasui gulped and crept closer.

"Kime? Are you okay?"

She raised her head, eyes puffy with tears and choked out,

"What do you think!"

"Uh… what happened?"

Kime sniffed and rubbed her eye.

"I thought that Nishin was going to ask me to be his Valentine for Valentine's Day at school, but he asked Suki instead!"

"Oh…."

"And I don't understand why she said yes because she knows I like Nishin!"

"Oh… did you talk to… Nishin?"

"No! Why would I even do that! That would be weird!"

"Well do you know why this… Nishin… asked, uh, Suki?"

Kime sobbed.

"It's because I'm ugly! And Suki has nice boobs! I hate my stupid, ugly body! And my ugly clothes!"

"Uh… I think you're very pretty?"

"You hesitated! That means you're lying!"

Yasui held his hands up defensively.

"No it doesn't! I just don't know what to say!"

"You're the worst! Go away! Just leave me alone!"]

Yasui winced.

"She's very… emotive."

Juno thought for a bit before typing something on her phone. She turned the screen so he could see the picture on it. It was a bracelet with various things on it.

"Maybe one of these charm bracelets. They're all the rage recently. I know lots of my classmates have one. You can only get them at this one shop in the mall, 25th West. And they're not too expensive."

"Wow! Thanks! I'll have to see about getting one of those after I get paid on Friday."

Juno checked the clock on her phone.

"The performance should be starting in fifteen minutes. Almost time!" There was silence for a bit before she asked, "So, how many siblings do you have?"

"Four, three younger sisters and an older brother."

"Do you already have presents for the rest of your family?"

"Not yet, but I have ideas. For my two youngest sisters I think I'll just get them some interesting candy from a candy store. You know, stuff you can't get back home."

Juno giggled.

"If we weren't both canids I'd recommend this amazing chocolate shop downtown I've heard about. I love just looking in the windows at all the pretty truffles and chocolate sculptures they make. But for candy we can eat, I'd recommend this place near school called the Candy Drawer. I've gone there a few times and it's really good."

"Nice. Thanks for the help, Juno. I still don't exactly know my way around—"

At that moment Juno tapped his shoulder and pointed excitedly at the stage.

"Ooh! It's starting! It's starting!"

The curtain on the stage opened and soon the members of the drama club were doing some show with lots of dancing, which was nice if you liked that sort of thing. Yasui found himself zoning out about halfway through and just vacantly staring at the stage. It hadn't seemed like too long before everyone was clapping enthusiastically. After jumping a bit, Yasui glanced around and joined in. Juno smiled.

"Wasn't that great!"

"Y-yeah! Super cool."

"I know. That cheetah is such a beautiful dancer."

"Mhm, she seemed pretty nice."

Juno gave him a confused look. Yasui explained.

"Well I bumped into her briefly a little bit ago when I was delivering food to a friend of mine in the stage crew. She seemed nice, I guess."

Just then a voice cried out,

"They're lighting up the meteor!"

Yasui turned to his guide and gestured towards wherever the voice had come from.

"Lighting up the meteor?"

"The meteor statue at the center of the festival grounds. They say that if two animals light a candle together and place it in the meteor, their love will last forever."

"Huh, neat."

They moved a bit closer and watched as slowly the meteor lit up and then was further illuminated by rows and rows of candles. Slowly, the festival began to die down until the crowds began to grow sparse. Many parents had already taken their children home by this time, so it was mainly just adults and teenagers wandering in groups. Eventually, Juno found her roommates and said goodbye to Yasui before trotting off to join them. After a brief look around, Yasui couldn't find anyone he knew. Adjusting his bag on his shoulder, he yawned and smacked his lips.

It's late, later than I usually stay up. I guess there's no real reason to hang around here anymore. Might as well head back.

Compared to the festival grounds, the path back to school was dimly lit and almost empty. He noticed that any herbivores walking the path were clustered into groups with only a few carnivores scattered in twos and threes on the edges of the path. He also noticed some rather unusual noises coming from a bush a little bit away from the path. He squinted, trying to make out what was causing that sound. It was a very odd noise, like someone trying to eat an ice cream through a straw. And then he figured out what it was from the vague silhouettes he saw moving in the gloom. Blushing, Yasui hurried away as a particularly loud bout of slurping filled the air.

Ew ew ew ew ew ew! Geez! Get a room!

It was past midnight by the time Yasui had changed into his pajamas and was lying in bed. He tucked the necklace safely into his bag and was rubbing his eyes wearily.

Tomorrow's Saturday. What should I do? Maybe Shinrai has an idea of what to do. Or Jack. My hands still hurt from all that cooking.

He was just dropping off to sleep when the door opened again. Two of his roommates, both of whom Yasui didn't know the names of, came stumbling in. One of them whispered,

"That was nuts! Do you think that the police will ever, you know, do something about it?"

The other laughed.

"I didn't know it was your first time. What'd you end up losing your meat virginity to?"

Yasui froze. Meat virginity? What on earth did that mean? The other shushed him.

"Dude! Not so loud! What if someone hears! We could get in trouble!"

"Relax, this is the carnivore dorm. Everyone in this city uses the Back Alley Market."

"But I thought it was illegal!"

"In name only. But just to get the herbivores to shut up. Everyone knows the cops go there for a fix once in a while too. So come on, what'd you get?"

There was a pause and the first voice stammered out,

"C-chicken. I got fried chicken."

"Nice. I love fried chicken. But seriously, sometimes you have to try some steak. It's pricey but so worth it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. But honestly pork is usually pretty trash. The only way I like it is as a barbecue."

"Where's that big guy?"

"Don't know, don't care. I bet that tiny bastard is here though, but he's probably asleep. Little freak's bedtime is probably seven or something. Oh, by the way, you'll want to get some mint gum from the school store. It helps with the meat withdrawals."

"The what!" The first voice hissed.

"Meat withdrawals." The second voice replied. "They happen after your first time. With some mint gum they're not too bad."

"Dude! You didn't mention anything about withdrawals! Like, doesn't that mean this is bad for you?"

"As if! It's freaking natural. It's just the worthless (here he said a swear word that would have gotten Yasui's mouth washed out with soap back home) herbivores and their bull (yet another swear word) double standard. It's fine if they follow their instincts. If they get uncomfortable just because you're breathing too close to them that's your problem, and you need to make sure the 'precious perfect herbivores' are comfortable. But if we have an issue with needing to control everything we do for our whole lives to cater to them, we're the problem!"

There was silence and the first voice joined in, seemingly gaining confidence.

"Yeah! It is unfair! I mean, I got in trouble the other day because I made some rabbit girl uncomfortable when I was picking something out of my teeth in class. Like, the more you think about it the more it's a load of crap! 'Don't show your fangs! Don't show your claws! Don't get angry! Don't touch them! Don't lean too close to them! Don't talk about anything around them! Just be a good little boy and wag your tail and pretend to be happy that they hate you!'"

The second voice scoffed.

"A-freaking-greed dude. I swear, I hate herbivores. The only thing they're good for is dinner."

They continued to grumble quietly as they went to bed. Yasui turned over to face away from them, hidden behind the curtains over his bed. He felt a little sick now.

I guess that was all an act today. Carnivores and herbivores don't get along here either. Guess I should have figured as much.

[Author's Note]

Just a quick sidebar. I really hope I portrayed Louis accurately. I always got the vibe that he was a little bitter and antagonistic towards those he thought of as inferior early on in the series, but I could be wrong. If so… my bad. Hope you enjoyed!