Author's Note-
Hey everyone, I just wanted to apologize if my writing is a bit confusing. I wish I was good at drawing so I could just make a comic, but I really suck at it. So here are some clarifications just so it isn't weird. Story wise, this takes place one year before the show. Writing wise, anything that I put in italics is supposed to be like a thought bubble over the character's head. And anything in brackets [like this] is something that the character is imagining. I also apologize in advance if the names of my characters are bizarre. My Japanese is a little rusty after not having spoken it in years. Well, I hope you enjoy this little story. I just really like the show and wanted to do something to pass the time. Happy reading!
Chapter 1: Life Is Like a Box of Chocolates...
"Name?"
"Y-Yasui"
"Species?"
"Red Fox."
"Are the medical forms we received correct to your knowledge?"
"Y-yes."
With a final clacking of keys there was a faint sound of a printer running before the stern receptionist handed over a small student ID card.
"Welcome to Cherryton. Highschool orientation begins in a half-hour. Given you've only just transferred here, I recommend you use this time to get settled into your dorm. Your dorm room number and all other information should be included in the packet you picked up upon arrival."
Yasui bowed clumsily, almost dropping his welcome packet in the process.
"T-thank you very much."
He hurriedly tucked his ID away before gathering his belongings and setting off in search of his dorm. As he exited the main building and entered the school grounds, he couldn't help but gawk at the mass of different species jumbling and jostling around. Old friends were greeting each other and first year students like himself were excitedly chatting in their own little groups as they milled about. Yasui hated to admit it, but he definitely felt out of place.
Wow... I didn't know they made schools this big. And there are a ton of different species of students! I can't believe I'm actually a student at one of the top boarding schools around! Sheesh, is it just me or does this make me feel really small.
Unfortunately for Yasui, this was in fact the truth. Even for a fox, carnivores that tended to be on the short end of the "medium breed" category of animals, he was considered... runty. Spindly arms and legs coupled with a stature far below average made him look a bit like an elementary school student who had taken the wrong train rather than a first year high school student. The only parts of him that weren't small were his oversized tail, disproportionately large hands, and his snout which was unusually wide and long with a matching oversized nose and teeth. This unfortunately gave him a slightly lopsided look (especially the snout) and caused him to subconsciously point his head down to try to hide it.
He quickly hopped out of the way as a passing rhino who wasn't looking where she was going almost bowled him over. In his haste to avoid her he almost stepped on a trio of mice who immediately made their displeasure known.
"S-sorry! I'm sorry!"
Oh man, that was close. And what's with this st-stuttering! Pull yourself together Yasui! You're in a new place with new people. It's okay to be nervous but not if you sound like an idiot! Just... be cool. If people think you're cool and calm they'll probably like you. Maybe I can even make some friends on my first day here. I gotta embrace this whole new school thing. So goodbye old Yasui with your awkward ways and lack of friends and hello new Yasui who everybody likes.
He blew a quick puff of air out and steeled his courage. This was it, he was about to enter his dorm. This was going to be his home away from home for the rest of his highschool experience. He opened the door and began his search for the correct numbered room.
You'll see, there's so many people here that somebody's bound to want to hang around you! Maybe I can join a club like... well... I don't know. Do I have any skills that would make me able to join a club? You know what, I'll put more thought into that one later, but there has to be some way to make friends here. All the other students are just as nervous as I am.
His contemplations were interrupted by the sound of a voice from above.
"Hey Jack, have you seen my backpack? I could have sworn I left it around here."
Looking up, Yasui saw possibly the biggest beast he had ever seen. Towering above him was a wolf so tall that his little fox head only came up to about his stomach. Yasui immediately scrambled to get as far away as possible.
Sweet mercy! This dude's massive! I mean he's way too big! In literally every way! Like his eyes! And face! And teeth! And claws! T-this dude could rip my face off with a single swipe!
Fortunately he avoided this giant and managed to safely reach the door to his room. He was reaching for the handle when he thought better of it and decided to let himself prepare for a moment.
Okay, so in here are the dudes I'm going to be sleeping with— I mean living with— for the next while. Here's a good starting ground for being the brand new me. I'll stroll in there all calm and cool and be like, "Hey, this bunk taken? I'm Yasui, nice to meet ya. Yeah you seem pretty chill too. Wanna go hang before orientation?"
[ The other vulpines in room 704 were messing around as high school boys do. They were all nervous, why wouldn't they be? Suddenly they had all gone from being the big cheese, the head honcho, the who's who of middle school to being back down at the bottom of the packing order. Honestly, this false joviality was all a mask to hide their fear. If only some calm and suave first year would come allay their anxiety! Suddenly, the door opens and in strides a red fox, his uniform draped effortlessly cool over his figure. He's slender, flexible, like a rapier, and twice as sharp. With a twinkle in his cunning eyes and smirk on his lips he effortlessly enters the room. That ball that they were throwing around sails towards him, it's initial target too shocked to catch it. With a simple flick of his wrist this stranger catches it and has it spinning on one claw. He smiles, "hey fellas, glad I 'caught' the right room."]
No, nobody talks like that. And what's with that mental image. Give him an overbite and lose a few centimeters and it would be more accurate. Maybe I should crack a joke, you know, cement myself as the funny roommate. Everyone loves the funny roomate! At least, in all the books I've read they do.
Yasui was snapped out of his reverie when he noticed a funny, metalic taste coating his tongue and a faint heat blooming in his stomach and rising through his face. Glancing down he realized that he had been nervously biting his hand. He quickly pulled it out of his mouth and carefully pressed a tissue to the small puncture wounds he had accidentally given himself. Once he was no longer bleeding, he adjusted his shirt and opened the door, bringing his suitcase along beside him. Inside, five other vulpines of varying species were milling around or sitting on their beds. They glanced over as he entered. Now was the moment to make an impression.
"H~eey guys!"
Voice crack. Why oh why did it have to be a voice crack. Immediately everyone else began howling with laughter. One particularly large red fox wiped a tear from his eye and said,
"Hey tiny! I think you took the wrong train! This is a highschool, the daycare is on the other side of town!"
A particularly nasty-looking Corsac fox strode over and bent over condescendingly to be at eye level.
"Wow, I'm surprised! Usually they put the fennecs in the rooms full of doggies. I guess they want them to be with more sociable and friendly students on account of their size."
He got right up close and glared down, sneering.
"Take a wrong turn... pipsqueak?"
Okay, rough start. But hey! Guys talk smack all the time! Maybe I just need to up the ante. What could possibly go wrong?
[Yasui's ears flattened a bit and he (after clearing his throat) replied.
"I'm actually a... a red fox. Sorry if you're either too blind or too, uh, stupid to tell the difference."
The others "ooooed" at this before Yasui suddenly found himself dangling from the grip of this Corsac monstrosity by his throat.
"Well, it looks like you aren't smart enough to know when to just shut up. So here's the first lesson of the school year. You, are tiny and weak."
He punctuated this by easily prying off the hands that were desperately scrabbling at his arms and stretching his arm out until it started to cramp. He smiled wickedly, fangs showing as he got his face right against his victim's.
"And I'm not. So you're going to do whatever I tell you. I tell you to wash my clothes, you wash them. I say go jump off a roof, you ask which one. I say go take a bath, and well."
He grinned before carrying him squirming out of the room and into the bathroom. He approached a stall and eased the door open. He glanced from the toilet to his victim's gasping face.
"You get ready to get wet."
And with that, he turned the smaller fox upside down and dunked his head in the toilet. He dropped his legs like a bag of trash before turning and strolling back out.
"Don't forget to get behind your ears, Tiny!"
There were howls of laughter as Yasui hurriedly pulled his head from the toilet bowl and did his best to shake some of the water off.
"Gross... was that really necessary."
His griping was met by the solid thud of his belongings being throw in as well.
"Don't forget your clothes!"
Everyone then laughed as they returned to their room leaving Yasui sopping wet and very much unhappy.]
Well that's a bit overkill, but it probably would be for the best to not make him mad.
Yasui just coughed and shook his head. The Corsac laughed and flicked his ear.
"Good! You know enough to clearly see that you're the bottom of the food chain. Stay on my good side and I might think twice about putting that oversized snout if yours up your own rear."
The other foxes laughed as Yasui meekly nodded before carefully put his belongings on the only remaining bed. Seeing that there wasn't going to be any blood, they all returned to their phones or laptops or other such things... silently. After getting his meager belongings unpacked, Yasui decided against sitting in his room with his new roommates and their charming conversational skills and headed back outside. On his way he passed a room numbered 701 and heard loud laughter and other such sounds of fun and friendshipy stuff. Glancing inside he saw a wide range or canines horsing around and having a good time.
Lucky. I wish I was a dog, like maybe a Labrador or a shibe inu. Nobody dislikes those guys, they're too smart and friendly for that. Everyone's always like "oh! A dog! Sure they're carnivores but despite that they're super nice and great to be around! Not like a dumb fox who'd probably pick my pocket before they would say hi."
As all other species tended to have stereotypes (like lions being strong, regal, and trustworthy; bunnies being small, quick, and nervous; and cheetahs being athletic and graceful) foxes had a perfect storm of assumptions about them, and almost all of them negative. "Sneaky, conniving, ill-tempered and violent jerks" being one. Another was that they were loners or thugs who tended to have a viscous streak, which unfortunately tended to be true. Yasui continued towards the main building and began heading towards lecture hall A where the first year orientation was to be held.
Let's see, what should I do. Maybe I'll find a group of other small carnivores to hang out with and dodge bullies together. Maybe I'll get my first girlfriend? Yeah right, knowing my dumb self I'll bump into a tiger who'll be kind enough to rearrange my internal organs into external organs. Or maybe...
[Yasui was walking down the halls towards his next class when he saw a group of girls from his previous class talking in the hallway. In passing he heard them say,
"So did you hear about that big test coming up in our math class? I'm so nervous. I really wish that I knew someone who was really good at math so they could help me study. Wouldn't hurt if they were a cute boy either."
All the girls giggled and began to voice their own concerns. After fixing his fur to make sure none was sticking up, he butted in.
"Hey, you probably don't recognize me but I'm in your class. So, uh, I'm pretty decent at math. If you want to study together sometime I'm more than happy to—"
The main girl turned to him and grimaced.
"No, I do recognize you. You're that weird fox who nobody talks to and always smells like a dumpster. Sorry, but I think I'd rather eat my own leg than study anything with you."
Everyone in the hallway burst out laughing as Yasui shamefacedly slinked to his next class.]
Holy crap, it's been less than an hour and I'm already seeing myself as the school's newest laughingstock. I really need to get my head checked. No, I need to think more... logically... and positively.
He had been so caught up in his imaginary faux-pas that he hadn't realized that he was already standing in the lecture hall. He froze as he witnessed the massive group of students occupying the room. There were more people in one place than he had ever seen in his life, and these were only the first years. The room was already over half full with a clear division going down the center. On the left side, the herbivore students were chatting excitedly; on the right side the carnivores were boisterously laughing, swapping stories about their exploits over their latest school break, and talking about how during highschool they were going to really hit their prime. Yasui scanned the crowd and saw his first target, a male mongoose who was sitting beside a male tabby cat. Both were talking while playing a game on their phones and seemed generally okay. He made a beeline for them and sat down in the seat next to them.
Immediately they glanced over and the tabby whispered something to the mongoose. Without a word the mongoose nodded and they casually stood up and moved a few seats away. Glancing around he saw that most foxes were in the same boat. They were either hanging around by themselves or in groups of twos or threes.
Yeah, that seems about right. I could always try sitting with one of them, or maybe find another loner and sit with him... or her. Are there any girls who look lonely?
He began to scan the crowd again only to realize that the headmaster had just taken the stage and that the orientation was starting. Opportunity had knocked but he had been too stupid to open the door. The orientation turned out to be exactly what he had expected. A speech about how glad he was that they were all beginning their high school years at Cherryton and how excited he was to see what they would all accomplish here. He then went into the dreaded "rules talk" where he told them where they could and couldn't go now that they were no longer middle school students, what times they were expected to be at certain places, and a handful of miscellaneous rules that were kinda obvious (harming another student was against the rules? No way! How could anyone have guessed!)
Finally they were all dismissed and told to go get something to eat, enjoy spending time with their friends and roommates, and get ready for a busy day tomorrow. As they all filtered out of the room and began to head towards the cafeteria, Yasui noticed something that made his stomach drop. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, was heading towards the cafeteria, which meant—
If I don't hurry, I'll have to try to find a seat by myself! Like a loser! If only I could have gotten there early I could have sat at an empty table and hope that some friendly students sat next to me. Wait, that's lame. Maybe this is better because now I can— wait, why am I still standing around! Move it Yasui, move it!
He joined the line that was slowly filtering through the entrance and towards the food sevice lines. One side was for carnivores and the other side for herbivores. As he picked up a tray he saw the listed menu which was divided into two sides.
Let's see, for carnivores it's tofu, egg, and veggies over udon with milk and dumplings filled with bean paste. For herbivores... mixed veggie soup, rice and bread. Aww... I love soup. Why couldn't we have had soup too. Ah well, hopefully we'll get something like that soon, like maybe ramen with peppers and eggs... or something.
Before too terribly long he had made his way through the line and was entering the jungle that was the cafeteria tables. Try as he might, there wasn't a single spot that wasn't either taken or already saved. He realized that he had only one choice.
Well great, now I have to sit all by myself outside like a creeper. I am not sitting by the trashcans, oh no, not again. Let's see...
He exited the cafeteria, tray in hand, and scanned the nearby area for anywhere good to sit.
"Let's see... no, not by the bushes that's too weird. Maybe... no, there's a couple girls sitting there. They'd probably get the wrong idea."
His mumbling was interrupted by the sight of a large tree a few meters away that looked out over the top of the hill the school was situated on. From that vantage point, just the tops of the highest buildings in the city were visible.
"Aha, perfect."
He scurried over and found a nice, relatively comfortable spot at the base of the tree. There was a faint rustling noise above him which made him freeze. He sniffed the air a few times and picked up a vaguely familiar scent, squirrel.
Oh, a squirrel must have had the same idea as me. I could try talking to him, but squirrels are a bit jumpy at the best of times so he probably would just get scared. Best if I just leave him be and try my best not to look threatening.
Meanwhile, up in the branches of the tree, a male squirrel was holding his breath as he looked down at the carnivore who had just sat at the bottom of his tree. He had seen this fox's head snap to attention when he had accidentally rustled some branches, but fortunately he didn't seem to notice him perched up above. He relaxed a bit when the fox set his tray on his crossed legs before pressing his palms together in a bizarre gesture and mumbling something under his breath. Once he finished that he began to dig into his dinner, sharp fangs catching the setting sunlight.
This squirrel was a first year named Shinrai. He returned to his half eaten vegetable soup before his phone vibrated in his pocket. He gently removed it and checked to see that one of his friends had texted him.
(Group chat)
Kashi: Hey Shin, Don. You guys are back from vacation, right?
Shinrai (or Shin to his friends) hurriedly typed a response.
(Group chat)
Shin: Yeah I'm here :)
Shin: Eating dinner atm where r u?
Kashi: Eating too. Was wondering if we could all sit together and catch up?
Don: I'm here too and I see you still use punctuation when you text Kashikoi and it's still weird
Kashi: Just because I'm texting doesn't mean I can't still be grammatically correct. Anyway, do you guys want to meet up tonight before sunset? We can catch up before classes start tomorrow!
Don: Aw helz yes we should get sodas and sit on the school roof like we used to in middle school
Shin: Count me in! :)
Shin: Although if I don't make it it's probably because the fox sitting below me ate me for dessert lol
Don: HDHFJSJS WHY ARE YOU SITTING WITH A FOX
Kashi: You're sitting by yourself outside again, aren't you. Up a tree with him below you?
Shin: Yeah
Shin: It's cause I'm a squirrel
Shin: We like trees that are outside
Shin: It's ok though he hasn't noticed me
Shin: He was doing this creepy thing with his hands before he started eating though so idk what that was about o~o
Don: HE WAS PROBABLY SHARPENING HIS CLAWS TO EAT THE TASTY LITTLE SQUIRREL SITTING ABOVE HIM
Kashi: Or he could be doing something harmless and you just so happen to be paranoid, Don. If he's sitting by himself he might be lonely. Did you talk to him?
Shin: No he kinda scares me cause he's scowling
Shin: Or he's frowning in which case I feel bad :'(
Don: I know Kashi why not have Shin offer mr sad fox his leg as a tasty snack to cheer him up would that help
Kashi: Don't be a jerk.
Shin: I would probably be tasty though :P
Shin: Actually I wonder what I taste like
Shin: Probably peanut butter
Kashi: Whatever, just meet in front of the main building in five minutes. See you then.
Shin: 0u0
Don: k see you
Shinrai put his phone away and scarfed down the remainder of his meal before lightly scampering down the tree with his tray balanced on one hand, hurrying to drop it off and meet up with his friends. Yasui was by himself once again, and the remainder of his day was uneventful, just wandering around checking out the school's campus. That night as he lay in his bed, he took out a notebook and began scribbling some notes.
Let's see, ideas on how to make people like me. I can probably help some people study. That is if I do well enough in my classes. If I royally screw it all up I can try to join a study group. Maybe I should do that anyway? I should also look through that list of different clubs so I can see if I want to join one. There was the PR club that makes the school paper, but I don't know how to write stories and I don't have a camera. There was that... what was it called? Acting club? Stage club? Drama club? Don't they do some play before the start of the new school year at the welcome event? It was such a bummer I couldn't go to that new-student welcome thing this summer, I bet it was fun. If only I could have gone I might have been able to get a better grip on this whole highschool thing. Or at least be as prepared as the people who have coming here since middle school. Well, I might be able to join up with them. If not as an actor than maybe as like a stagehand or something.
[The curtain fell as the actors gave their final bow. The curtain call was over. After weeks of practice and preparation the play had gone without a hitch. Everyone in the club was in a buzz of excitement as they regrouped to congratulate all the actors on their performance. However, the lead actor whistled loudly to get the attention of the whole club. He stood on a box, looming tall over the motley crew before him, before speaking.
"Good work everyone, another performance done perfectly."
Everyone clapped and cheered before he raised a hand to get them to be quiet.
"But I especially want to thank everyone who the audience never even saw, who made this whole performance possible. Good work stage crew, you're the hidden backbone of the club."
Everyone turned and cheered for the assortment of creatures standing near the back, having just finished turning off the lights and moving all the props. Yasui and his fellow stage crew members all smiled as the other club members began to pat them on the back and hand out drinks. They all raised their cans and bottles before offering a toast.
"To the stage crew! We never could have done it without you!"]
Yeah... probably not. I'd probably do something stupid and ruin the whole play for everyone.
He turned over and sighed as a sliver of moonlight shone through a gap in the curtains over his bed. He never really knew why, but seeing the moon always made his throat feel tight like he had a cough stuck in the bottom of his lungs. That or it was just a coincidence and it was because it was a bit stuffy and this room smelled a bit like BO. He pulled the curtains a bit tighter together before rolling over and checking the cheap alarm clock he had gotten for school. Midnight, he had to make himself sleep so he could be wide awake for his classes tomorrow.
Who am I kidding. I'm still the same awkward loser I was in middle school. I spent all day just silently wandering around like a creep. Screw it all, what's wrong with me! It's just talking to people, it's not supposed to be that hard! Most people don't even have to think about it and just do it! Tomorrow, tomorrow is a new day. I'll show... me. I'm going to talk to the people that I sit beside in class and make a ton of friends. I'll make everyone back home proud of me!