As Anya headed back to the rest of the dance team she couldn't help but subtly smile to herself. She had really enjoyed dancing with Shinoku and was looking forward to having him help her with practicing, even if he did get on the actors team. Sure, he'd be more focused on acting, but he had done so well that maybe Louis and Sheila would agree to let her steal him away for practice. At least, she hoped neither would mind. Sure Sheila would likely be OK with it, but Louis, Louis she wasn't quite sure about. The more she thought about dancing with Shinoku, being close to him, against his strong body, the more she blushed.
Her brain started going straight back to the gutter as she thought about it, about him as she subtly bit her bottom lip. She quickly shook her head, getting back out of it. Still, he was kind, sweet, definitely way too good for his own good and admittedly was VERY attractive, especially after she got to know him a bit better. As much as she didn't want to believe it, she had quickly found herself wanting to be with Shinoku. At first what was just mere exchanges of glances and then friendly teasing of the arctic wolf had now turned into definite feelings for him.
She shook her head again as she pushed it all to the side, she had too much going on right now. Her father...Otis...those were issues in her life she didn't want putting on anyone. She didn't want to burden anybody with those kinds of issues, no one but her should have to deal with them. Otis on his own would hopefully realize she just wanted friendship. As for her father...well, he was an entirely different case that came with even more complex issues. She sighed as she went back and started to help the other dancers where she could, only to go back to doing more stretches when there wasn't anywhere she needed to help.
She couldn't help but watch Shin as she stretched while he went over the scene from Adler. It might be a bit selfish, but when he had not done so well the first time she couldn't help but hope that it meant he'd be coming to the dance team. Then she saw him try again, surprised that Louis allowed not only that, but for the supporting actors to perform with him. Shin seemed to do better, seems he was doing more than just eyeing her it seems. Then, then came that third try, which was still a surprise to her that it was allowed. As she watched, she was amazed at his performance, she couldn't help but be drawn into it. Every bit of Shin's performance was something she could not resist watching and that final line, that line sent a shiver down her spine. After Shin had finished she went back to her stretches, seeing no harm in making sure that she was nice and worked out. But, as she was in the midst of one she felt it, a sharp pain going through her right thigh. Yup, she pulled something, 'damn it.' she thought as she had to ease herself onto the floor from the pain, wincing as she rubbed it.
Sheila blinked as she noticed Anya get to the floor, walking over to check on her. "Is something wrong Anya, are you hurt?"
Shinoku happened to glance over in Anya's direction as Bill and the other actors were talking and saw Anya on the floor and rubbing her thigh as she winced at the same time Sheila had. Feeling a bit concerned he left the other actors as they talked to go check on her. The arctic wolf could only hope that Anya wasn't badly hurt, though the concern was hard to hide.
"Did you pull something or are you just sore?" Shinoku asked as he got down on one knee, his voice showed the bit of concern he had.
Anya looked at Shin as she tried to look alright. "I pulled it but I'll be fine-" She would cut herself off by another wince as she tried to get up, she hoped up onto one leg and tried to keep her pulled one steady. "I'll be alright.." Anya growled lightly from trying to ignore the pain she was feeling. What a dummy, well it's the mindset she had that made her want to go on like there was nothing wrong.
Shinoku continued to look at her as he stood up, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You don't look like you'll be fine with that wince..." he said with concern. "I don't want to see you pushing yourself just to look fine and potentially pull something in your other leg. Please, rest just a bit longer if you're going to be stubborn about it. I'll even offer massaging your leg" he added. "After all, how am I going to see you play softball if you're unable to?"
Anya huffed, mentally debating if she could get away with not doing so, only to concede as Shinoku brought up watching her softball game. She really was flattered he wanted to watch her play and she wasn't going to ruin that after he had promised to make it. "Fine...I'll rest" She said with another small huff before crossing her arms, getting back down on the floor and laying her back against the wall, extending her legs out.
"Good, I'd hate to see you anymore hurt." Shinoku said as he smiled
"...can you massage it?" Anya asked as her eyes went soft like as if it were a cry for help, the last thing she needed was for her muscle to tear. she grumbled some more before leaning her head back against the small, she was frustrated already, she was thinking the worst, like if she couldn't participate in anything because of it, and that really got to her, causing her to frown and look down.
Shinoku blinked and blushed profusely at her question. 'm-massage her thigh?!..,she wants me to massage her thigh?! B-b-but that's…close to…' He got redder as his mind went to places it never went before, 'Does she want me to do her whole thigh?! What even is a thigh, what are bones and muscles?!…calm down...maybe she doesn't mean her inner thigh. yeah...yeah…she must mean everywhere but there. Calm down, it's just a massage...a massage that just so happens to involve her thigh…nothing more.'
Shinoku gulped a bit as he still tried to calm his nerves. "I...uh…yeah...sure…" He replied, unable to say no to those pleading eyes of hers.
Sheila just blinked a bit before smiling slightly. "Well if you're going to take care of her then I'll leave you two be, Thanks for helping her Shinoku."
"No...problem." Shinoku replied as he got down next to Anya and tentatively with slight hesitation moved his hands to Anya's thigh, starting to massage it gently and making sure to not cause her any pain. 'Her thigh….it's so…..strong looking….and yet….so plump and soft…..it feels….so nice.' He thought before shaking his head as his brain went back to the gutter, 'No! Bad brain!'
Anya looked up at Shin and smiled, giggling lightly at his clearly nervous demeanor. She really did enjoy seeing him squirm, it was so cute. Though what surprised her the most was how well he was doing with massaging her, his hands worked as though they had done so a few times before, perhaps he had massaged his own thighs when they were sore. She didn't even care in that moment of him treating her that some of the other members had noticed Shin massaging her thigh, particularly Bill. He didn't seem to be all that enthusiastic at the sight, but with him having constantly gone on about her stripes and seeing him do so with other striped girls she didn't care; let this be a lesson to him.
"You're pretty good at this...wolf of many talents hmm?" Anya asked as she looked at Shinoku.
"Hmm?...oh…yeah…I've had plenty of practice…sprinting can be murder on the thighs." he replied, a small smile creeping on his lips. "You know...not many can say they get such a royal treatment like this in school...princess." He smirked slightly, feeling a bit more confident.
Anya smirked back as she arched a brow. "Princess huh?" She asked before letting out a faint chuckle, she soon groaned a bit from him hitting a certain point which naturally caused her to grip onto his shoulder. She huffed as her eyes softened again..pain was a different experience to her..maybe a small hint of her masochist within started showing itself, but not for long as she hid it quickly.
Shinoku chuckled a bit. "Yes, princess, because you sure have been dragging me around like a servant." He playfully teased, "Not that I minded, princess Anya." Shinoku stuck his tongue out very briefly. As she gripped his shoulder he blushed, taking note of where she was most in pain and made double sure to give the area special attention to help it feel better.
Anya chuckled a bit. "Thanks Shin…for this and trying to put me in a much better mood…mind going a little lower, the rest of my leg could use some attention." She asked.
"You're welcome Anya, and sure." Shinoku said as made his way down her leg.
"Thanks…" Anya smiled. "I'm sure the others would help me, and I'd be grateful….but I'm sure Bill would be the first to offer and while he is nice…" She trailed off for a moment as she glanced away briefly. "I get the feeling he'd take advantage or use it to try to...well, hit on me."
Shinoku narrowed his eyes as he rubbed her leg. "I see…."
"Yeah…" Anya said, her tone showing she didn't quite care for it. "And I'm pretty sure he might already be with someone too...though that might be on the rocks with how he is about stripes..."
Shinoku just glared for a split second at the tiger, that was definitely one thing he did not like at all. It didn't matter what Bill's reasoning might be for that kind of behavior, in his eyes, Bill potentially hitting on more than one girl at a time due to stripes was abhorrent at best. Shin bit his tongue, for the moment, but it was hard not to say something, he just smiled at Anya.
"In any case, at this rate it looks like you might just be stuck with me looking out for your best interest." Shinoku chuckled.
Anya just smiled a bit. "I don't mind the idea of being stuck with you" she said with a small giggle, soon just giving up and laying her back against the floor, only to look up at the ceiling and sigh. "It's nice having a servant, after all canines show most obedience~" She teased as a smug grin crept onto her face, soon causing her to snicker.
Shinoku blushed a bit at her admittance that being around him a lot was something she didn't mind at all, feeling his heart skip a few beats. But then, then he heard that comment about canine obedience. Oh, that right there had given him too good of an opportunity that he had been holding back for a good minute or so on.
"Well that is true, we canines do tend to be better partners in terms of loyalty to someone." Shinoku said, and although it sounded playful it more sounded like it was a roundabout way of calling out Bill. Something that was proven to Bill when he had seen Shinoku look directly at him ever so briefly, it caused him to clench a fist.
"Ah, i see what you did there, tsk tsk" Anya said, having caught on to his first sentence and giggling a bit before looking over at bill who looked none too happy if not a bit angry, causing her to giggle more.
"What? I claim no responsibility for what I may or may not have done." Shinoku joked. "Anyway, I don't mind being stuck with you either. It's fun and something different. Plus, you're great to be around." He commented, his fingers working along her thigh and leg delicately before moving down to her feet and back up. "Is there anything else you'd like for me to do princess, feed you a grape perhaps as you lie there?" The arctic wolf joked.
Anya just chuckled more as she looked at Shinoku, shaking her head lightly as sje hid the faint blush from his comment about liking being around her. "Oh shush," she would reply back to, soon sitting up a bit from him hitting a certain spot again, she huffed lightly before letting out another groan. "Sheesh"
Shinoku blinked as she winced. "At this point if it's going to be painful I might have to offer to carry you. That leg needs all the rest it can get so it can heal quickly." He commented, knowing that Bill was watching but not even caring that he was. He also felt like Louis might be watching him closely, likely due to picking up his Jab towards Bill.
"yeah yeah fine, i can walk there myself" Anya said before trying to stand up. Having no support on her leg she just hopped. "See, perfectly fine" She would add before trying to put a little bit of weight onto it as she tried to walk, feeling the pain even more so she stopped and let herself fall back.
In that split second as she was starting to fall Bill had already started to bolt over, anticipating her falling. He also wasn't about to let Shinoku, catching Abya before Shin could. "Easy Anya" He said in a gentle tone as the Siberian tigress, though he could not resist shooting a particular victorious look at Shinoku briefly. Anya just grumbled, feeling him touch her waist to help lean her against the railing again.
Shinoku looked at Bill, he was not about to give Bill any satisfaction in reacting to the look. Sure, Bill had been pretty nice, but now Shin was seeing that side of Bill that he suspected was there, a side that he disliked a fair bit.
Shinoku got up, looking over at Anya. "Uh huh, sure, you look like you can walk." He commented before glancing at Bill. "Thanks for catching her Bill."
"No problem, I couldn't stand by and let her fall..." Bill replied, though in not quite as friendly a way.
Shinoku just turned his attention back to Anya. "You're not going to make it to the dorm like that, I'll carry you there. And before you even think about arguing about it I'm not asking. Please, just swallow a bit of your pride so it doesn't get worse." He stated, his expression giving a rather subtle pleading look for her to do so.
Anya huffed, once more deliberating her reply before looking at Shin and those pleading eyes. "Mmh. fine" She said finally as she gave up and just let out a sigh, a small pout forming on her face before finally letting her pride go just so she can heal properly and not have to go through anymore complications such as this one.
Shinoku nodded with a smile. "Thank you." He said before looking to Sheila and then Louis who had watched the scene unfold before walking over. "Sense I just joined and have nothing else to do for the moment I'd like to take Anya back to the dorms so she can rest, if that's alright."
"That's very nice of you Shinoku, I don't have any objections to it if Louis doesn't." Sheila said with a smile.
Louis just looked at him sternly. "...Fine, but only because we have nothing else for you to do right now."
"Thank you, I'll go change back into the school uniform." Shinoku replied.
"I'll help Anya get to the changing rooms so she can get into her clothes." Sheila said, both Bill and Shinoku helped Anya transfer over to Sheila before Shin walked off to get changed.
Bill meanwhile had tried to get a word in but Shinoku had made sure he didn't get a chance to. This didn't sit well at all with him and even angered the tiger a bit, "Excuse me for a moment, need to go to the restroom." He said simply as he headed off, Louis just watched the tiger suspiciously as he left as Sheila helped Anya to the girl's changing room. Shinoku hadn't been in the guy's room long before Bill walked in before he could start changing.
"What the hell was that?!" Bill asked, clearly agitated.
"What was what?" Shinoku asked back as he looked at Bill, his eyes clearly showing a bit of contempt.
"Don't give me that bullshit!" Bill growled. "I've been nothing but nice to you and all of a sudden you make that comment aimed at me?"
"Oh, that." Shinoku said simply as he faced Bill, walking up to him and looking the tiger dead in the eyes. "I don't like hearing that you chase any girl with stripes, ESPECIALLY if you're already in pursuit of a girl while clearly trying to get with Anya."
"So?!" Bill shot back indignantly. "It's called covering bases, if one doesn't want to go out then there's the other girl." he defended himself. "And besides, why do you care so much?"
Shinoku narrowed his eyes. "Bullshit, that's a weak excuse for what you're doing. If you can't keep your dick in your pants when you see a girl with stripes then you're not going to be very successful." He pointed out. "As for why I care..." Shinoku paused a moment. "...I just care for Anya's well being." he said, electing not to mention the encounter with the doberman for Anya's sake.
Bill growled. "Oh don't act all high and mighty with me! You took that opportunity to have your hands on her thigh, you're no different!"
Shin's eyes narrowed more. "I did it to help, not because I want to sleep with her. I care for Anya, enough to not try and take advantage of her in pain or to try and get laid. Unlike you, apparently. Maybe you should try looking for something other than stripes first and actually try to get to know a girl before trying to get in her pants."
Bill glared at Shinoku a good minute before turning and walking off, clearly pissed off. Shinoku watched him leave before turning to get changed. Meanwhile Sheila had helped Anya hobble to the girl's changing room, staying there to help her with anything she needed.
"You seem to be having an eventful day." Sheila commented as she smiled. "Bringing in a new prospect, Shinoku of all animals, and then pulling a muscle. Not to mention you seemed to have fun teasing and being close to him."
Anya just blushed a bit as she went about changing. "Heh...I guess you could say that. He is a nice guy to be around...very kind."
"So I've noticed." Sheila smiled. "He seems particularly kind to you. Why if I didn't know better, I'd say that you two have a mutual attraction." The cheetah giggled as she saw Anya blush more. "So, there is."
"M-maybe..." Anya huffed.
"Definitely sounds like it." Sheila grinned. "Are you going to tell him or are you going to wait for him to say he likes you?"
"I...don't know." Anya said. "There are just…things going on in my life right now that I don't want to burden anyone...especially him with." Anya added as her ears flattened.
Sheila blinked. "I see...but if he likes you and you like him, isn't it worth the chance?" She asked. "I'm guessing what he helped you out with was pretty significant to have made a big enough impression to want him to join the club."
Anya just fidgeted slightly as she changed. "He didn't have to...and I didn't even ask or want it, he just...helped. Then he talked to me and helped me out more out of genuine kindness and not because of who I was or how I looked."
"Then it seems like it shouldn't be a question of if you should." Sheila advised.
"I just...need time to think…" Anya said.
Sheila nodded. "Well if it were me, and I found someone like Shinoku or just a nice guy in general, I'd take the risk, no matter what was going on with my life."
Anya just nodded, not really replying as she finished changing and grabbed her things. What Sheila said seemed to make sense on some level, but the cheetah didn't know what she had to deal with in her life, how hard difficult they were. She hobbled over to Sheila so she could help her get back to the rehearsal room. When they got back Shin was there and changed, waiting on Anya, Although he seemed alright, there was still something that hinted that he might be slightly irked about something. That quickly changed though as he saw Anya, a smile coming to his face which in turned made the Siberian tigress smile as well.
"C'mon my loyal servant, your mistress requires attending to." she teased, getting back into a more playful mood.
Shin just rolled his eyes, "Yes princess, your servant is here to serve and obey." he said before doing a very eloquent and flourished bow. With that he gently took her by her lower legs and back, scooping her up as she giggled. Sheila couldn't help but be amused by the whole thing, Louis and Bill however, were not. Regardless, Shinoku bid Sheila farewell before heading out of the Drama club and heading towards the dorms, Anya snugly in his arms.