Shinoku stood there, completely petrified in utter panic as his friends looked at him. Oh how he wished lightning would just strike him where he stood. The fear and dismay that built up in him about what his friends might say or do was suffocating. Hell, he'd take facing the full wrath of the dorm mother compared to this. But what happened next, was something he did not expect.

"Well...holy shit…I gotta say Shin, I didn't expect you to be such a sly dog." Jax said, a grin forming on his lips. "How the hell did you manage that?"

"Yeah, I mean no offense Shin, but I didn't see you losing your virginity for a long time." Vega chuckled.

"I'd...rather not say. It just kinda...happened." Shin said as he rubbed the back of his head, "I'm not going to disrespect Anya, even if I didn't tell her I'd not tell a soul I wouldn't. All you'll get out of me is that the circumstances were...unique and that I didn't take advantage of anything."

"We're not questioning your character Shin, we know you, we're just shocked is all." Sebastian said as his expression softened. "We can also respect that you're thinking of her by not wanting to go into detail, just goes to show how good of a guy you are."

"Exactly, you didn't plan to do it so there's no harm done." Hassan reassured.

"Yeah, no harm or foul, lighten up." Vega said as he slapped Shinoku on the back.

"Thanks guys..." Shinoku said as he smiled.

"Just try not to blow it." Jax chuckled.

Shinoku rolled his eyes at Jax's remark."Don't plan to. By the way...would you guys mind helping me with something?"

Sebastian blinked as he looked at Shin with slight curiosity. "What?"

"Well…" Shinoku said as he rubbed the back of his head. "Anya said she'd like me to spend the night again and I was wondering if you'd help me out..."

"Damn Shin, just how good were you?" Vega snickered. "So you finally get a girlfriend and you're ready to move out?"

"Yeah, I mean did we do something to to upset you, or is it you just don't like us?" Jax joked.

Shinoku panicked as his ears flattened, putting his hands up as he started to explain, "It's not that! It's just that she said me being there really helped! And it's not like I'm moving out, just sleeping over at her room every now and then. Plus with-" He was cut off by their laughter.

"Relax Shin, you really make it too easy sometimes. Plus, we're kind of owed busting your balls a little." Vega grinned.

"…I suppose that's only fair." Shinoku muttered as he pressed his index fingers together in a fidgeting manner, "I just want to make sure she's alright...safe..."

Sebastian nodded. "Understandable. it's not hard to see why you'd want to make sure she's safe from what you have said about Otis, even if it's just that brief interaction."

"Yeah, we'll definitely help." Hassan chimed in. "After school we'll help you get spare supplies that you can keep over there."

Shin couldn't help but feel a great amount of gratitude towards his friends, and it showed in his expression. "Thanks...so much. I really owe you guys."

"Oh, you definitely do." Jax grinned rather mischievously. "And you can pay us back by helping us look for the monster of Cherryton over winter break."

"Well...I guess I can..."Shinoku agreed before blinking. "wait, the monster of Cherryton, seriously?"

Jax nodded. "Yeah, we settled on trying to see if it's real or not over winter break."

"You and Vega decided on it, me and Sebastian just agreed to keep you two out of trouble." Hassan clarified.

"Point still stands." Jax remarked.

"...Well…" Shinoku said as he placed his hand on the back of his head.

"Awe come on Shin, it'll be an eight O' eight special mission." Jax begged. "Plus you did say you owed us."

Shinoku sighed. "Aright, I'll go."

"Great!" Jax beamed.

"Well if that's all settled, you better get ready Shin, can't have you late for class." Sebastian commented.

"Right..." Shinoku said as he rushed to get ready, only doing what was really needed. "By the way, me and Anya are going to eat together today if you don't mind. Kind of a first date." He added as he finished, walking out of the dorm room with his friends.

"Mind, what are we your parents?" Vega laughed. "Do you really think we care if you finally spend time with her? I mean we've only been trying to get you to talk to her for like ever."

"Yeah, besides you can regale us again about how you pretty much stood up to Louis and joined the drama club while we help you get your stuff ready after school." Jax grinned. "Man I still can't believe you pretty much showed him up every chance you got." He snickered.

"I know right, it's amazing! Don't get me wrong, I don't mind Louis at all, but I feel he's a bit too stuck up for his own good." Vega grinned.

"Taking that into consideration, does that mean you're going to start putting effort into becoming the beastar for Cherryton now?" Sebastian inquired.

"I guess?" Shinoku responded as he rubbed his temple with his index finger. "I mean, I don't even really know how to start." He admitted. Louis' already got such a head start and the support of the school, then there's Otis. With him being something I'm likely going to have to deal with it'll be hard to think of the best way to really turn my reputation around unless the opportunity slaps me in the face."

"Fare, he does seem like a potentially bigger issue at the moment." Hassan commented. "It's probably best to deal with him first so you can put your full effort into showing you're the best choice for beastar."

"A choice you mean." Shinoku remarked.

"No THE, you're a great animal Shin don't sell yourself short." Hassan countered.

"He's right Shin, everything you've done, you've done so genuinely and with true conviction and belief in co-existence. So believe that you are the best option like we do." Sebastian added.

Shinoku smiled. "Thanks guys."

"Hey, we're eight o' eight, we stick together through hell and back." Jax beamed. "Plus, you're a good friend, a true white knight." he chuckled.

"Puns, really?" Hassan commented as he rolled his eyes.

"You know you love em." Jax snickered.

As they exited the dorm they once more bid each other farewell as they split up to go to their classes, Shin and Vega walking towards the classrooms before remembering to meet up with Anya. He apologized to Vega only for the jaguar to dismissively not mind at all, even offering to go with his friend. As they reached the girl's dorm Shin smiled as he saw Anya, amazed she could always get away with wearing anything but the uniform.

Anya smiled brightly as Shinoku approached. "Ah, there's my serv..." she blinked as she saw Vega. "Oh, hello."

Vega smiled. "Hi, sorry if me being here was not expected, just thought I'd say hello. I'm Vega, one of Shin's roommates and friends. I can't tell you how often he's talked about you and we've tried to get him to man up." he grinned, much to Shinoku's flustered dismay.

"Is that so?" Anya said as she looked at Shin and grinned. "so my stalker couldn't stop talking about me hmm?" She teased before laughing.

Vega chuckled. "I wouldn't say it was non-stop, but definitely enough to be concerning." he said before he and Anya laughed.

"…It wasn't THAT much." Shinoku muttered as he flustered.

Anya giggled as she walked up and patted his cheek before wrapping her arm around his and snuggling up. "You're too precious Shin~."

"Don't forget awkward." Vega snickered, to which Shinoku just glared at him only to blush as Anya kissed him on the cheek.

"True, but he's my awkward wolf~." Anya chuffed.

"I'm not really all that awkward...am I?" Shinoku asked.

"Yeah, but you seem to be getting a bit better so there might be hope for you yet." Vega joked. "Oh, and don't worry Anya, we'll make sure he's got spare stuff to keep at your room for tonight."

Anya smiled. "Thanks, I hope I'm not being too greedy with wanting him to sleep at my room every so often."

"Nah, in fact if you want you can keep him. We'll just turn his bed into a storage shelf or something." the jaguar chuckled.

Anya giggled. "Careful, I might just take you up on that offer." she giggled once more, much to Shinoku's eye rolling.

With that they headed to class, Anya hanging on Shin's arm and purring rather contently as her tail flicked to each side, using him to hide her wobble. She even wrapped her tail around his, preventing it's wagging, but Shin didn't even mind in the least. He gently kissed Anya on the cheek every so often as they walked, Vega just rolling his eyes at their doting affection and thinking of how unusual it felt for Shin to be treated with such apprehension and fear with how he was right now. 'There just might be hope for the guy yet.' the jaguar thought to himself.

As they got to the classroom Shinoku went to open the door for Anya. "Not going to let you be the door opener this time." He chuckled with a light smirk.

Anya mock pouted. "Awe, but i liked holding the door open for the princess" she'd tease before walking in and moving to take a seat right next to where Shinoku sat.

Vega couldn't help but snicker at Anya's comment. "Gee, thanks princess." The jaguar teased as he walked in the door.

"Shut up." Shinoku murmured as he shut the door. Oh how he was tempted to have done so on Vega's tail, but decided against it...for now, moving to sit next to Anya.

Anya beamed slightly as she snuggled up next to Shinoku after slouching as usual, tail curling slightly with each flick from side to side. She felt quite content being nice and close to the white wolf, though as she sat there while class went on a mischievous grin formed on her lips. Her tail slowly moved towards Shin, using it's prehensile nature to get close to his thigh and stroke it a bit.

Shinoku blinked. "Hmm?" He asked as he glanced at Anya while he took notes.

"Nooooothung~." Anya said innocently as she looked back at him before giving him a quick peck.

Shinoku blushed a bit as he chuckled, returning the peck as his tail wagged. In fact he was rather surprised that the teacher hadn't said anything about Anya sitting next to him, but he wasn't going to complain and just chalked it up to her being able to sit where she liked like he could due to being a scholarship student. Class seemed to go by quicker than usual, though he imagined that it was due to the fact that Anya next to him made it all the more pleasant; them holding hands under the desk every so often might've contributed as well.

As class came to an end he and Anya got their things, Shinoku giving her the notes he had taken for her during class. As they started out of class Anya once again clung to Shinoku, getting nice and snug against him as she purred. Vega couldn't help but chuckle a bit as he walked alongside them.

"Seriously, you two are such lovebirds." Vega chuckled. "Honestly it's making me a little jealous Shin. Maybe you could put in a good word for me with Sheila now that you're in the club." he said with a playful grin.

Anya blinked as she looked to Vega. "Oh, you're interested in Sheila?"

Vega blushed slightly, "A bit, yeah. She seems nice." He said as his ruby-ish eyes looked the other way briefly.

"Well I could see if she might be interested or even available if you like." Anya offered.

Vega blinked. "I mean, that's nice of you to offer, but I'd like you and Shinoku to have as much time focusing on you two as you can for now. Maybe later, though you could ask her what kind of guys she likes if you really want to, just so I know my odds and how to go about talking to her."

Anya smiled as she looked at the jaguar. "I don't mind asking."

"Thanks, appreciate it." Vega said, a rather bright smile on his face.

It wasn't long after that Vega went his separate way from Shin and Anya, heading to his own class as the two went to theirs. The next few classes went about the same, Anya or Shinoku would beat the other to open the door and then sit next to each other. Shin took notes for Anya to help her out, much to her appreciation, as they continued their intermittent hand holding. Anya Even curling her tail around Shin's when it wasn't swaying, giving him quick affectionate kisses to his cheek. As lunch finally came around they headed to the cafeteria, getting their food before going to find a nice secluded spot where they could sit nicely shaded under the trees and just enjoy themselves.

"I've got to say, this has been one of the best days of school I've had." Shinoku said as he got nice and close to Anya as he sat, taking a bite of his food.

"Awe, same here honestly. I mean they weren't ever all that bad, just being with you made it all the better." Anya said softly, a warm smile on her lips as her tail swayed contently.

Shinoku just smiled as he looked at Anya, giving her a quick kiss before taking her fork and putting some of her food on it and holding it close to her. "Mind your servant feeding you a little?" He asked with a light blush

Anya just giggled as she looked at Shin, blushing at his gesture. "Awe, not at all, feed me like the princess I am." She giggled as she opened her mouth and let him feed her, only to take his fork and offer the same. "Now...say ah." The Siberian Tigress grinned.

Shinoku just chuckled as he opened his mouth. "Aaah." He said before he took the bite and chewed it, "Say...Anya...mind if I...ask what am I in for with your dad, if you don't mind me asking. I know we're on a date and I don't want to ruin it by bringing up tough subjects..."

Anya blinked, a slightly worried and sad expression on her face for a moment. "He means well...he's very protective and loving...but..." She sighed, "He's very set in his ways, being a CEO of a company and all. He'd strongly protest you being with me...forbid it even. He wants a pure tiger line...he wants the best out of me and expects me to take over. I don't him wanting me to be part of the family business...but I wish he'd let me choose what I want to do with my love life."

"I see…" Shinoku mused. "Well...I'll just have to fight my hardest to convince him otherwise." He remarked. "I'm not going to back down, or give up on being with you." The arctic wolf promised.

Anya smiled, kissing him on the cheek. "I just hope you can...But he might…force the matter of me being with a tiger himself…" She admitted, her voice filled with the clear dislike and slight fearfulness of having to be forced to not be with the one boy she finally felt an attraction she never thought she'd feel before for.

"That won't stop me, nothing will stop me." Shinoku said as he looked at her. "I'll fight for you no matter what." The arctic wolf vowed.

Anya smiled more, kissing him again. "Thanks...But you'll be in for a fight, he's the kind of protective dad that'd move us if he thought we were in enough danger." She informed as she kept close to Shinoku.

Shinoku blinked. "Oh…Still not stopping me." He grinned before he cleared his throat. "So, do you only have the one brother?" The arctic wolf asked as he tried to shift the subject.

"Oh, no, I have two." Anya replied. You'll probably see them at my softball game, they usually come." She added.

Shinoku blinked. "Your dad doesn't watch your games?" He asked. Sure they were at a live in private academy and parents visiting wasn't really a thing that was really common or happened often, but Shinoku thought given what he had heard, Anya's dad would at least try to make a soft ball game or two. Hell, he's seen parents of certain athletes attend at least one game just to see how far they've gotten.

"He would, if he wasn't so busy." Anya replied as she looked down slightly for a second.

Shinoku rubbed the back of his head, feeling a bit awkward. "Ah..." He said before clearing his throat a moment later. "I hate to ask…but...I'm curious. How did you…get to know Otis?" The arctic wolf asked. "Sorry I'm asking all these touchy subjects...I'm just curious..."

"It's fine…" Anya assured. "we…kind of just happened to run into each other." She explained. "I didn't know he was in a gang at the time...at least not until I helped him get back to where his gang was." Her expression softened a bit, looking rather sad. "He was nice at the time...he didn't act so mean, at least around me." The Siberian tigress continued. "He just looked like he could use someone to help him out...maybe even help him be better."

"But he took your friendliness as a sign of something else?" Shinoku sort of asked.

"Eventually, yeah.' Anya nodded. "I mean...I was flattered at first, don't get me wrong. I did think about it...but I just didn't feel the same..."

"But he didn't take no for an answer." Shinoku assumed.

"No.." Anya replied as her ears flattened. "He might still understand though...maybe even change."

Shinoku sighed a bit, though his expression stayed caring. "It's a nice thought...but I saw those eyes, that look he gave me. My instincts scream that he's a threat...a danger." He commented. "Animals like him, they rarely change, more often than not they have to be dealt with..." Shinoku said before tenderly embracing her. "I'm sorry...I've soured our date…" The arctic wolf apologized.

"No, it's fine..." Anya said as she nuzzled him. "You might be right...he hasn't exactly gotten better, but I can't help but hope a little."

"Nothing wrong with that." Shinoku said softly as he pressed his lips to hers."Now...think we can still have an enjoyable date despite me being an idiot?" He grinned.

Anya giggled as she lightly bonked him on the head gently. "You're not an idiot, just care a lot." She assured him. "And yeah..." The Siberian tigress added before kissing him.

Shinoku smiled as he gave her a firm hug, nuzzling her lightly before letting go. They continued to feed each other every so often between nuzzles and kisses, enjoying being close to each other. Anya's tail once more wrapped itself around Shin's as she just wanted to stay like they were for as long as possible.