As Shinoku walked out of the guy's changing room and out of the main club room his eyes quickly set themselves on Anya, a bright smile forming on his lips as his tail started to wag. It didn't matter how many times, or how often, he saw her, she was always the most beautiful sight in the world. Walking up to the tigress, he'd give her a kiss.
"So, see you at my room then?" Anya asked with a slight purr, her tail flicking happily from one side to the next.
"Yeah, though I was going to stop by the gym to to talk to my coach first, think he might still be in there. Want to come with?"Shinoku asked with a smile.
Anya smirked. "And have an excuse to spend a bit more time with you, do you really need to ask?"
Shinoku chuckled, a light blush on his cheeks. "Well it's only polite that I do."
Anya just chuckled as she booped him on the nose. "You dork."
Shinoku grinned. "Hey, it's one of the many qualities I have that you like."
"True, but it doesn't make you any less of a dork." Anya teased as she proceeded to cling to Shinoku's arm.
With that Shin, with Anya in tow, proceeded to head to the gym, making sure to text his friends that he'd be a few minutes before they could help him with his spare supplies to keep at Anya's room. Anya making sure to coil her tail around Shin's as she leaned against him nicely, a chuff escaping her throat. They hadn't really gotten all that far from the drama club when Anya's head perked up from it's resting place.
"Oh, I almost forgot in all that happened in the club." she said as she looked at Shinoku. "I had talked to Sheila in the changing room. It looks like she's not seeing anyone."
"Is that so? I suppose that's kind of a good thing going in Vega's favor." Shinoku commented.
Anya nodded. "Yeah, and she said she's more interested in genuine nice guys with a bit of daring to them. Definitely have to make her laugh and smile, not to mention she's not picky on species."
"That will make Vega happy, I'll make sure he knows." Shinoku said as he kissed Anya.
Anya smiled. "Great, I think he might have a chance, though you might have to tell him to be direct." She said before kissing him back. "When I talked to her I think she was aware I was asking for someone. She commented that she preferred if there was someone, that they'd be direct."
"I doubt that will be much of an issue for Vega." Shinoku chuckled. "I think he just wanted to know the odds before doing anything."
"Fair enough." Anya said simply.
The two smiled at each other as Anya leaned her head back against him, purring once more as she enjoyed being close to Shinoku. Not much else was said on their way to the gym as they enjoyed being so close together, giving quick kisses every now and then. When they got to the gym Shinoku hoped that his coach was still there, much to his relief the gym wasn't locked. Walking in, Shinoku looked around for the ocelot.
"Hey old man, you here?" Shinoku called out.
"Shin?" came Dante's voice from his office. "I was wondering if you decided not to-" The ocelot stopped as he saw Shinoku with Anya clinging to him causing the ocelot to blink. "Well, I'll be a son of a bitch, you actually grew a pair." Dante said before smiling,
"It was more of a...situational thing." Shinoku admitted. "Oh, yes, this is Anya,"
"Hello." Anya said.
"Good to meet the tigress that's got my favorite athlete so worked up like a kitten who just discovered what feelings were." he chuckled before looking at Shinoku. "But why'd you stop by? I was about to lock up and I know you didn't come here to just show me you finally got out of your shell."
"Oh, right." Shinoku said as he rubbed the back of his head. "I first wanted to apologize for not showing up the other day, something…came up."
"It's fine Shinoku, I know you well enough that if you don't show it's for good reason." Dante dismissed. "I'm assuming she's the thing that came up?" He asked as he nodded toward Anya.
"Pretty much." Shinoku replied. "She kinda made me her escort the whole day and took me to drama club."
"You say that like I kidnapped you." Anya pouted.
"I wasn't exactly complaining." Shinoku remarked.
Dante laughed a bit. "Already got him wrapped around your finger I see." The ocelot joked.
Anya grinned. "Pretty much." She said, causing Dante to laugh more.
"I'm right here you know." Shinoku muttered.
"And here I thought you always had tougher skin Shinoku." Dante chuckled. "But I assume there's more since you said apologizing was the first thing, what's the second?" He asked.
"I was wondering if I could just come on the weekends." Shinoku asked. "Thanks to Anya I'm now a member of the drama club too."
"I don't mind, so long as you keep up your exercises, hell you can even come right after drama club if there's time." Dante responded. "All I care about is that you don't overstretch yourself nor neglect what you've already put so much effort into." He added.
"Thanks old man." Shinoku said with a smile.
The ocelot just waved him off. "Don't mention it."
"Well, I won't keep you, plus I need to take care of something, see you around coach." Shinoku said as he turned to leave with Anya.
Dante nodded before blinking. "Shinoku, I gotta ask, what did you mean by you talking to Anya was situational?"
Shinoku stopped, looking to Anya who gave him a look of not wanting anyone else to really know about Otis, even if it was an adult. "I just happened to bump into her by chance is all, she needed help with something and I helped her out." He lied. Well, it wasn't a complete lie, just a very vague generalization of the encounter with Otis. "I was actually still thinking of how to approach her when it happened."
Dante looked at Shinoku a moment, as though mulling over just how truthful the arctic wolf was being with him. "I see." the ocelot said eventually. "Funny how things happen like that."
"Yeah." Shinoku agreed.
"Well then take care, stay safe." Dante bid the two farewell.
"Thanks." Shinoku said as he walked off with Anya, only to blink a bit as he left the gym, did his coach suspect there was more to it? Maybe, the ocelot and him were pretty close knit to a degree. But it seemed like Dante was going to respect him not giving full on exact details. "Well, I guess I'll see you in a bit." Shinoku said as he looked at Anya with a smile.
"Yeah, just don't keep me waiting." Anya smirked.
"Wouldn't dream of it." Shinoku smiled.
Anya giggled before starting to head to the girl's dorm after giving Shinoku a kiss. "Oh, and Shin..." She said as she stopped to look back at the arctic wolf.
"Hmm?" Shinoku asked.
"Thanks for not telling your coach about Otis…" Anya said with a somewhat sad smile. "I don't want to risk my father finding out about him..."
"Yeah…" Shinoku nodded. "Considering he'd likely take you away from Cherryton."
Anya's ears flattened. "He definitely would…" She admitted.
Shin walked over to Anya, embracing her in a hug. "I won't let that happen, and I definitely won't let Otis have his way either."
"Thanks Shin..." Anya said with a soft smile before kissing him, to which he reciprocated.
"See you in a bit." Shinoku said as he slowly let go of her. "See you in a bit."
"Yeah…" Anya smiled.
With one last kiss the two went their separate ways for the time being, Shinoku smiling with a wagging tail. Back at the gym Dante let out a sigh, he had known Shin a while, back when he was a prospect in middle school, so he could tell when the arctic wolf wasn't being fully honest, which was a rare occurrence of itself. Shaking his head he just locked up the gym and headed to the main building and ro the teacher's lounge,
"I need a drink." he muttered under his breath, 'I'm sure Shinoku has his reasons for not telling me what exactly happened, but that brief glance him and that tigress shared tells me it's not exactly something that might cause issues or the rest of the faculty would be more than concerned about.' the ocelot thought before letting out another sigh. 'Damn it, just what have you gotten yourself into?'
"Hey Dante how's it going?" Came a voice as Dante walked through the halls of the main building towards the teacher's lounge.
"Hmm, oh, hey Cyrus." Dante said as looked to see one of the teachers, a male dingo, that he was friends with. "Alright enough."
"You sure? From the looks of things you seemed pretty deep in thought." Cyrus commented
"Eh, just the usual strain of molding young minds ya know?" Dante remarked.
"I get ya, nobody said teaching would be easy, but boy is it rewarding when you know you prepared them for what's to come." Cyrus commented.
"Fair enough." Dante shrugged.
"Say, you heading to the teacher's lounge?" Cyrus asked.
"Yeah, why?" Dante replied.
"It's just that you usually don't is all." Cyrus remarked.
"Yeah, well, I figured I'd get a quick drink before heading out." Dante stated. "I feel beat and a small cup of coffee would help keep me perked up."
"I hear you on that." Cyrus chuckled. "Well just a bit of a heads up, Akila is in there."
Dante blinked. "Akila?" He asked.
Cyrus chuckled."I keep forgetting you don't familiarize yourself with the rest of the faculty too much. She's a Gazelle, teaches chemistry."
"Okay...but why the heads up?" Dante asked curiously.
"Well...I'll just let you see for yourself." Cyrus said with a slight smirk.
Dante narrowed his eyes at the dingo. "Cyrus…"
"Alright fine, she can be quite the tease, especially around us carnivores." Cyrus explained.
"Really, is that all?" Dante dismissively scoffed.
"Well...there is this look in her eyes that seems to be a normal thing for her." Cyrus commented. "Kind of...seductive ya know?" He added.
"Still don't see why I'd need a heads up for that." Dante said with a shrug.
Cyrus shrugged. "Just so you're not taken completely off guard if she teases you? Honestly some of us think she has a thing for carnivores."
"Really?" Dante asked
"Yeah." Cyrus nodded. "Though that's just a guess."
"Well whether she is or not is none of our business until she wants to say so." Dante remarked.
"Fair enough, Anyway, I'm heading out, see ya around Dante." Cyrus bid farewell.
"Later Cyrus." Dante said as he bid Cyrus goodbye.
Dante turned and continued on his way to the teacher's lounge after waving goodbye to Cyrus. He was still rather curious as to why his friend would give him a heads up about the chemistry teacher though, he hadn't really shown any interest in pursuing any potential relationships after all. Not that he wasn't interested in the idea, far from it. He was just a bit too busy and more than willing to wait til he had found the right animal he had a strong enough interest in. After all, if anything was worth doing, it had to be with everything one had in his opinion, no half assing it or room for doubt.
There's also the fact that Cyrus could just be having some fun with him. Sure he only visited the teachers lounge sporadically, but he knew enough of the other faculty that they were all on good terms, even if he hadn't seen or met the chemistry teacher yet. If Cyrus was having fun with him she was likely not a gazelle or even as playful as he let on. Hell, she might not even be all that much to look at, not that it would matter. As he got to the lounge he opened the door and walked in, only to stop in his tracks as he saw the aforementioned Akila sitting at a table seemingly working on her lap top. She was indeed a gazelle, slender and with a curvaceous beauty that left the ocelot somewhat stunned.
She seemed almost anachronistic to the school's environment, seemingly better suited for a runway or anywhere other than the academy. Hell, what did the students think of her? Dante's train of thought was severed however as he noticed the gazelle look up from her lap top and offer him a smile, those half lided light green eyes of hers settling on him, causing him to seem almost completely off guard as he blinked.
"Oh, hello there, if you're looking for the infirmary, it's down the hall." The gazelle said with a smirk, having noticed the Ocelot's stunned look, even her voice was almost too much.
Dante subtly shook his head, "Funny." he countered. "You must be Akila, I've heard about you."
The gazzelle arched an eyebrow as she looked at him rather observantly. "You'd be right, but I'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage..."
"Dante." Dante introduced himself.
"Dante, I don't think I've seen you around." Akila remarked.
"Not surprising, I don't go to the teacher's lounge too often." Danteclarified as he moved to the coffee pot nearby and poured himself some coffee, "I'm mostly in the gym for a fair chunk of the day."
"Ah, so you teach gym." Akila's eyes stayed on the ocelot as he moved, studying him.
"That, and I'm head of the boxing club." Dante said as he took a sip of the coffee, looking back at Akila. "I tell ya, it's rough teaching, but rewarding. Which is funny considering I didn't ever plan on being a teacher."
"Oh?" Akila asked curiously as she offered the seat next to her, to which Dante obliged.
"Yeah, used to be a boxer, had dreams of making it big till an injury prevented me from attending an important match." Dante explained. "By the time it healed it would be too long a wait for my next chance and then Gon offered me a spot as a gym teacher here."
"You know the principle well?" Akila asked.
"Somewhat yeah, we're good acquaintances." Dante replied.
"Must be quite the teacher for him to offer you the job personally." Akila mused.
Dante shrugged. "You can say that, I definitely don't let troublemakers or smart asses get away with any of their crap."
Akila smirked, "Same here, if they think I won't give them back what they give, they're in for a rude surprise."
Dante chuckled. "Give the little bastards as good as you get and then some. But the good ones, the ones that try their hardest, those are what make this job worth while."
"Agreed, though if we're sharing pasts, teaching wasn't my first pick either." Akila explained, her eyes still focused on Dante.
Dante could swear he saw a slight interest in her eyes, an almost demanding of attention to them that was quite captivating and kept his focus on her. "Oh?" He asked.
Akila nodded. "In truth, when I went here I had dreams of becoming the beastar. But, as you can see, that didn't really pan out."
Dante nodded. "Life has a tendency to do that, but all we can do is make the best of it. Though I'm sure you would have made a fine beastar, seem to have the right attitude for it at least." he said with a slight friendly smile.
Akila smiled back. "Thanks, that's nice of you to say."
"Don't mention it." Dante said before sipping more of his coffee.
"So, if you don't come to the teacher's lounge too often, what made you do so today?" Akila asked. "If you don't mind me asking."
"Needed a slight drink to calm the mind." Dante said simply. "I think one of my top students and boxing club member might have gotten himself into a risky situation."
"Oh, have you talked to him about it or do you think it's something the principle should know?" Akila inquired.
"He's a good kid, in fact I'd say he'd easily make one of the best candidates for beastar." Dante explained. "We have a good report so I don't feel right pushing him or going to the principle yet because he's finally coming out of his shell when it comes to relationships and I don't have enough of a hunch to think he can't handle it." He added.
"I see..do you think he's gotten into a bad relationship?" Akila asked.
Dante scoffed. "Hardly, she seems like a good sort. I think he might just have gotten into a very complex and possibly dangerous situation, judging by the look she gave him when I asked for him to explain how he finally talked to her."
"So likely an ex then." Akila mused.
Dante shrugged a bit. "Possibly, or someone else who might have been interested to an unhealthy degree." He mused. "But like I said, I trust him to take care of himself and come to me if he really needs help."
"Must be one hell of a student for you to trust him that much." Akila remarked.
"Trust me, there are things about him that would make me more concerned for the other guy." Dante chuckled before downing the rest of his coffee. "Anyway, I better get going, don't want to keep you from what you were doing and plus I would like to enjoy the comforts of home a bit before having to sleep." He added as he got up to leave. "It was nice meeting you Akila."
"Same here." Akila said with a smile before blinking, "Oh, one more question." she said, causing Dante to look back at her.
"Yes?" Dante asked.
"How did you hear about me, all good I hope?" Akila inquired.
"Oh, from a friend on the way here. I will say though that what he told me doesn't do you justice. You're quite the woman." Dante explained.
Akila blinked, seemingly fighting a blush. "Thank you."
"No problem, if you want to maybe get a drink sometime and swap stories to unwind, I'd be happy to do so." Dante offered.
"I'll keep that in mind…" Akila smiled. "Though it might help if we exchange numbers sense you don't swing by too often."
"Oh, right." Dante said before walking back over and giving her his number. "There you go."
"Thanks, and here's mine." Akila said before telling him her number. "See you around then Dante." She said, still smiling.
"See you around." Dante said as he left the lounge, only to blink as he realized he had just offered to get drinks with the gazelle. He wasn't even thinking when he said it. 'Well shit...' He thought to himself. 'she is nice though, getting drinks with her wouldn't be unwanted.' He continued to thunk. They did seem to have somewhat similar ideas on how to treat students and she did seem almost too focused on him to a degree.
Perhaps what Cyrus said about her being interested in carnivores was right and that's why she was so keen on their conversation. 'Damn it Dante, not now, there's too much going on.' He thought, only to sigh. 'Still, she is attractive…and it was nice to talk to her. Ah what the hell, no harm in getting drinks sometime.'
With that Dante headed to the exit and the parking lot, his mind once more turning to the last few minutes and the potential conflict Shinoku might have gotten in. 'I hope you know what you're doing kid, and that my trust in you handling it isn't misplaced, whatever it is.'