FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

With no particular thing to do today, I took a walk around town as I made my way towards the river this morning to cool off. Last night, I told Grandpa about the broken fan and as luck would have it, they had a spare. It was embarrassing to tell them about it, but they said that it was better that I told them than not. To repay them for the kindness, I promised to take it to Kounosuke's shop as soon as I could. Walking on the road as I saw the green rice paddies, I recalled the events of yesterday when Tora came to pick me up at the bus station. But then I was awakened from my daydreaming when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Hearing the voice, I made no mistake that it was Juuichi-san.

"Nishimura, are you okay?" the bear said.

I turned around. "Juuichi-san, don't scare me like that!"

He sighed. "If you saw your friend looking up the sky in a daze, wouldn't you do the same?"

"I-I guess so..."

Juuichi-san thought that I had gotten heat stroke, hence his reaction. Feeling guilty about it, I thought that maybe the road wasn't the best place to have a moment of recollection. When he asked me about why I was outside, I told him that I was on my way to the river, but walked around town for a bit to get reacquainted with the place. Some places like the candy store were still in my head, but others have completely escaped me. As for him, he was on his way to Kazenari for another training session, the bear going through the route of his morning jog. Knowing him, his regimen would be pretty strict.

"Will you be participating in a competition this summer?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's hosted by the Kazenari Martial Arts League. For us who live here, it's a regular event."

"Really? Then, is it alright to come and cheer for you on that day?"

The bear crossed his arms. "I don't mind. But that means I'll really have to give it my all."

Hearing such a thing from him, I couldn't help letting out a chuckle. "Sorry, sorry. But seriously, hoping that you get gold. I know you can!"

Juuichi-san frowned, crossing his arms and looking down.

"I'm not really that strong though," he said. "There are stronger guys than me out there."

"Hey, come on! If you could throw Tatsu-nii like it was nothing, who could be stronger than you?"

Juuichi-san's scowl turned into a slight smile. "I guess so. Thanks, Nishimura."

I smiled. "No problem. Well, don't let me get in the way of your training. I'll see you soon, Juuichi-san."

"You too."

"Good luck with training!"

Waving each other goodbye, Juuichi-san turned his large back towards me as he continued his jog. Meanwhile, I went on with my walk to the river, humming a little ditty to take my mind off the sweltering heat. After minutes of looking at worn-out signs and relying on memory, I finally made it. Without a care in the world, I took off my sandals and sat on the rocky riverside, soaking my feet in the cool flowing water and splashed my face with a handful of it. The area was so tranquil: the water flowed freely, trees were rustling in the wind, and the birds of the sky chirped their hearts out. It was like a scene straight out of an old ink painting.

Then after a while, I heard someone calling out to me. Looking towards the source, it was Shun-kun with Kouya accompanying him. Seemed like they came here to cool off too. Great minds think alike, they said. But if that were the case, then everybody would be cooling off in the river and no business would be happening in the village today.

"But today, we just had the highest temperature record for the summer," Shun-kun said. "If I remember, it was-"

I covered his mouth. "Ah! I don't wanna hear it!"

Kouya gestured. "Um, Hiroyuki..."

"What?"

"With the way you're holding him, he won't be able to breathe."

Seeing that my hands were wrapped around the little wolf's muzzle, I let him go and apologized for it. Kouya pretty much chastised me for going overboard on it, the husky trying to calm down an upset Shun-kun. Feeling regretful of it while breaking out in a cold sweat, I got my feet out of the water and knelt on the ground, bowing down and apologizing. The two stared at me with puzzled looks on their faces, the husky telling me that it was too much. Shun-kun - finally back to his peppy mood - let it slide and suggested that we all continue cooling off in the water.

With that behind us, we continued soaking our feet into the cool river water. Moments later, Kouya went into the water, the husky floating on his backside with a refreshed smile on his face. Shun-kun and I looked at each other and with smiles on our faces, followed suit. Good thing all the clothes I wore today were light or it would take them a while to dry up. Looking at the sky, it seemed so vast here compared to the city, where the concrete megaliths made it so narrow.

"Man, this is great!"

Kouya chuckled. "Can't get this where you live huh, city-boy?"

"Nope."

"Feels awesome, right?"

Both me and Shun-kun nodded.

"Hey, remember the time Shun-kun got pulled by the river?" Kouya said, sitting up.

"It's a bit fuzzy. I think I was around four or five that time," Shun-kun said.

"Let me think," I said, curling my brows as I tried to remember the event. "Ah! I remember!"

That day, Torahiko made the suggestion that we play in the river to beat the heat. While such a thing was sudden, we agreed anyway because of the unbearable heat. Even Juuichi-san didn't hesitate nodding to the idea. We went back to our homes and got our swimsuits, agreeing to meet at the river. Once there, Tora jumped in first and all of us followed, us letting out sighs of relief as we made contact with the water. We swam, competed as to who could find the weirdest-looking rock, and tried to see who could hold their breath the longest underwater. The only one that didn't go in the water though was Shin-kun, the cat preferring to just soak his feet. He had a phobia when it came to water so we just let him be, talking to him occasionally when we got the chance.

Later, we ran out of things to play and Kounosuke suggested going to the middle of the river. We were hesitant as that was the deepest part of the river, where one misstep could have one get swept by the current. I suggested the we shouldn't and many agreed, but Tora wanted to do it. Even if I didn't want to go, I was still interested in how it was like there. Our curiosity grew and eventually took over, each one of us going towards the middle part. Bit by bit, we sank into the water as the current grew stronger until we needed to use force to stay in one spot.

And then, it happened.

Shun-kun got caught by the current. We needed to do something, but all our minds went blank and didn't know what to do. In panic, we yelled out to the little wolf and eventually, some adults caught our attention and rescued him. Needless to say, we got scolded by our parents after that.

"Shun-kun couldn't swim back then," Kouya said.

I crossed my arms. "Yeah, and after that, no one suggested playing in the river."

"But I know how to swim now," Shun-kun said. "So it's okay if we tried it again."

Kouya frowned "Nah. It won't be fun anymore. We're bigger now, so the current won't be able to catch us."

With our reminiscing done, we went and played with each other in the water, me and Shun-kun teaming up against Kouya and splashing water on the husky. Kouya wasn't one to lose and retaliated with even bigger splashes of water at us. It was fun and all, but as it was close to noon, we had to get out of the water and part ways. Kouya and Shun-kun still had things to do, and I still had to visit Tatsu-nii. Before I could do that, I needed to change out of my wet clothes.