FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

My time with Tora and Tatsu-nii at the shrine lasted a tad bit too long and I ended up skipping lunchtime. To alleviate my hunger, I bought some curry bread from a nearby family-run mini-grocery. Stores like these were a lifesaver for us back in elementary school when we needed anything, from cheap quick bites to school supplies. One could say they were the ancestors of the modern convenience store. They may not be as fancy as their modern counterparts, but even they have their own nostalgic charm for many people, me included.

Walking along the dirt roads again that blazing afternoon, there was Kyouji-san and Soutarou-kun coming from the other side, the two carrying gym bags. Judging by the looks of their uniforms, it looked like they just finished soccer training. Speaking of the lion, me and Soutarou-kun never did finish our conversation back at the party.

"Hey! Kyouji-san! Soutarou-kun!" I shouted, going to them.

Kyouji-san bowed his head. "Ah, Hiroyuki. Good afternoon."

"Nishimura-san, afternoon to 'ya!" Soutarou-kun said, following his senior.

"How was training?"

"It went great. Little Tarou here is is getting better each day, if I say so myself."

The young lion blushed. "Senpai..."

"So, where are you headed now?"

The Labrador switched the sling of his bag to his other shoulder. "We're heading to the curry place back in town. Wanna join us for lunch?"

I raised my brows. "Eh?"

"The food's good and really cheap!" Soutarou-kun said. "Plus, we can continue the talk there."

Kyouji-san smiled. "If you want, I can treat you this time."

With glee, I grabbed Kyouji-san's hands. "Thank you so much!"

The curry place was a quaint little shack. Giant metal fans were the cooling system of the place, the scent of curry being carried by the air they blew. The chairs and tables were wooden, and there was a boom box at the far end of the dining are that was playing the typical summer tunes. If anything, the place was a rural as it could get. Despite that, it had quite the number of customers when we entered it. Taking our seats, we were welcomed by a young female rabbit as she offered us the menu.

"If you're ready to order, please let me know," the waitress said with a smile.

"One beef curry rice for me please," Kyouji-san said. "Make it mild."

"Tonkatsu curry rice for me," Soutarou-kun said. "And I want it spicy."

The waitress looked at me. "How about you, sir?"

"Eh... I think I'll have... the seafood curry, yeah. Mild, please."

"Okay, so that's one beef curry mild, one tonkatsu curry spicy, and one seafood curry mild. Would there be any more?"

The three of us looked at each other and agreed that that was all we were getting. The waitress thanked us and and took our order to the kitchen, her coming back to serve us with water before going on her way with the other customers. With Kyouji urging us, me and Soutarou-kun started our talk.

"So, when did you first move here?" I asked.

"Er, about three years ago," the young lion said.

"Oh? So you just when you were starting middle school?"

"That's right!"

"How did you and Kyouji-san meet, by the way?"

Soutarou-kun rubbed the back of his head. "Well, it's kinda embarrassing..."

Kyouji-san leaned closer. "I saw him playing alone in Kazenari High's soccer field back when I was a freshman."

The lion turned away. "I-I only went there back then because I heard the field there's great..."

"It is, isn't it?" The Labrador said, petting his junior's head.

"Yeah..."

I took a sip of water. "Then what happened when you saw him?"

"Well, I couldn't leave him alone so I went and played with him."

"Senpai was a great player then!" Soutarou-kun said with a big smile. "And he still is now!"

I smiled. "You really like your senpai, don't you, Tarou-kun?"

The lion laughed. "How about you, Nishimura-san? Is it true that one time, you did your homework in class without the teacher noticing?"

"K-Kyouji-san?!"

The Labrador bowed his head. "Sorry, Hiroyuki. But at least things are even now, right? Since you copied from me that time."

I crossed my arms. "I guess so. But, has Kyouji-san told you anything else about me?"

"Well, I told him about the time you got everyone working together to take care of a bird with a broken wing."

Ah, that story. Me and Tora were paying under a tree that day when we saw a bird fall down. Worried about it, we took it to the school clinic. Luckily, the nurse had some experience with things like that and managed to put a splint on the little thing. Of course, it still needed to recuperate so, persuading Botan-sensei to agree, our assignment for the week was to take turns caring for the bird until it was well again. Everyone cooperated, and we managed to get passing grades for what we did.

I wanted to tell more stories about me and my other adventures to the young lion, but we had to come to a stop as our orders had arrived. Not really much of a problem, as we can meet any day of the month while I was still around. Without further ado, we said grace before grabbing our spoons and finally digging into our food.