FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

My part-time work for the Midoriya Group started today. Tappei-san was busy attending to other matters, so I was left to Tetsu-san's care. His full name was Tetsuya Inoue, a thirty-six-year-old fox whose strong yet rounded build showed his age and years of experience. Like Tatsu-nii and Tappei-san's work clothes, he wore the trademark open-button blue vest and the brown pants, except he had a pair of round-lensed glasses and a bandanna that was tied fundoshi-style on his forehead. While his slit-shaped eyes didn't show much of his emotions, his eyebrows and lip movements did the showing instead, the fox currently happy judging by the smile and slightly raised brows.

So, Tetsu-san showed me the various stations of the workplace. On one, I saw Akira sawing some wood, some other large pieces already arranged on the ground. Chuukichi-kun, on the other hand, was whittling a block if it into some sort of curved pattern, probably for ornamentation. As for Tatsu-nii, he was examining a chair that was brought there today for repairs. After the brief tour and a chat about Tetsu-san's experiences, he gave me my first job: move things around and put them in order. Unused tools were to be returned to the shelves, and I was also made to fetch for whatever it was that they needed, be it a hammer or a screwdriver.

I spent the rest of my work day shuffling back and forth, either fetching tools or hauling lumber back to storage. Nobody said that doing manual labor was easy, but on the plus side my muscles were getting a workout from all the heavy lifting. Though I doubt I would grow to be as big as Tatsu-nii. When noontime came, we finally had a break.

"It's your first day and you're already good at it," Tetsu-san said. "Good work, Hiroyuki-kun."

"I'm only moving stuff around so it's not much compared to what you guys do," I said. "I need to work even harder."

Chuukichi-kun joined our conversation. "If Merciful Tetsu-san already said it, then there's no mistaking it. Nothing less from a veteran."

Tetsu-san frowned. "I'm not at that level yet. Even after all the time I have spent here, I still get scolded by the boss many times."

I stretched out my sweaty shirt. "But Tetsu-san, you already know a lot about carpentry, don't you?"

The old fox adjusted his glasses and smiled. "I only know how to do the basics. Compared to the boss, my experience is very little."

"Saying things like that only makes ya' look more refined," the mouse said with a smile.

Tatsu-nii stood behind Tetsu-san. "Craftsmen need to see how other people work and experience different places. It's how we improve our skills."

"So that means you'll also leave the village someday." I sighed. "You're breaking my heart already, Tatsu-nii."

The dragon crossed his arms. "Apprenticeships don't last forever, Hiroyuki. And I'm already done with my travelling. All that's left is with the old man."

Tetsu-san looked at me from head to toe. "Hiroyuki-kun, you seem quite strong. I'm sure you'll become a fine craftsman if you wanted to study with the group."

"I-It's alright!" I shook my head, feeling my face heat up a bit. "Besides, even Chuukichi-kun is stronger than me."

Chuukichi-kun blushed. "Really, Aniki?"

"Even if you do choose to be an apprentice here, I doubt you'll understand anything," Akira said with a shrug.

"If it's Aniki, I believe ya' can do it!"

But when we heard heavy footsteps coming from the house, Tatsu-nii ran back to his station. The sliding door that led to the workplace opened and out came Tappei-san, ordering everyone to get back to work and asking for my assistance. He also called for Tatsu-nii to join us. Compared to how he was when we met last time, he was scarier during work hours.

On the living room table, there were various pieces of paper scattered about, some mostly being receipts. Our task was to calculate the profits for this month and with that, Tappei-san left us to our own devices. Tatsu-nii gave me the values and I plugged every single one into my phone's calculator, revealing the profits to be negative when we were done. Either I miscalculated at an earlier point, or something was up with the group's finances.

"Maybe this isn't wrong," Tatsu-nii said. "If Pa sees good lumber, he gets it right then and there. Money wasn't in his concerns."

"But don't you only need to buy as much as you need?" I asked. "Do you really need that much on hand?"

The dragon then explained a bit about their work. The wood that they used was different for every project. For thick posts needed for a ceiling, a beam was needed but there weren't much trees big enough in Japan for things of that size. And before it could even be used, it had to be dried. Apparently, there were cases where planks have been stored dry for a century. So whenever someone would cut a tree down, with proper treatment the timber could be durable for centuries. He also said that there was wood in the place that was about three centuries old. While explaining all these, he had an air of enthusiasm on him. Guess he really did take pride in his work.

"Craftsmen today can't just think about the 'now', they've gotta think hundreds of years from now," Tatsu-nii said. "But even so, we're still losing money because he buys wood without thinking. Just look at the costs."

"Well, you're right about that."

"It'd be fine if it was just carpentry, but he also has to deal with making furniture without nails. His obsession's kinda making things hard. We get pressed into taking side jobs."

I was about to say something, but seeing an angry Tappei-san above and behind Tatsu-nii forced me to keep silent.

"Are you done with your explanation?" the older dragon said, swinging an extra-large fist towards his son's head. "If you're done with your babbling then get back out there."

"Oww..." Tatsu-nii said, rubbing his head.

Tappei-san turned to me. "Hiroyuki, if you're done, just clean all this up and you're done for the day."

Without hesitation I nodded, thinking not to enrage him any further. I was so focused on him, I almost didn't notice Yukino-san approaching the area, the female dragon standing behind her husband and giving him a firm chop on the head.

Known as the "Iron Lady" of the Midoriya household, she was two years younger than Tappei-san, but she was taller and just as strong as her husband was. Despite her strength, she was just as gentle and caring as any mother, and the grace of one too. I could say that Tatsu-nii took a lot from her, from the hair down to the personality.

The old dragon turned to her. "What was that for?!"

"What did I tell you about your temper?" Yukino-san said, arms crossed. "And I catch you hitting him like that again, a chop's the least of your worries."

"But he started it!"

"Tatsu's right you know. You're spending way too much on wood. I've been keeping track, and you're lucky the amount's not much."

Before the argument could escalate, I cleaned the table as quick as I could and excused myself out. Their husband-and-wife brawls, while it rarely ever happened, were one of the most intense our little-kid eyes have ever seen back then. And Yukino-san always came out on top, much to Tappei-san's dismay. To be fair, Yukino-san did say she practiced martial arts back in her youth.

With work done around 1:00 PM, Tatsu-nii and I had some iced tea together. He asked if I was free for the time being and when I said yes, he had me come with him to someplace, me almost spitting my tea when he said that we were gonna use the light truck. Nevertheless, I agreed to it and we drove up a mountain for about thirty minutes, stopping at a wide open field.

It was quite the nice place, but Tatsu-nii said that there was more, pulling my hand as he led me to a cave across the field. We went in, and I had to feel the direction we were supposed to go since there were no lights. Only when the dragon switched a lantern on was where I finally saw my surroundings. The inside of the cave had a lot of space, almost like a secret base of some sort. Then on one side, I saw a chair and a table with blueprints laid on it. Around the area, there were random parts and bits scattered about. Further inside was an opening, and in front of it was a huge bundle covered with a sheet. The dragon pulled the sheet off and struck the object underneath with a light tap.

What I saw before me was something I couldn't believe: a red aircraft with a propeller, like the ones in the old films. It had two wings with one atop another. It also had some holes here and there. And while it was partially painted, a bright red would suit it well in my opinion.

"Can it fly?" I asked.

"Not yet," Tatsu-nii said. "It's still in the middle of repairs. But still..."

"Yeah?"

"This Summer, I wanna complete and ride this thing. If it works, I'll give you a ride. Hell, I'll give everyone a ride!"

I let out a nervous chuckle. "As long as you don't drive it like how you drive a car. But, I'd love to have a ride in it when it finally works. Hey, maybe I can help you with repairs if you need it."

"You sure about that? You don't have to if you have other plans."

"I can work something out. Besides, we can keep this one our little secret until flight day," I said with a wink.

And then Tatsu-nii picked me up into a hug, saying "Thank you!" in rapid succession. Done with our business there, we headed back home. As I left the Midoriya residence, I remembered that I still had to pick up the photos of that little "test of courage" we had from Kounosuke.