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Mr. Kelt's PoV

The faculty room is as mundane as ever. The same old teachers you see everyday going in and out through the day, the same plants that I move and water everyday so they won't wither, the same old paperwork that I have to file for each day. The only thing that has changed are the students and the date. Even if you think these little shrubs help, it still doesn't make the whole room any more colorful than it is gray. Speaking of students and color, we have some peculiar ones this year.

There is that quaint and timid green Fox in my class. Rather jumpy, he is, getting startled as easily as a stray cat lightly tapped on the back. If I remember correctly, his name would be Rue Krantz. Charming name I must say, but a grim meaning behind it. Though I know the parents do not rue over his birth, but rather are overjoyed to have such a special child such as him. By special, I mean gifted with that mind of his.

Then we have the little Japanese Akita, Ken Aki, the son of the world renowned businesswoman in Japan, Minami Aki. Why she's making the pup live here instead of Japan, I know not. Why he's not into a more prestigious school, I also know not. What I do know is that he's here in this school and is well-built and smart, a silent balanced scale if there's something to describe him.

Finally, there is that black Husky. Ah yes, Riese Michael Fritz. To think that you'd actually be one of my students and to revive the club that had made this school to what it is today. Truly, I'm interested on what your plans are for this upcoming school year. Do you really have what it takes to put the club back to its former glory? Though if I didn't know you better, I'd say that you have your reasons in making this club.

I let out a long yawn as I stretch my arms, grunting a bit to release a bit of stress. I needn't worry about those, I have papers to file. "Life is cruel, Lindil," I sigh, grabbing my coffee mug and taking a sip from it. "Ah, that certainly hits the spot."

"Doing overtime, Lin?" a black Lynx with piercing gold eyes walks towards me. She's a fellow feline teacher, Felicia Lynxton, who is in her late-twenties. It would be rude to say her exact age, like how any females would react when asked. Though, it's more of I don't know her exact age. She's wearing the usual uniform for teachers, a black vest over a button-down long-sleeve polo and a short black pencil skirt. She's a rather busty feline, if I do say so myself, and quite attractive. Sadly, she's not my type.

"Aye, I'm just going to file some of these papers. I'll be finished in awhile," I say to her.

"Well, you shouldn't overwork yourself. We all need a rest after all these days of work," she says, grabbing a marker from my holder.

"I am also waiting for certain someone just in case, so I'm taking my time," I say.

"Is that so?" she says as she uncaps the marker and starts drawing on my face.

"Yes, it is a do-or-die situation for him."

"Oh, that sounds serious."

"Indeed. It's something to test him if he truly has what it takes."

"I see... and, done," she dabs the marker on my forehead and gets a small mirror from her pocket. "What do you think, is it good?" she asks.

"Do you always bring that in your pocket?" I ask, and she just giggles in response. Looking at my reflection in the mirror, it seems that she's drawn a circular-rimmed glasses on my face, some whiskers that extends from my muzzle to my cheeks, and a lightning-shape drawing on my forehead. I let out a chuckle and look back at her, "And who am I supposed to be?"

"What?!" she shouts suddenly, fumbling the marker she was holding. "Don't tell me you haven't read Harry Dogger!"

"... What?" I cock my head slightly with an unenthusiastic face.

"Ma~n, you're missing out a lot in your life, not reading such an amazing book series. And I thought you like to read," she crosses her arms and eyes me suspiciously but I just shrug it off.

"I'm not into fantasy novels. I'm more into poetic literature," I say bluntly.

"Bo~ring," she retorts immediately. "No wonder you're always so calm looking and down-to-earth. You're not letting your imagination flow," she caps the marker before putting it back to where it once was. "Try reading something fun for once."

"Oh, but I am having fun reading mystery and horror, especially with a dash of poetry mixed to it. Is there something wrong with that?" I ask with a raised brow. If there's anything I know about her, it's that she likes forcing things down others' throat.

"You could at least try. You're always stubborn when it comes to fantasy-related stuff," she says.

"It's just not my type of genre. Everyone has--"

"Their own preference, but that doesn't mean you can't try," she says before walking to the door. "I'll be off now, I'll see you tomorrow," she looks at me one last time with a blank expression before leaving. I let out a frustrated sigh.

"I told you it's not my... nevermind, I need to file these papers first," I mutter to myself and continue working on what I should be working on. I'm usually not the type to easily get frustrated, but that Lynx somehow manages to rub me the wrong way. It's not that I hate her, she's a fine person overall, but something about her just grates my ears. I honestly don't know what it is or how or when it started. And that's also the reason why I'm frustrated. Grr... this is frustrating.

Looking at the clock after finishing the unnecessarily frustrating work I needed to do, it's already five fifteen and the sun is already starting to set, giving the room a tint of orange hue. Though it won't be a while until the sun actually sets. I wonder what's keeping him so long? Was he not able to get the five required members? I guess that's that. It's such a shame.

As I reach for my bag, I notice a little bit of shaking and footsteps from outside. Who could be running amok at this time? Students should have gone home by now, and teachers wouldn't make such a big ruckus. Maybe it's some after-school activity by other clubs. The moment I grab my bag, the door slams open and I'm immediately greeted by a familiar face.

"Mister Kelt!" Riese Michael Fritz, the young black Husky, is in front of the door, panting and breathing heavily with one paw holding the door's frame to balance himself. Despite of this, he's smiling a wide smile that makes him look more excited than exhausted.

"Miste-- woah," something orange passes by the door, slipping past the Husky and making a screeching sound in the process. A second later, it fumbles back crawling with its legs being dragged before it stands beside the canine, also panting and breathing heavily, but smiling all the same. It's the orange Tabby Cat, Tabitha Melow. "Mister Kelt, we--" she says in between her short breaths.

"Geez, you two could've... at least waited.. for us... non-athletic Furs," someone says, interrupting Tabitha. That voice, though sounding more exhausted than usual, must be that blue Fox, Varu Foks. "We're not very good at running," he adds as he emerges from the side of the door and uses Riese and Tabitha's shoulder to balance himself. Complementary to his voice, he is completely worn out unlike the other two who are smiling happily.

"This could've been avoided if Riese hadn't been running around the campus to find a new recruit," Tabitha interjects in between her short breaths. "Fur's like a random teleporter, here once and gone the next. I wouldn't be surprised if he has some kind of teleporting device with him.

"Honestly, those sound really handy right now," Riese slowly straightens himself and fixes his goggles that's sitting on his forehead. I raise an eyebrow with suspicion. He must really like wearing that goggles for some reason.

"Yeah, but then you'd really be harder to find," Tabitha says to Riese with a smile while also straightening herself. "But nevermind that, the club, MISTER KELT!"

"No need to yell, Miss Melow," I gently say and she lets out a nervous chuckle. "So, since you're here, does that mean that you got your fifth member?" I ask with a straight face. I can see Riese's eyes sparkle as he slowly walks towards me.

Riese stands happily in front of me, his tail wagging excitedly, knowing what will happen next. I stand up from my seat and pick up the pieces of paper I left purposely on my desk. It's the five club application papers that I have readied since the first day. I show the papers to him and I can see him take a deep breath. At the corner of my eyes, I see two more Furs in the front door. The silver Akita, Ken Aki, and the green Fox, Rue Krantz. So they're the other members, huh? Quite an interesting group. This will be interesting. I focus myself at Riese again and give the papers a wave.

"I must say, you're a tad bit late," I sternly say and give him a cold gaze. "While I did say the deadline is by the end of the week, to ask this when the day is over," I let my eyes finish my sentence. Riese's smile turns upside-down, his tail down and ears drooped.

"But..." Riese says, struggling to find what to say. "I know that we just got here and well, uh, we just got a bit sidetracked from the, I mean, I was running around looking for and, well, you see, I'm sorry, but please, we'd really--" he continues to stammer but I stop him by poking the flustered Husky's forehead. I let out a hearty laugh afterwards and gave him a gentle lopsided smile. Riese lightly rubs the area I poked and looks at me, a bit confused and teary-eyed.

"It's already late, Riese. You lot should be going home now instead of staying here at school," I tell them, removing the harsh tone of my voice. "Don't worry, now that I know that there are five of you, there's no reason for the club to be disbanded. I'll hold on to these applications and you all just come visit me here on Monday. Is that good?"

I see Riese's eyes light up again as a tear roll down his cheeks. "Yeah! That's good!" Riese rubs his eyes and lets out a chuckle. I hear the others let out a sigh after what I said. They must have also been holding their breaths. These little children can't seem tell a not-really-serious serious tone, either that or my not-really-serious tone is too serious sounding. Either way, they seem happy.

"Now off with you, I'm just about to leave as well. It's already getting pretty late," I look out the window and see the sun is about to set. The trees are slowly silhouetting as the leaves rustle in the wind. It's the calm after the storm for them now that their worries are at ease. They should take a rest for now. "And I don't want this to be the reason why you all arrived to your homes so late."

"Alright. Well, we'll be off, Mister Kelt!" Riese waves goodbye and ushers the rest outside, smiling. They all happily chat as they leave the area, their voices slowly diminishing before finally fading away. I let out a sigh of relief and grab hold of my bag, again. I take a look at the room one last time.The dull colors will soon be brightened up. I'll be expecting great things from your club, Riese. I turn around and leave the room. As I leave, a strict-sounding voice calls out to me.

"Mister Kelt, a word," the voice says.

"Oh, hello Mimi," I greet the Fur with a smile.

The white Bunny gives me another cold stare and I let out a laugh. Milianne Hopping, a Bunny with fur comparable to that of white rice, hair as golden as newly cooked ramen dripping with soup, and eyes as red as fresh salmon ready to be cooked. Crap, I must be hungrier than I thought. The thought of food escaped my mind until now, and I could really go for some of those.

The Bunny lets out an exasperated sigh and looks at me sternly. Milianne has always been the strict kind, always following the rules and rarely thinking jokes are funny, at times taking jokes seriously that she is either made fun of or just complete silence. She is the student council president and on top of that, she's a part of the discipline committee, checking for troublemakers and correcting them. In other words, she's a party pooper.

"I told you not to call me that, haven't I? I find it childish and loathe just hearing someone call me that."

"Then what else do you want me to call you?" I chuckled as I lock the door to the faculty office. I always leave last and arrive first to school so I get to keep a spare key with me. It's convenient for both me and the teachers.

"Why not call me by my name, like every other teacher does?" she replies coldly.

"Ouch, Mimi, so you're saying that I am eccentric? Why, I'm flattered," I mockingly say back but she just grunts in response. Looks like she's fed up of my jokes. "Well Milianne, what is it?"

"Ugh, finally," I can see Milianne slightly slouch a bit, showing off her "other side" which is her home-y self and not the strict self at school. Her father and I know each other well, so it's not out of the ordinary that she'll slip a casual conversation with me a few times at school, though they are more accidental than intentional. "Uh, I mean, ahem," she straightens herself then clears her throat, going back to her school self. "I've been meaning to ask you. Why would you help someone like him make a new club? He looks and acts like a nuisance wherever you look at. The other day, he was recruiting during lunch break and interrupting the students eating in peace. Not only that, but he always runs in the hallways and before I can even say something, he'd be out of my sight fast. I also feel that the club he is making is redundant and is not needed in our school. It'd be better if that new club were to not--"

"I don't want to be rude, but the High Flyers club isn't new, Milianne," I cut her off and the bunny's eyes widen in shock before turning into a puzzled look.

"That is something I have not heard of. Would you mind telling the details as we walk?" Milianne says, returning back to her calm fursona as he starts walking. I follow beside her as a smile creeps up on my face, reminiscing the old days.

"It was five years ago, when I was still new to the school. A young Husky barged into the faculty office on the first day of school, asking me to be the club facilitator. That young Husky was, let's say, unique. Despite his over-the-top demeanors and misbehaviors, he would attain the top grade in the class. He was blunt, straight to the point, and at times can be inconsiderate, but he'd always make up for it. Normally, any teacher would refuse, especially with a 'rude attitude' like barging in the faculty office, but I did make a promise to him when he helped me once. That promise was that he'd help me with one thing no matter what. And it was then when he wanted that promise to be kept. Hesitantly, I nodded in response while the other teachers retorted. He then said his thanks and dashed away, leaving the room."

"Hmm... I see," Milianne is looking down on the ground with her forefinger and thumb on different sides of her cheeks. That's her usual thinking position that I have noticed ever since. "So he's like that certain Husky."

I let out a faint smile. "Perhaps, yes. After that, I was scolded by the teachers in the room. With me being new, I'm an easy target to teacher's, let's say, 'stress nagging' for lack of a better term. Honestly, I thought the timing couldn't have gotten an worse."

"Couldn't you have just declined afterwards? It may have been a promise, but if it takes a toll on you, you shouldn't keep it," Milianne says, still deep in thought with the story. She was right, I could've broken the promise then and there, but it's not that simple.

"It was a promise I'd never break due to reasons. And everytime I saw his determined eyes, I couldn't help but not get in the way. At that point, I accepted what is to happen to me, but that doesn't mean that I do not harbor any resentment towards him. I was pathetic, no, worse than that, I was trash. To think I'd think ill of someone I deem a friend. I... was lost back then. I was having trouble getting some money since I was just starting out, the teachers weren't kind to me because they were said to be busy dealing with the club I was administering alongside their school work, I had no time for myself. It was a living hell for me."

"That seems rough, and to think that you're rather lax now, it's like you're a different person," Milianne says. I stop at the school gate and give Milianne a smile. "Hmm, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," I let out a laugh. The Bunny gives me a confused look. "Haha, it's just that... I changed because of them."

"Them? The club?"

"Yes, the club. The club was made at the end of the first week of school, originally being a club of sky lovers who does everything with their one-hundred percent. You wouldn't think that such a weird club could change a lot of Furs, but they did. And I was one of those Furs," I look up at the sky, remembering the days back then. "Yes, the High Flyers Club. It consisted of five members, each one as different as the other, and they helped other students with their problems. They would never choose who to help, freshmen, senior, young, old, they club would help if others need it. They would even help this poor excuse of a Fur here," I rub the back of my neck, embarrassed at the memory.

"They do tend to make a lot of ruckus while helping out their fellow students. There was one time when they brought a speaker and microphone to cheer for this one students, which of course made the teachers retaliate as it somewhat disrupts the event. They were always able to get away with it, and by the end of the day the teachers would get tired and just leave it at that. They technically didn't violate any rules and there was no reason to bring this to the principal since... reasons," I smirk at the thought. Oh how humorous that was back then.

"And what are those reasons, pray tell?" Milianne asks.

"You'll know soon enough," I tell her. "Anyways, it's getting late. You should be going home."

The Bunny shakes her head and looks at me, "No, I want to hear the rest of the story. We can talk as we walk. Our houses are only a few blocks away, after all."

I let out a hearty laugh and smile, "Well, this is the first time someone is attentively listening to my stories."

"Get on with it," she impatiently says.

"Alright, alright. Anyways, on the second year of their club, your sister, who was currently the student council presidents and on her third year, changed. Of course, she was still strict and would not tolerate any rule breakers, but she was more expressive then, am I correct?" I pause to look at Milianne and see that she looks worried.

"Yes, she did change," Milianne twirls a strand of hair hanging on the side of her head, "but... was it for the best? I didn't know why she changed back then..." she mutters, looking down to cover her face. Judging from her voice, she seems to be conflicted. I shouldn't ask about it. Seems like it's an issue she'll have to deal with herself.

"It may not be the best, nor was it what she wanted, but I believe it was what she needed. I saw her smile one day before my class started, and believe me that she was glowing. It was different from her usual smile back then, which was more forced. This time, it was genuine, it was bright. When she was different smiling like that, she was more beautiful," I look at Milianne. She and her sister look alike when you only at their hair, that's why she braided a part of her hair on her right to distinguish them.

"Haha, you're really a pedo, sir," Milianne tries to joke, but I can tell that she's not doing very well when talking about her sister.

"She was a beauty nonetheless. Continuing on, the second years have become third years, seniors, their final year in this school. The Husky was nominated as a student council president due to his popularity with the students. Almost every student wanted him to be president, but the teachers still think he's not worthy. Despite the students and teachers' disagreement, he was still nominated. When it was his turn to speak, however, he bluntly said that he didn't want any part of it and that, if he was to be elected, he would resign immediately. This made the students feel conflicted, but they decided that the title was to be given to another."

"That's rather surprising."

"It is, isn't it? But I was actually glad he wasn't elected. The teachers would've bashed me more and I don't think I could've handled all the stress. I've been trying to appease the other teachers as a way of saying I'm sorry and after the three years of this, I got tired of the bull that I had to deal with. In fact, I had times when I thought of suicide and how great it would be to just leave all these problems behind," I pause for a moment and notice that Milianne is looking at me, worried. "No need to fret, I have no thoughts of killing myself now because of him."

"The Husky?" Milianne asks. I nod in response.

"Mhm, and it was because of him that I'm the me now. One day, he just barged into the faculty office with a glare that even sent chills up my spine. The smiling Husky that I knew was surrounded with an aura of anger that it scared the living daylights out of me. His eyes never met mine, but his eyes certainly met with the other teachers. He then said to apologize. Apologize to me for all the things the other teachers did to me. I didn't know what to do, so I tried telling him that I was okay despite tears already flowings from my eyes. He then replied to me with something quite intriguing. 'Stop wearing that mask of yours. If you keep wearing that, you won't remember who you really are. Also, please bear with us a bit more, just one more year.' Those were his words before he slammed the door shut, but before the door closed, I could've sworn I saw a smile on his face.

"We were all shocked, stumped, we didn't know what just happened. One students just came barging in and told the other teachers to apologize to me. It was... something that no one thought a student would actually do. After that, some of the teachers apologized to me, days go by and they seem to be more friendly with me. It's like he changed all the teachers in one go, something that I thought no one was capable of doing so. Just a few words and we all changed because of him. They seem to have been amazed at the student's ability to stand for others that they accepted him. It seems farfetched, I know, but it's not impossible. After that, I lived my life as a teacher happily, even hanging out with other teachers I had bad terms with.

"I looked around myself, and as the days went by, I noticed how colorful the school has become. It was more lively, more joyful, and to think that it's because of that one club. They have done so many great things that I couldn't count them all. He changed a lot of people, including your sister, and me," I say as we stop at an intersection. We're almost near our houses by now.

"That club... is something," Milianne seems to be at a loss of words. I let out a laugh and pat her head, ruffling her hair a bit.

"He approached me one day with a smile, saying that because of me, the club was made. He thanked me afterwards. I asked him why he'd help someone like me before he could run off, and his reply was this: 'I want to make the world a better place, that everyone would give their one-hundred percent as well. I need everyone's cooperation for that, so let's make the world a better place, okay?'. I stood there as he left with a smile. He was really something special. After graduation however, the club was disbanded because it never accepted any new members nor did that Husky want it to have any new members. The stories about the club slowly faded in a year, and almost no talk about it until now."

"That Husky," we stop in front of Milianne's house and she still seems to be deep in though, "he is his younger brother, then?" I nod in reply. "I see. That makes sense. But I do have one question. A club can be made at anytime as long as it's agreed by a teacher who will be its administrator. There is no reason to give him a time limit of one week, so why did you do it?"

"That's a good question, but how'd you know that I gave them a week?" I ask. I never told her about it, unless she has been eavesdropping.

"Will you believe that he said that while recruiting?" she replies bluntly. I honestly can see that happening. I let out a laugh at the thought.

"As for your question. How long did the original High Flyers Club take to make it?" I ask her. She thinks it over and I think she knows the answer by now.

"You're saying that he wanted to make the club like his older brother did? Within one week?" I nod in reply.

"Maybe. When you think about it, he could've said that he could make the club anytime, contradicting what I said with the rules of the school, but he just went with it and accepted the one week time limit."

"That's true. He must have some kind of reason, then," she continues to be with her thought.

"Possibly. I should be going now, see you Mimi," I wave goodbye at the thinking Bunny and proceed to walk away.

"See you, Lili," she says it so casually before going inside her home. That's the Mimi I know.

I look up at the sky and see a few stars already appearing in the night sky. The area is already turning dark, but lamp posts are also starting to turn on to illuminate the area. The moon still shines radiantly amidst the light of the town, and it never ceases to amaze me with its luminous beauty along with the speckles of twinkling light all around. Thinking about it, I was finally able to see the beauty of the night sky when that Husky barged in that day and telling the others to apologize to me. The only time you can see the beauty in other things is when you stop looking at the troubles in yourself.

*growl*

...

That's right... I haven't bought tonight's dinner yet.

Riese's PoV

"Aw man, I really wanted to make the club today," I say as the five of us walk outside the school.

"It can't be helped, Riese. We should've been going home when the bell rang minutes ago," Varu says.

"Yeah, but still," I say, wiping a tear away. Varu lends me a handkerchief, which makes me look at him, surprised. He nods and I take the handkerchief. "Thanks." I wipe away the tears with the cloth and gave it back to him.

"Oh, Dad is waiting for me. I... I have to go now, bye," Rue shyly says and waves goodbye. He rushes to his dad's car and opens the door to the back seat. I can see his dad look at us with a smile through the open window before he waves goodbye and the car goes off.

"Laters, Rue! Make sure to come here on Monday!" Tabitha yells, using her paws like a megaphone before waving both paws. We notice Ken slowly move away and to the bike parking space where one bike is chained to a pole.

"You go home with a bike, huh?" Varu thinks out loud. Ken nods as he unlocks the lock and collects the chains before putting them inside his bag.

"I'll be seeing you," he gets on his bike and pedals away. We wave goodbye and Ken is now out of sights.

"Hmm... looks like Dad's not picking my up today," Tabitha crosses her arms and furrows her brows, "Aight, I guess it's good a time as any for a jog," she says, her face determined. "You guys gonna take the school bus yeah?" I shake my head and swing my arm around Varu's neck.

"Nope, he and I are gonna go somewhere, first."

"Wait, what?" Varu asks, not knowing what's going on.

"Oh, okay," Tabitha winks. "You guys have fun with your date," Tabitha winks again.

"What date?!" Varu shouts out loud, but Tabitha just skips off smiling. Varu lets out a sigh and glares at me. "What do you want?"

"Don't worry, it'll be quick. Now come on," I grab Varu's paw and we go off running. I notice his cheeks blushing a bit as we run. He's rather transparent, isn't he? I let out a laugh and continue dragging Varu to where I'm going. To the convenience store!

We arrive at the convenience store after a few minutes of running. Varu is already out of breath after that. I know he's not athletic, but I guess he just doesn't have that much stamina. I hold his paw as we go inside the convenience store. There's no one inside aside from a young German Shepherd, the store clerk. I look around to find what I'm looking for, checking the shelves one by one. Convenience stores really are convenient, huh? They have shelves for a lot of things for daily consumptions and household items. Shampoos, deodorant, soap on one shelf, snacks and chocolate on the next, a freezer with ice cream in it. Yeah, I should visit this place more often, they'd be great when you're in a hurry or you'd save some more time. Though quality could be better, but it beats waiting to arrive at the mall and back. Anyways, what was I looking for.

"Riese..." I notice Varu whisper to me. He seems to be looking at one of the shelves.

"Yeah?" I say as I pick up two boxes of Pocky.

"Can you let go of my paw...?" I notice Varu's cheeks turning bright red. What is he embarrassed about? I let go of his paw and he immediately puts both paws in his pockets and turns away. I wonder what's going on with him? He seems rather... withdrawn at the moment. Well whatever, I'm just going to get some more snacks.

I check shelf to shelf and have finally got all the things that I need. After all, what's good is going somewhere without snacks? Then it'd just be going somewhere, and that's not very fun. Food ups the fun by a lot since everyone enjoys food. Okay, here are the things I'm buying: 2 boxes of Pocky, a bag of Lays, some cans of Sprite, and a bottled water for Varu since I asked him and he preferred water to soda or juice.

"Okay, that's everything," I carry everything to the cashier and he raises an eyebrow at the things that I've brought. He then looks at Varu and I can see a faint smirk from the Fur.

"You guys going somewhere?'' he asks.

"Yep. Anyways, what's the total?" I ask as I impatiently wait for the clerk to scan all the items. After each beep, I watch as the cost go higher and higher, but of course that's to be expected. Though, has the prices always been this high? Maybe this is a downside to convenience stores, that it's more expensive than buying from the supermarket. I'll take note of that next time. The final item is scanned and the total bill is displayed. I think I have enough money for that.

I shuffle my bag a bit... shuffle... shuffle... "Uh... Varu, can I ask you a favor? I really thought that I brought my wallet, but..." I continue to shuffle my bag.

"How much is it?" Varu asks. His voice seems shaken, uncomfortable. I really wonder what's going on with him. This is new to me.

"Oh, nevermind, I found it!" I pull out the wallet from my bag and raise it up high triumphantly. I hear Varu let out a sigh of relief. "Hey, if I have left my wallet for real, would you have paid for it?" I ask.

"Of course, or else we'd get into trouble," he says, still acting withdrawn. I raise an eyebrow at him but just shrug it off. I give the money to the clerk and he gives me the change before putting the items I bought in a plastic bag.

"Have fun with your date! I don't judge," the German Shepherd says as we both leave the convenience store. I can see Varu's cheeks blush to a deep red as the store door closes. Tabitha also said that word earlier. Date. What does this have to do with the day, month, or year? And have fun? I guess it means to have fun today, but why would Varu's cheek turn red?

I feel a cold breeze brush against my fur. This feels refreshing, and much more cooler than being inside an air-conditioned store. I walk away on the gray pavement, noticing some crack on them. I hop on the parts where there are no cracks, successful at each step. I then notice that Varu isn't following me anymore. I hop back to him and he looks away. "What's wrong?"

Varu is silent, the cold wind brushing against our fur making it look like they're dancing with the wind. The black tuft of fur on Varu's head shines a bit as the lamp posts starts to light. "Where are we going?" he asks. I smile at him and hold his paw again.

"To your house," I say. His eyes widen as he looks at me, obviously shocked.

"W-Wait, what do you mean?!" he stammers, "Why would we go to my-- wait, why would you go to my house?"

"Because I want to go there," I say bluntly.

"But, but why so suddenly? A-And I never even said you could go to my house!" Varu shouts at me.

"That's what you say, but I think that's not what you want," I say to him and he goes silent. He looks away again, his brows furrowed and wearing a pout. I give him a smile and tug his paw. "And besides, I'll only be staying for one night."

"That's worse. I at least thought that you'd go back to your house after a while. It's probably just near my house," he says, trying to cover up a sad tone with an angry one. "Besides, I'm fine. I don't want you coming around to my house without even telling me," he clenches his fist and looks away. He's trying really hard to hide it, even trying to stop his tail from wagging which I noticed when I said I was going to his house. He's a lonely cub, I don't know why, but he is. I've noticed that since the first day I met him, his eyes being lonesome and sad. His eyes really did sparkle that day, but it was only because he was lonely and was glad to be admiring the same sky he's under with someone else.

"Well, I did tell you just now that I'm going to your house, and whether you like it or not, I'll be your company tonight. There's no use arguing so let's go," I say before dragging him with me.

"Whoa, hey, slow down!"

"We're not stopping until we get to your house!" I shout out loud as we continue to run. I look back at Varu and, despite tears running down his eyes and blushing, he's smiling. I'm glad that's he's looking happier now. A genuine smile, that's what I want not just from you, but from everyone. I want them to show their real smile.

We run past house to house, me carrying this bag of snacks and Varu running behind me. We continue running until we arrived at his house, which is still dim with no one being inside. The house is rather simple, two-storeys and painted yellow. There's also a balcony on the second floors where I can see a few potted plants and the blue flat roof is just a perfect place to look at the night sky.

"This is my house... it's... it's a nice house. Anyways, come on in," Varu says as he unlocks the door and opens it. "Make sure to take of your shoes before going in, please."

"Aight," I look up at the roof, thinking on how I'd be able to get there. There has to be some way of doing it. I go inside the house and remove my shoes, just realizing that the shoe rack only has Varu's shoes on it. Hmm... I wonder where his parents are. I take note of that and check the place out. A hallway with a stairway to the second floor, a doorless door frame that connects to what I think would be the living room, with the hallway extending to another door and then an exit probably to the backyard.

"Sorry if it's a mess. This is what happens when you just come into someone's house unannounced," he lets out a nervous chuckle as he puts his bag on a table nearby. Looking at the place, it's actually clean and tidy and not a mess at all. Everything seems to be arranged and well polished. I can't see how this is a mess.

"What are you talking about? This house is as clean as it gets," I say, admiring the living room which is really the past the doorless door frame. The living room is big, with there being a sofa at the center of the room, a medium-sized coffee table in front of it with a red carpet underneath, and a flat screen TV hung on a wall. There are some pictures hung here in there, making the empty walls less lonely, and there's also a window near each side of the TV so that we can see the front yard from here.

"Well, make yourself at home. I never had... uh, yeah just make yourself at home. I'm not good at entertaining others, so I'm sorry," Varu says as he goes to the next room, which I presumably assume is the kitchen given what I think the house's layout is. Having the dining room and the kitchen in one room and it being connected to the living room gives easy access to food, which I think is neat.

"Since you're here, might as well ask what you'd like for dinner. Right now, I could cook either curry or beef steak," he says from the kitchen. The second one sounds delicious. I remember that he cooks his own lunch, so it's no surprise he'd be able to cook dishes like those. I'm curious what other dishes he could cook up, but for now, I'll choose the latter.

"Beef steak sounds good. Let me help--"

"No, it's okay. I'll be fine making it myself. Think of it as a thank you for crashing into my house," Varu cuts me off while trying to make a joke. I smile a bit at his response.

"But I don't like doing nothing. Besides, it's the least I can do for you letting me stay here for the night," I put my bag beside the sofa and produce something on it before putting it in my pocket. I'll be saving that later. I guess I should be changing my clothes as well. I unbutton my vest and fold it properly before unbuttoning my shirt. As I fold the shirt, I notice something that catches my eyes. There's a shelf with a lot of picture frames on it, family pictures from the looks of it. I grab one of the frames to take a closer look and it's a picture of a young Varu in the middle of two adults who I assume are his parents. Looking at them closer, Varu resembles his mother a lot more, especially those eyes, though his physique is obviously is his father's. I turn my head away and to the kitchen and see Varu looking at me.

"That's our family picture when I was little. Well, you obviously would've know that already," Varu says as he walks past me. "I'm going to change as well. Again, please make yourself at home," he says and he slowly ascends up the stairs. Oh, right, I haven't fully changed yet. I grab a black shirt and a pair of blue shorts from my bag and change into them. I take the item from my school pants to my shorts and proceed to fold the pants. I put the folded school uniform in my bag and hear footsteps coming from the hallway.

"There's really no need to help, I can cook beef steak on my own. You can watch TV if you like," Varu comes back, wearing a blue shirt and a pair of black pants. He then walks to the sofa and grabs the remote control, turning the television on. The first channel it is set to is Cartoon Network and is currently airing Adventure Time. "Here's the remote if you want to change the channel," he places the remote on the table before proceeding to the kitchen.

Watching TV seems like a nice way to kill time, but there's one thing that I want to do. Sorry for going to places I'm probably not supposed to go, but I want to know how to get on top of the roof. There's probably some hatch to go there, but I don't to be intruding inside rooms, so the balcony is my only way of getting there. Based on what the balcony looked like, its rails should allow me to reach the roof's eave. This should be a snap, but I wonder if Varu can do it. Well, only one way to find out, and that's to test it.

I pick up the remote and change the channel, making it look like I'm actually watching. I continue to change it until I find an interesting one and stop on it. Animax airing Gundam Seed Destiny, a rerun it seems. Okay, I'm just going to leave this at that and sneak away. I silently walk and go up the stairs and locate where the door to the balcony is.

The second floor is just a hallway that connects to three rooms and to the balcony, so it's impossible to get lost in it. I assume that the two rooms lead to Varu's room and his parent's room, with one being the comfort room. Anyways, I should be heading to the balcony. Once there, I check if the eave is reachable, and it is. That is, I need to stand on the grail first and jump up, grab the eave, then pull myself up. It's not that hard to get up the roof, I think even Varu wouldn't have much of a problem, unless he's scared of heights and gets wobbly feet.

A flat roof isn't actually one-hundred percent flat, it's slope is just very little that it seems flat. If it really is flat, then the rain wouldn't really slide and just stay on the roof. Anyways, this really is an ideal place for looking up the sky, stargazing and you can even hold a little gathering here. You can even see past some houses and get a wonderful view of the scenery. I bet looking at the sunset or sunrise from here would be beautiful.

A gust of cold, refreshing wind lightly brushes my nuzzle and fur, making me shiver a bit. Being alone in here would certainly be cold, but with other people, it'd definitely be a fun and warm place to be in, even at night. Maybe Varu goes here often with his parents when they're at home and want to relax. I can certainly see a young blue Fox sitting here with his two parents close to each other, the three of them watching the night sky as the stars twinkle and a shooting star passes by. They would make a wish and they would laugh afterwards.

Now that I know I can get here, I should probably be getting back to the living room. I wasn't able to find a way to get here aside from through the balcony, but maybe Varu would know. I jump down the roof to the balcony and descend down the stairs. I check the living room and no one seems to be there. Looks like he's still in the kitchen. I would've helped, but he did insist that he do it alone. I sneak back to the sofa and pretend that I've been watching the TV the whole time.

As a few minutes go by, I can smell the aroma of beef all around the room. Wow, it smells so good. I turn off the TV and go to the kitchen to notice that the table is already set up and Varu is already done cooking. There are two plates on opposite sides of the rectangular table with a serving of rice and beef steak at the center. "Riese, dinner's-- oh, you're here already," Varu is just whipping his paws dry after washing his paws. "I was gonna call you," he grabs his chair and drags it backwards. "C'mon, sit down."

I give him a stare of disapproval. "You'll be sitting there?" I ask. He nods in response. I shake my head and look at him again. "We're too far apart."

"What...?" Varu gives me a confused look.

"We're friends, right? So we should eat closer," I say as I grab the plate and utensils and transfer them near to where Varu's is. "That way, we'd be closer as friends," I give him a smile but he just looks away in return. "You've been acting strange lately. Are you feeling okay?"

"Let's just sit down, okay?" Varu says as he sits on his chair. I nod and sit down as well.

"Man, this looks really good. You would make a great dad in the future with your cooking skills," I say as I look at the dish he cooked up.

"Th-Thanks," he looks down, blushing again.

"Don't be shy, it's true," I smile at him before looking back at the dish. The steak is sliced thinly and seems to be marinated in a unique sauce. The brown color of the steak is probably because of the sauce mixed with it and the aroma is so delightful that even a whiff of it can make you hungry in an instant. "Though, this looks different from the beef steak that I assumed," I grab a fork and lightly press the beef and it easily pierces through it. It's soft as well.

"Wait, this... isn't what beef steak looks like? This is how we always cook it," Varu looks at me sadly with his ears drooped. Crap, I said something bad.

"N-no! I mean, sure it's different from what I eat, so I guess it's not what it usually... but anyways," I hurriedly grab one with my fork and raise it up, "I bet it'll taste great, so--" I put the steak in my mouth and... wow... this tastes amazing! It has a tangy taste to it that must be from the sauce itself. Mix that with the steak that's soft that it feels like it's melting in your mouth, even though it's not, and you can truly call the dish something else. This is the best beef steak that I've ever tasted! Even though it's not the beef steak I expected!

"How is it?" Varu asks.

"It's delicious!" I exclaim loudly, earning him a jolt. Looks like I went overboard there. I let out a nervous chuckle as I pick up my spoon. "So, you eat these with rice, yeah? I bet it'll taste as great," I say as I serve myself some rice from the platter.

"Yep. Rice is pretty much a staple here. It's actually a great pair with any other dish," Varu helps himself with a serving of beef steak.

"Curious, where did you get a recipe for this? This is really a unique dish and I'd like to know more about it," Varu passes me the plate of beef steak and I gladly accept.

"Actually, it's my mom's recipe. She's from the Philippines so I guess that's where she got the idea. Also the rice being staple thing, I guess," I look at Varu as I help myself with some servings of beef steak, spreading a bit of sauce on the rice.

"I see, that's cool," I eat the beef steak with rice and my tongue is immediately drowned with an explosion of flavor. This rice helps in bringing out the flavor of the sauce! It's an indescribable experience with no words to, well, describe it. "Oh yeah, let's go to the roof after this, 'kay?"

"The roof...? Wait, the roof? Why would you even go there? Is it even safe there?" Varu asks, looking very puzzled, which is an expression that I wasn't expecting from him. The roof is pretty much a very great place to hang out or spend some free time on so I didn't think Varu would not know. Besides, the roof seems like it's specifically made for these things, so why doesn't he know...?

"Yeah, the roof, roof. The roof is pretty much a flat surface so it's a great place to look up the night sky," I give Varu a smile while pointing upwards.

"How would you even get there? And how would you have known about it?" Varu asks. I smirk and give out a chuckle.

"I'll show you later, but for now, let's eat the wonderful food you've made. It'd be a shame to make such delicious food wait," I smile at him and he blushes, again. He's really transparent, getting worked up, tired, or embarrassed really easily.

"R-Right. Let's eat," Varu says.

"I'm already eating," I say with my mouth full.

"Improper etiquette is forbidden in this household!" Varu yells, pointing his spoon at me with his left paw.

"I say pointing is as rude."

"Touché," Varu says as he retracts his spoon.

---

"H-Hey, are you sure this is safe?" Varu says as I pull myself up to the roof and place the plastic bag near the center. I then lean out from the roof and look at Varu who is just standing at the balcony, desperately hoping that he's not going to have to do this.

"C'mon, it's perfectly safe," I gesture my paw at him to follow me.

"That's perfectly not safe! Not at all safe! It's easy to fall from here, what more when trying to climb up there?"

"I'll help you up, come on."

"No way! And what if I fall?"

"Don't worry, I'll always be there to catch you," I climb down the roof to the balcony grails and down. "Now let's go!" I grab Varu's paw as I climb up the grail again. Varu tries to struggle, but he's not really putting up much of a fight. "Hey, stop that or we both might fall," I tell him as I force him up the grails. He gets up and almost loses his balance but I manage to retain it by hugging him tightly.

"R-Riese!" Varu squeaks.

"Hey, if I hadn't grabbed you, you really would've fallen," I let go of him and he slowly balances himself. After a while, he's gotten the hang of it so I proceed to climb up the roof. After doing so, I reach out my paw towards him. "Here, I'll help you up," I say to him. He nods slightly and holds my paw. He pulls himself up with his other paw while I help him up with the other. He's quite a light one.

After a few seconds, Varu manages to reach the top of the roof, breathing heavily. We then walk to the near center of the room where Varu immediately lies down, still tired. I smile and lie down beside him. "You okay?" I ask.

"Yeah... I guess," Varu breathes in deeply and then breathes out. He's slowly calming down from what he just did. I guess he's just not used to climbing. "The air here feels great, though," Varu says, inhaling the cold night air before exhaling deeply. I do so as well and feel the coldness circulate throughout my body, making myself feel relaxed yet invigorated at the same time.

"Yeah."

"And the sky looks so beautiful."

"Yeah."

For a few minutes, we both silently admire the starry sky up above. No words are spoken, but we happen to know what we want to say. "Let's stay like this for a little while longer." And so we do. A few minutes more pass by, no words, but I feel like our bond is slowly getting closer. Spending time together, on top of this roof, doing nothing but watching the moon shine and star shimmer, it somehow feels like we're slowly starting to understand one another more.

I lightly tap my pocket to check if I still have the thing I was keeping. Yep, it's still there. I slide my paw inside my pocket and look at Varu. Looks like he's still watching the sky. I smile at him, though he doesn't know, and slowly produce the item. My phone. I tap the music icon and scroll down the list of songs until I finally found the music I'm looking for. I insert the earphone jack on the phone and, slowly and quietly, put one of the earphone on his.

"GAH! What the--"

"Earphones. Don't move, just listen," I cut him off as I put one earphone in his ears and the other in mine. I don't know if he knows the song or not but I believe this is a fitting song for this. I click the play button and the first few notes manages to catch him by surprise. Maybe he does know.

"Stargazing," Varu mumbles.

"Mhm, that's right. I thought it would be fitting since we're looking at the stars and all," I say. He pauses for a while until the chorus kicks in, and that's when he starts to sing the lyrics of the song. I join in with him and we sing together as we both watch the night sky.

As we both look up and watch the starry sky above

There are these precious memories that I keep thinking of

Those moments we had is shining bright like the stars

And they'll never fade away, they'll always stay in our hearts

The moon shines down and gives us courage through the night

Even when we're far apart, we'll continue to fight

After all, we both are living under the same sky

So even if we part ways, it will never be goodbye

After the chorus is a short instrumental part before the second verse. I look at Varu and see tears flowing down his eyes. I immediately jolt up to check on him, but he also immediately jolts up, probably because of my sudden reaction. "You're crying?"

"Yeah, I just easily cry. It's nothing to be worried of," he says, wiping way his tears. "Anyways, I remember a bit now. I don't know why I'd forget such precious memories, but I remember now. Mom, Dad, and I used to go here to watch the sky. Dad would bring a telescope here so that we can look at the stars, while Mom gets the snacks for us to eat. We'd talk about things, laugh at our jokes, make stupid and funny expressions, and we'd pinpoint where the different constellations are. Like that, for example," Varu traces what seems to be a constellation with his finger, "it's not really visible but you can trace out the Ursa Major at around this time. It'd probably be clearer later."

"I see. You must know a lot about the stars, huh?" I ask.

"Not really. We'd learn about it sure, but we don't know a lot, just some big ones and a few small ones. Mom and Dad probably know more," Varu says.

"So... just wanna ask... where are your parents?" I ask. Varu falls into silence. Maybe I shouldn't breach that territory yet. "Nevermind, you don't need to answer that. I'm sorry for asking."

"No, I'm sorry. Dad is working abroad while Mom is... currently far away," Varu says. Currently away, huh. So his mother... I see. Another silence, and Varu speaks again, "But it's okay, I can take care of myself. After all, I'm grown now," Varu forces a smile underneath what seems like hurt and sorrow. I feel sorry for him, to have lost someone dear to him at his growing age.

But at times like these is when I should showing my smile and not just frown. That'd just spread all around. I stand up, unintentionally dislodging the earphone from my ear, and walk in front to face Varu. I look at him with the brightest smile that I can give him and ask a question. "Do you know why the club is named High Flyers?" Varu shakes his head. "The answer is simple, really. You can't fly high in everything, at least, not by yourself. What's the point of the sky if it's just empty space?" I look up to the sky with my paws outstretched.

"Flying up in the sky with no one by your side? That's just baloney, boring, not fun. So that's why, in this club, we'll give our one-hundred percent to others so that they'll be able to fly high. We're the ramp that lets them go soaring through the sky, we're the wind that carries them up to the clouds, we're the wings so that they'll be able to fly. But of course, we can't do that if we can't even give our one-hundred percent to each other first. So, in our club, we'll need to trust, depend, and express ourselves to each other. Take off our masks that never showed the real us in the first place, because what's the point of helping someone if you're faking it? We help each other, and in turn, we don't really need to help ourselves," I turn back at him and our eyes meet like the first day we met at the school bus. "That's the club's reason. To make the world a better place."

"That sounds like a great club," Varu says, smiling one of his brightest smiles as well.

"Yep, and you're in that great club. So, I want you to promise me," I crouch down and extend my pinky, "Promise me that you'll always be our smiling member, okay?" Varu looks at my pinky, to me, then back. He then lets out a soft chuckle and extends his pinky.

"I promise," he curls his pinky to mine and we shake on it. It's a promise.

"Okay, with that over," I say, straightening myself before stretching, "I wanna eat some snacks," I walk to the plastic bag and grab a bag of chips from it before popping it open. "Want some?" I nudge the bag of chips at him. He shakes his head.

"Sorry, I'm not into those," he says.

"Aw, what? But they're chips! You should've told me earlier and I would've bought something else," I pout.

"I don't mind chocolate, though," Varu says.

"Mkay, here," I grab a box of Pocky from the plastic bag and give it to him.

"Thanks," Varu says before opening it and getting a stick. After putting one stick on his mouth, he pauses and stares at the sky again. Quietly, I sneak in front of Varu and bite on the other end of the stick. "Wawa-what the?! Riese!" Varu screams and I let out a laugh.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"N-Nothing..." Varu mutters as he gets another stick from the box. "Please don't do that again."

"Hmm... okay. You sure you don't want this," I say, looking at the stick of Pocky sticking out from my mouth.

"Yeah, I'm sure," he quietly nibbles the Pocky, this time his paw at the other end.

After a while of eating snacks and looking at the sky some more, we decide that it's time to get back in. It's already getting late and Varu seems pretty tired, what with all the yawning he's been doing. He says that he just yawns a lot but I think he's really sleepy. I collect all the empty bags of chips, boxes of Pocky, and cans and bottles of beverages and putting them inside the plastic bag. I also get my phone and earphones and put them back inside my pocket. As I walk near the end of the roof, Varu calls out to me.

"We don't need to go there anymore. I remember now that there's a way to go here without risking our lives," Varu says. I tilt my head at him, a bit curious on what he means, and walk towards him. "It's here somewhere. It just needs a little push," he pushes different areas of the roof until one particular area slowly shifts and moves downwards. "Ah, here it is. You need to push it first before you can open it," he proceeds on doing so and the trapdoor reveals itself. "Yep, it connects to the attic so we can get down from here," he says as he goes inside the trapdoor.

"Wow, neat," I say as I follow Varu. There seems to also be a staircase of some sort so that it's easier to climb up and down. As for the attic itself, it's rather barren. There's nothing in it aside from some boxes at the other end.

"Here's the door back down. Let me just," Varu opens another trapdoor, with this one having a folding ladder down. "Alright, let's go," he then proceeds to climb down the ladder. I follow him and after reaching down to the second floor, Varu pushes the ladder back up and it automatically folds itself. "Hmm... the rope's cut off. I must've forgotten about it. I'll fix that some other day."

"Yeah, we wouldn't want you almost falling again anytime soon," I smirk at Varu but he... blushes and looks away? That was unexpected.

"Anyways, you'll really be staying here for the night?" Varu asks. I nod in response. He lets out a sigh. "Then... maybe we can sleep in the living room. I'll just get some folding mattresses in my parents' room. We usually use those when there's a movie marathon going on and we'd sleep in the living room.'

"I can just sleep on the couch," I slightly raise my paw.

"Are you sure?" Varu asks. I nod back. "Okay, well I'll get the mattress. Can you move the sofa back a bit so that there's a bit more space for the mattress?"

"Sure, I'll just go on ahead," I say, waiting for Varu's approval. He nods and I dash down the stairs and to the living room. Once there, I do what Varu told me to do and move the sofa back. It shouldn't be that big, so I'll just move it a bit. I then place my bag on top of the table so that it won't get in the way of the mattress. I hear footsteps coming from the hall. It's Varu carrying the mattress.

"Thanks for the help. I'm just gonna put this here," Varu unfolds the mattress in front of the sofa. I then jump on the sofa and let out a sigh while Varu goes back upstairs. I wait for him for a while and he comes back, carrying with him three pillows of different sizes, two large and one medium size. "I think this'd make the sleep more comfy," he says shyly as he gives me one of the large sized pillows.

"Thanks," I say as I put the below at the end of the sofa and let my head fall on it. "Ah, that feels good." Varu walks to the switch and turns off the lights. He then goes back to the mattress and smiles.

"Mhm," Varu hums as he lies down with one pillow at the end of the mattress and the other hugged by him. He lets out a loud yawn as he slowly drifts off to sleep. "Goodnight, Riese."

"Goodnight, Varu," I say to him. After a minute or two, Varu seems to be fast asleep already. He's probably tired of all that running that I made him do. I look at him and... he's cute sleeping. He's like a little child. Well, he's not wearing his mask anymore, the mask that he didn't know he was wearing ever since, so he's probably able to sleep more soundly now. I smile as I make myself comfortable on the sofa.

The plan turned out really well in the end. Hopefully I can continue and do the same to others, so that they'll be able to take of their mask. What do you think, big brother? Do you think that I can do it, that I can bring back the club and help others the same way as you did back then? Lots of thoughts and questions come to mind, but it's already getting late and I should sleep now. "Goodnight."