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Chapter 2: Adapting

Shirominato, April 6th 2015

Makoto let out a mighty yawn as he heard his alarm go off. Blearily he rubbed his eyes and was briefly confused as to why he wasn't in his room before he remembered. He was in his room. It still hadn't really set in that he was in Japan now. It surprised him honestly, things seemed so relaxed here in Shirominato. He honestly thought that all of Japan would be like Tokyo, Osaka or any other big city. It never really occurred to him that Japan had small towns like America did.

While he and his sister had always spent summers in Japan with their Grandparents, (though they had always had their time spent in Osaka, having never actually come down there for whatever reason) their cousins almost always came over during their own summer break, so they had even less of a reason to go down to Shirominato. And plus, the house would be severely crowded with everyone there and all whenever this happened, but it was nice to spend time with everyone since they didn't really get to see each other much outside his cousins annual trip to Honolulu during Golden Week. 'Iori...' He closed his eyes with that particular thought in mind, his heart beginning to break until he heard his mom call out to him from the dining-room.

"Makoto! Come down honey! Breakfast is ready!" With a sigh he swiftly got dressed, making sure his uniform was nice and proper. It was definitely going to take some getting used to, having to wear a uniform, given he never had to wear one at his school back in Honolulu. Speaking of Honolulu, he really needed to text Keywon later. After hearing his mother call out to him again he winced and rushed out towards the dining-room honestly famished. When he reached the room he saw his family all sitting around the table waiting patiently for him. Or at least his parents looked patient while his sister however didn't look near as such. She was frowning and her arms were folded, giving a death glare at her brother.

"Finally!" She said before reaching for her rice but was stopped when she saw her mom's stern glare.

"Let him sit down before you dig in honey." Kimiko just sighed and did so, setting her chopsticks down and waited impatiently as Makoto sat himself down next to their father who was dressed in a nice suit. Breakfast was simple; rice, natto and some fish of course and it smelled so good it made his mouth water. As soon as he was properly seated, his mother gave a nod to allow them to dig in, which they all did. Conversation was scattered in between moments when they weren't all stuffing their faces and Makoto happened to catch a particular conversation between his parents.

"How is the job in Osaka honey? How are you adjusting?" Naoki asked in between scoops of rice. "It's a much larger hospital than the one back home I imagine, so it must be take a bit to get used to it."

Miyuki just smiled and laughed at the question but answered in a happy cheerful manner. "I really enjoy it. It's busy but the money is good and the staff is nice." She explained. "My supervisor is patient and is helping me adjust to the larger workload. What about you honey? How does it feel to teach at your old alma mater?"

Naoki gave her a return smile before he answered her in kind. His dad truly seemed to be happy to be here back where he grew up. It kinda made Makoto feel a bit bad about not wanting to move. It really wasn't so bad after all and as Kimiko had said, he wound up making friends pretty quickly and he smiled himself thinking about his adventure with Shinji and Toshiki-kun; those two were certainly an interesting pair. "It's funny really, I'm teaching the kids of the people I went to school with. I told you about my buddy Takeshi right? He's running Nichibotsu now! It's been ran by the Sakaki family for generations, since the Meiji era. He has a son that is Makoto's age!"

"You mean Ryutaro?" Makoto inquired curiously. "I met him yesterday. I went with Shinji and Toshiki-kun to Nichibotsu yesterday while they were showing me around, he's pretty nice." He said as he helped himself to some rice.

"Yes, exactly! And you mentioned Matsumura-kun and Schaffer-kun? I went to school with their parents as well. Schaffer-kun's mother, Midori, was my senpai and Matsumura-kun's parents Shoma and Satomi were senpai to us both. We used to all run around together back in the day." He said with a nod and a large nostalgic smile. "But it's nice, working at the school that educated me and it allows me to hopefully inspire students like my teachers inspired me to study in America where I met you." He said with a loving tone which made Makoto's mom blush a fetching pink before leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. Something that made both their children smile at the sweet sight.

Soon, everyone was finished with their breakfast and both siblings excused themselves before getting themselves prepared, then made their way to school, having decided to walk and let their parents have their own time alone. Plus their dad needed to be at school much earlier than they did, given he was a teacher and had to prepare for lessons. The town really was lovely and thankfully Makoto knew where he was going from the tour he got yesterday.

"So, what do you think so far? About school and stuff? You make any friends? Do you have classes with Ahiko or Tetsu?" He asked referring to their cousins.

"I've made a few friends, and no I don't sadly. They're in different homerooms so I don't get to see them much. But it's nice that we are in the same city now instead of them coming to see us during golden week." She explained while looking at her uniform, making sure it looked extra cute. "What about you though? I hear you made friends yourself. Who are these Shinji and Toshiki people I keep hearing about?"

Makoto shrugged, having only met them a few days ago and really not knowing either that well enough. Shinji was an open book, making him pretty easy to read while Toshiki had more of a subtle atmosphere about him. He was an interesting feline and quite the looker too. However, he had no idea how old he was, despite looking like a middle schooler due to his tiny stature but if one were to really talk to him, they would notice that he looked older than he appeared to be. There was also the fact that he was blond and had blue eyes, giving him a distinct european appearance and feel to him. Where exactly in Europe he had no clue, but he guessed anywhere from Scandinavia to Germany considering his last name (Schaffer) sounding vaguely german. If he were honest with himself, he really didn't know. "They're pretty cool! Shinji is a bit hyper and overly friendly. Almost a bit of a pawful but all around pretty cool. Toshiki is...he's kinda quiet but nice enough though! Regardless, he's funny, sweet and almost shy." Makoto explained as they continued towards the school. As they were walking past the shopping district which largely marked the halfway point between home and school he heard loud yelling which made him jump before turning to see a familiar akita running towards them. "Speak of the devil... that's Shinji." Makoto said with a small smile. The two of them briefly stopped walking and let the akita catch up to them. Once he did, he bent over to catch his breath.

"I saw you pass by my house and I decided to try and catch up!" He said after he stopped panting. "You must be Makoto's older sister." He said, turning towards Kimiko and gave her a polite bow. "It's good to meet you Masaki-senpai." He said in a surprisingly polite manner. Makoto did eye that his uniform was poorly worn however, as if he had put it on in a hurry but it kind of added to Shinji's almost erratic charm.

"So you are the infamous Shinji-kun." Kimiko said with a teasing smile. "I heard you showed my baby brother around town yesterday." She said returning the bow. "It's good to know Makoto has already made a friend. You can call me Kimiko though, Masaki-senpai is so formal." She said and with that they continued to the school and finally they found themselves outside of the building. It was a decent sized building; three stories, one for each year from what has been said by their father. It was a wooden building and looked a good age (it was old enough for his dad to go here so it had to be pretty old). The Courtyard was simple; in the center there was a fountain with numerous stone seats scattered around. There was even a small sakura tree but sadly they had missed the blooming season. There was a few students there, all of them entering the building and getting ready for school.

Just as they walked in, Makoto noticed a familiar ash-grey cat. "Hey, Toshiki!" He called out which made the cat jump and turn to see them and gave a timid wave. Just as he was about to walk up to the boy he heard his sister give a loud squeal and she ran up to the feline and next thing anyone knew she grabbed the boy and pulled him into a big tight hug.

"YOU ARE SO CUTE!!!!" She squealed out loudly and Makoto could only wince as he could tell Toshiki was incredibly uncomfortable and looked on the verge of a panic attack. "So cute and tiny and adorable!!!" She continued and even though the cat looked more and more uncomfortable she didn't seem to notice, continuing to swing the cat around. It was beginning to get the attention of the other students. Several looked a bit concerned while others were snickering and pointing and Makoto felt like he needed to intervene before the cat blew a gasket as his face was getting redder and redder underneath his fur.

"Umm... Kimiko..." He said awkwardly as he approached his sister and the trapped feline. "Can you put him down please? He doesn't like people touching him." This broke Kimiko from her cute-trance and while blushing heavily she gently put the flustered feline down and as soon as she let him go he rushed and hid behind a surprised looking Shinji, shivering and giving a harried look at the older shiba.

"Sorry..." Kimiko stated, still embarrassed about making such a scene. "Didn't mean to grab you but you are so-" She said before she was cut off by the alarming glare of the feline. "Ummm... I guess I'll see you later Toshiki-kun..." She stated in an awkward manner while twiddling with her skirt before she rushed off to her class. With her gone, Toshiki seemed to calm down a bit, though he still seemed to be shivering. Shinji had an arm around him and was gently rubbing his back.

"Breathe Shiki breathe...the scary senpai is gone for now. You can relax." He stated in a gentle tone. This seemed to work as Toshiki slowly started to stop shivering and his breathing began to go back to normal. "There, you feeling better? She didn't hurt you did she?" He asked and the cat just shook his head no. "Your sister certainly knows how to make an impression Makoto!" Shinji said, briefly taking his attention off of Toshiki who seemed to have fully calmed down at that point.

Makoto just blushed and rubbed the back of his head, hoping Toshiki didn't hate him now. "I didn't expect her to react like that... you alright Toshiki-kun?" He asked as he walked up to the feline but the cat just winced and hid behind Shinji yet again.

"I'm fine Masaki-san..." He said in a small voice. "But we should get to class. We're going to be late if we don't hurry and I doubt Mr. Masaki will appreciate you being late on your third day here." With that he scuttled off towards the classroom with Makoto and Shinji following close behind. Thankfully they reached the classroom before the bell and sat in there seats. He could hear a few students gossiping and he didn't even have to hear them to know it was about the little event with Kimiko. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed that a red panda had went up to Toshiki and knelt down next to him. Jun Fukugawa was his name. Makoto hadn't really talked to him much outside their introduction on the first day, but he seemed friendly enough.

"Hey man, heard you got glomped again... you okay?" Makoto gave the panda a startled look. "This has happened before?" He asked him in a surprised tone.

Jun just smiled and nodded at that. "It happens from time to time. The ladies just love our kitten." He said, patting Toshiki on the back and ignoring the annoyed glance the cat gave him, then turned his attention back to Makoto. "So I take it that the crazy senpai who accosted Shiki was your older sister?"

Makoto nodded, blushing lightly. Hopefully this would die down soon enough...he could only imagine how embarrassed Kimiko was at the moment. "Yeah, that was my sister Kimiko." He said in a calm manner, still a bit embarrassed. What a way to make an impression on their third day here.

"Don't worry, someone else will do something stupid and your sister's little fiasco will be forgotten in no time." Jun assured him in a cheerful manner. "Stuff like this happens all the time. Besides, it's highschool after all!" Makoto could only nod, only hoping that was the case. He didn't want his sister to be a laughingstock of the entire school for the remainder of her last year in highschool.

Shinji then spoke up in his usual energy and cheer. "Oh! I was going to ask you before your sister nabbed Shiki," he said, giving a glance to the grumpy cat who was still unhappy regarding the incident, "but me and the others were thinking of us all meeting up on the roof at lunch. You know, so you can get to know us better and vice-versa. Ryutaro brought some leftover food from Nichibotsu yesterday." He got up and leant closer to Makoto, making the shiba back away a bit. He still wasn't really used to the akita's penchant for ignoring people's personal space. He knew the akita didn't mean anything bad by it, but it still took a bit of getting used to. "How does that sound? You up to it? I wanna learn more about you!" He said getting closer and closer until he heard Toshiki speak up in his usual annoyed tone.

"You're doing it again Shinji! Give him some space will you?" Shinji backed away quickly, blushing heavily and rubbing the back of his head, obviously embarrassed over his overeagerness. "But," Toshiki said turning his attention towards Makoto, seemingly having recovered from the incident from earlier, "he is right, you might as well get to know, and of course let us get to know you. Is that acceptable for you?" He asked, his blue eyes piercing him with it's polite yet focused gaze. Jun also was glancing at him intently. Having all three of them gazing at him made him mildly uncomfortable but they had a point, it would be good to learn about the rest of the group. So he let out a smile and nodded at their question.

"I would love to hang with you guys at lunch!" He said and Shinji broke into a giant smile, but before he could say anything Makoto's dad gave a cough and everyone turned their attention towards him.

"Okay, settle down! It's time for class to start!" He said before turning towards the board. He could hear everyone groan, and at the sound of the students getting into their seats, he began his lesson. Makoto listened intently. While he spoke english perfectly, given it was his first language, his dad was a great teacher and his classmates seemed enthralled as well.

Eventually the day flew by and Makoto found himself on the roof surrounded by everyone else. As Shinji had said, Ryutaro had brought several containers of food and it smelled delicious, his mouth watering at the sight. He was sat between Toshiki and Shinji who were both talking amongst the others of the group. Toshiki was talking to a grumpy white tiger he had seen a few days ago, named Katsuya. Shinji was talking to one of the otter twins. Haruki he figured, given he was the one with green hair. Tomoki, the other twin (the one who had brown hair which Makoto figured was Haruki's natural hair color given the two were identical) was chatting with Jun and Kazuki the fox, his hair also being blond oddly enough. But unlike Toshiki, it was easy to tell his hair was more likely bleached instead of it being a natural shade of blond. He seemed to have a near constant scowl on his face.

His attention drifted back to Toshiki and his conversation with Katsuya, the tiger looking swole as hell, making it was obvious he worked out. Everyone seemed content on having their own chats until Ryutaro let out a sharp cough to get everyone's attention. "If we want to get to know Makoto and let him learn about us, we should start now while we eat. I'll start! You already knows what my family does. I have a little brother named Akira who is a year below us." He said before handing out the plates. "Also let's eat!" The group digged in but Shinji looked towards Makoto and smiled.

"You can just ask questions and we'll answer them as honestly as we can. Just don't ask anything too personal though, okay?" Makoto nodded and turned his attention towards Toshiki who cut him off before he could even speak.

"I already know what you want to ask. Yes, we are the same age. I might be short but I'm sixteen. As for why I'm so short it's none of your business. Any other questions?" He stated, catching Makoto off-guard. He was surprised at how direct the feline was given how shy he seemed earlier. Now that the obvious was out of the way, he had to figure out another question. It didn't take long though, for one or two did come to mind.

"Are you a natural blond? Where are you from?" Makoto then asked, hoping it wasn't too personal but to his surprise Toshiki smiled at that, not in the least offended from the question. It was a good thing too. Makoto didn't want to make a bad impression on the cat, especially after the incident this morning.

"Those are easy questions." He said with a nod of his head. "Yes, I am a natural blond and I am from here. Or I was born here at least. I originally grew up in Munich but I moved here on my first year of middle school."

"Munich... as in Germany?" Makoto asked in surprise. It did make sense as his last name sounded German and blond hair and blue eyes was something of a trait amongst the Germans wasn't it? But it still surprised him a bit. "So you were born here in Shirominato but you moved to Germany? How come?"

Toshiki shrugged and continued his answer. "My mom grew up here. She was classmates with your dad actually. When she went to university in Tokyo, she met my dad who was a bit of a japanophile growing up, so he taught himself Japanese and got accepted to the university of Tokyo and of course they met and fell in love. They initially moved here and my Dad helped run the family business from Japan and my mom helped out at my Grandfather's studio and there they had me and my brothers. My older brother Tetsuo and my younger brother Kaoru but shortly after my brother Kaoru was born my Urgroßvater decided to retire as CEO so my Opa took over and my Father moved us back to Munich to take over the position of company president so I spent most of my life in Munich until I moved back here."

"What does your family do? Both sides? You say your grandfather runs a studio? What kind? And what kind of company does your dad run?"

"You ask a lot of questions." Toshiki said with a smirk but answered anyway. "My grandfather runs an art studio, he's one of the most respected artists in the Kansai region." He continued. "My Dad's family however runs a major investment banking company in Germany, one of the biggest in the country I might add. We have several branches in other countries but our main focus is Germany, though we are making attempts to expand to Japan but it's slow going...but enough about me! You are from Honolulu correct? What was that like? I've never been to America and I've always wanted to visit Hawaii."

This brightened Makoto up considerably as he was all too happy to talk about his hometown. "Honolulu is amazing! It's beautiful and the weather is always nice all year around. I had a lot of friends back there and I miss them." He said with a small frown before smiling again. "But I can still talk to them whenever I want so it's no big deal. What about you Shinji? What does your family do? I know your dad teaches PE here but what about your mom? What does she do?"

"My mom runs a textile shop. It's been in our family for generations, much like Nichibotsu has been in Ryutaro's family for a long time. She's amazing at what she does! She even made Shiki's scarf!" He said, pointing towards the dark green scarf Toshiki wore on top of his uniform. "We live above the shop my mom, dad, sister and I. My brother is attending university in Tokyo right now though."

"Do you know how to sew?" Makoto asked curiously. He found it really cool that Shinji's family had their own business going and that it had been going on for a long time. "I'm curious, I haven't seen any chain businesses or McDonalds or other stuff. Is there a reason for that?" He asked in a curious manner. It was Katsuya who answered his question, his voice cool and borderline emotionless.

"Our town has a law that bans outside business and major corporations. The logic is that if those stores are not allowed, it allows all the small, local businesses here to thrive without the competition. It works, since a lot of the business here have been around for over a hundred years. A lot of the families here run their own stores and stuff, like how Sakaki-san's family runs Nichibotsu and the Matsumura's run the textile shop."

This made Makoto curious. "What does your family do Katsuya-san?" he asked the tiger.

Katsuya pursed his lips as if he didn't want to answer but with a gentle jab by Toshiki he answered, his voice as cool as ever. "My family runs the local Dojo, and like everyone here, it's been around in my family for a long time." He said, his arms crossed and his piercing brown eyes made Makoto a bit uncomfortable. "Is there anything else you want to know Masaki-san?"

Makoto shook his head and looked down to avoid eye contact. He had a feeling that the tiger didn't like him or anyone else for that matter much. He was an imposing figure, not as tall as Ryutaro but he was a perfectly respectable 190cm and given his muscle mass he had to be at least 95kg's but that was just a guess. Either way, he was a very intimidating feline. He however focused on the twins, Haruki and Tomoki and decided to ask them. "What about you two? Does your family run a business also? What do they do? And are you guys identical twins by any chance?"

Tomoki took this one to his surprise. "Our family doesn't run any particular business. Our mom is a lawyer and our dad is a dentist, and we are identical twins." He said, giving a quick look at his brother who was more focused on Makoto himself.

"Yeah, our parents are pretty busy but they generally let us do our own thing." Haruki said while eating more of the noodles that Ryutaro had brought. They really were delicious, and Makoto slurped some more of his own but his curiosity got the best of him.

"Like letting you dye your hair green?" He asked the other otter who let out a loud laugh.

"Yeah... they weren't happy about me dying my hair my first day of highschool. But they got used to it." He said glancing at his twin who was now looking away. "But I felt like it was a way to stand out so I keep it up."

Makoto just nodded. "So what made you dye your hair? Doesn't the school have a policy against that?" He asked, not knowing much about Japanese highschool policies but he had a feeling they were a good deal more strict than the ones in America.

Haruki just gave a slight shrug and a smile. "The teachers weren't really happy either but they got over it eventually. I'm a good student so they give me a bit of leeway. Though a few still grumble a bit, they gave up on making me stop dying my hair." He said with a smug grin, as if he enjoyed getting reactions out of people with his unusual hair color. "But I'm not the only person in our class with an unusual hair color." He said, jerking his head towards the fox. "You know Kazu, I can help give your hair a more natural color. The bleach blond thing you're trying to pull off does not look good on you." The fox just gave a scowl and gave him the finger, something that amused Makoto a bit. Of course the middle finger got carried over. Imported from American media no doubt since from what his father said, the middle finger meant 'brother' in Japanese sign language but he knew the obvious intent, as did Haruki who looked a bit offended before laughing it off. "Only teasing you man! Chill!"

"I don't need any advice from you Haruki! You look ridiculous with green hair! Why couldn't you at least dye your hair a NATURAL hair color?"

Haruki just let out a laugh and replied right back. "Natural hair colors are boring! Plus, green is my favorite color anyway so there!" He said, sticking his tongue out in an immature manner which made his brother roll his eyes in disgust.

"Grow up Haru..." The brown haired twin muttered in an almost irritated manner. "It's our second year of highschool. Next year is our last so you need to start growing up."

Haruki gave a glare at his brother. It was obvious they had these discussions before as he replied in a surprisingly harsh tone. "Maybe you should get that stick out of your ass Toma-chan! Maybe if you did, then you'd finally develop a sense of humor!" Tomoki snarled back and the two brothers looked like they were going to come to blows before Katsuya appeared out nowhere and slammed both his fists on both of their heads with a deep scowl on his face.

"Enough! Nobody wants to hear you two having another of your sibling squabbles! Either kiss and make up or take it somewhere else! Is that understood?" He demanded, cracking his knuckles as if daring them to start arguing again. Neither seemed happy but at the same time neither wanted to endure another beating from the tiger so they nodded and shook hands and declared a truce. "Good... " Katsuya said, crossing his arms with a satisfied look on his face.

Makoto just gulped at that. It was clear that the tiger seemed to take the role of 'disciplinarian' of the group very seriously and he decided that he definitely did not want to be on the receiving end of said discipline so he kept a mental note to be on his best behavior around the tiger. Seeking to break the tension, he turned his attention towards Kazuki who seemed to be staring off into space. "What about you Kazuki? What does your family do?"

The fox gave a shrug and took out a cigarette and lit it with a lighter. Katsuya gave him a sharp look but the fox ignored it as he took a draft and blew smoke in the tiger's face, causing the tiger to growl. "My uncles run the local mechanic shop, my mom works numerous jobs and that's about it, and that's all I'm answering." The fox's voice was harsh as he took another draft of his cig. "Your turn Jun, tell him about yourself." He said, giving the red panda a swift elbow causing him to let out a quick yelp before glaring and rubbing his side but he let out a sigh and started to speak up.

"If you insist Kazu, but you didn't have to hit me!" Jun complained before turning towards Makoto with an awkward smile. "My family runs the local inn and onsen. We are actually quite well known! We get a lot of visitors from all around Japan but more so from Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto. And the occasional visitor from Tokyo. Also, like everyone else, it's been in my family for generations. We're pretty proud of it." He said with a shrug. "So I think that's about it for us! So, what do your parents do? How are you adapting to Japan? It must be a big change from America." He asked. "The only Americans we get here are sailors so it's kinda cool to have one move here. I mean, it kinda compliments our little German!" He said poking Toshiki who swatted his paw away and gave him a small glare.

"My dad is a teacher of course! I mean, you are in his homeroom with me!" He joked. "My mom is a cardiologist though! She works in a hospital in Osaka so she doesn't get home until late. As for me adapting...I think I'm doing good! It's really nice here, I like the small town feel to everything, plus it's really cool how it's all family owned business here. We don't see that much at home." He said before looking at the clock. "Looks like lunch is almost over so we should probably head back to class." He said with a frown. He was having such a good time. "Thank you everyone." He said, and it was Toshiki who replied though he could tell Shinji wanted to say something given the glare he gave the feline and the tiny smirk of satisfaction the cat had on his face.

"It's no problem, it's good to have friends when you are new and we are all glad we can be there for you! Right, Shinji?" He said, catching the akita off-guard which made the boy blush while looking at Makoto.

"Yeah, I... we are glad to be here for you man." He said while giving Makoto a blinding smile which made Makoto blush. After a bit of shuffling he was on his way back to class with Shinji and Toshiki in toe smiling all the way. It was good to have friends.

Shirominato, April 7th 2015

"Hey! Ouch!" Makoto whined as his sister dragged him to the shopping district. They had just gotten home and Kimiko had gotten the desire to go shopping in her head and since Makoto had been given a personal tour and knew the area well enough (and their dad was too busy grading papers and preparing lesson plans for the year to go out himself and their mom wouldn't be home until at least dinner so she had no other option). "You don't have to drag me you know." He said which made her stop a bit and give a tiny smile.

"Sorry, but I'm just eager to see what they have!" She replied, her steps beginning to quicken as her excitement bubbled over.

"Well, they have a bookstore, a clothing store, a grocery, an electronics store and a candy store amongst other things." He explained from all that he remembered from Shinji's tour a few days ago. "It's surprisingly varied for such a small city but I didn't really go in any of the stores so I don't know what they have in stock." He explained but Kimiko just gave a shrug and smiled.

"That makes it even more fun! Not knowing what they have, you don't get that experience back in Hawaii! But I hope they have some cute clothes though!" She said as they walked into the shopping district. The district itself was a large cul-de-sac surrounded by several large buildings, most of which had the store on the bottom and apartments for the store owner and their family. He remembered that the textile shop Shinji mentioned was one of the first buildings on the street. He remembered this since they always pass by it on their way to school. They walked past it again, but he saw Shinji through the windows manning the cash register. Shinji seemed to see him also because he gave a quick wave and a massive smile which Makoto returned. They passed by the others stores until they finally found themselves in front of the clothing shop and once they entered Makoto was surprised to see one of his classmates behind the counter.

"Oh, hey Yoichi-san! I guess your family runs the clothing shop." He said to the shikoku-ken who blinked in surprise at seeing him, his brown eyes blinking before returning the greeting with a small smile and a bow.

"Good to see you Makoto-kun, it's good to see you as well! Welcome to our store." He said before noticing Kimiko. "Aren't you the senpai who grabbed Toshiki-kun yesterday? Kimiko-senpai right?" He asked in a friendly yet curious tone which made Kimiko duck her head down in embarrassment. Apparently she had been teased a bit in her class all day yesterday over the incident. But the dog just gave a small shrug and tactfully changed the subject. "Either way, what brings you two here? Can I assist you in any way?" He asked, his head tilting in a typical canine fashion.

"We're here to look at clothes! Do you have any cute stuff?" Kimiko exclaimed, eager to get off the subject of her grabbing the small german feline. Yoichi smiled again and then pointed them to the women's section, which Kimiko ran towards with Makoto following slowly behind, realizing he was the one who was probably going to be carrying all the bags back home. Thankfully dad only gave her a ¥12,000 (roughly about $100) spending limit, so he didn't have to worry about her going too out of control right?

About an hour later they were leaving the store, with Makoto, of course, carrying the bags. Kimiko had thankfully only gotten a few shirts and an 'absolutely adorable' skirt that she just 'had' to have. She didn't even spend the entire ¥12,000, to which he was rather surprised about. Next, they decided to check out the grocery store and see the produce they had. But just as they were about to enter, they ran into a familiar tiger, arms full of grocery bags and holding a list. Makoto was almost afraid that the tiger would run them over before he noticed them and stopped in his tracks and regarded them with his typical indifference. "Masaki-san, Masaki-senpai, what brings you two here? Getting groceries yourself?"

"Nah, we're just looking! Shinji-san and Toshiki-kun gave me a tour here the other day, so me and my sister decided to finally shop here. Does the grocery store here have some quality stuff inside?" Makoto asked the tiger in a curious manner.

"Their selection is pretty good I think." The tiger replied helpfully, though his voice still remained cold and his face remained in a scowl, but Makoto figured that was just his default state. "Kugimiya-senpai's family keeps everything well stocked so they are rarely out of the major stuff." He said with a shrug.

"That's good to know!" Makoto said with some relief. "So your parents got you doing errands today Katsuya-san?" He asked but when he saw Katsuya's scowl deepen and the brow creasen he winced, afaid the tiger would hit him like did the twins yesterday but thankfully no fists came crashing onto his skull as the tiger seemed to compose himself.

"Not quite. I'm doing errands, but not for my parents..." his eyes seemed clouded for a moment, then shook his head. "Anyway, I was about to pick up dinner at the deli and that's it." He said before noticing Kimiko who was staring at him starry eyed. "Everything okay Masaki-senpai?" He asked in a concerned tone, not seemingly comfortable with the attention he was getting from the female shiba.

"You're gorgeous!" She muttered with a small blush. "Your muscles are entrancing..." She continued staring at the tiger's bulging biceps, which, given the tiger who was wearing a plain black singlet, had his arms completely exposed. And even when just holding a shopping bag his muscles bulged out almost obscenely. It didn't help that his pecs were also bulging through the shirt and not for the first time Makoto briefly wondered just how jacked the tiger was. But after a few minutes of staring, Makoto forced himself to look away from the tiger, afraid he would start drooling. Looking back, he saw the tiger had a strange expression on his face and he looked incredibly awkward.

"Umm... Masaki-senpai, I'm flattered but..." He said and Kimiko seemed to get the memo as she sighed and nodded. Makoto also understood the implication and his ears perked up considerably. He shouldn't have been surprised but he honestly never saw the tiger as swinging 'that' way.

"I understand..." She muttered with a mild look of disappointment. In that moment, Makoto decided to try and salvage things from getting even more awkward and prayed the tiger didn't notice the tightness in his pants. The revelation that the tiger was also potentially gay got him really excited.

"So, doesn't the deli kinda conflict with Nichibotsu, given they both served food?" He asked, wanting to fill his surfacing perverted thoughts with not so interesting conversation.

"It's simple really, Nichibotsu is more of a sit-down kind of place. Because you sit down and eat, plus more social as you have others around you. The Deli is more of a grab-and-go place. You ask for your food and they bring it out to you and you go. It's really the closest to fast-food as you can get here so it has its own niche." He said with a shrug, an arm crossing over his chest, making his biceps bulge even more in the sun. The groceries seemingly forgotten at the moment in his paws. "Do you two want to follow? I'm just getting something for lunch and heading home but I wouldn't have any complaints on continuing this discussion. I do want to be home before nightfall though." Kimiko and Makoto looked to each other and nodded; both were a bit hungry and they wouldn't have dinner until their mom got home so they had a good while before then. So they followed the tiger until they reached the deli and it was Kimiko who recognized the pretty leopard who was standing by the counter.

"Anju-chan!" She shouted out as she walked up towards the girl who smiled in return.

"Hello Kimi-chan how are you doing? Welcome to my families deli! Do you guys want anything?" She asked before focusing on Katsuya. "The usual Kaz-chan?" She asked and Makoto did his best to not snicker at the cutesy nickname.

"Of course." He said before frowning. "But Hamano-senpai, can you please not call me that? I've asked you before...I'm too old for that."

The leopard just gave a pretty laugh and smiled. "I know, but I'll never stop calling you Kaz-chan. I'll get on to your order. Do you two want to get anything?" She asked, pointing towards the siblings. Both nodded and looked towards the menu above her and made their choices and Anzu-senpai turned towards the back and shouted out. "Hey Shigeaki! We got orders!" A male leopard came out and nodded, looking at the paper with the order and hurried back without saying anything and a few minutes later he came out with several bags and handed them to the others, again without saying anything. Makoto was obviously confused about the lack of speech, something Katsuya noticed and helpfully explained.

"Hamano-san's mute." He said, earning a nod from Makoto. After paying for their foodstuffs, the three of them stepped outside. Now out in the open air, the tiger decided to give his farewells. "It was nice to see you two today," Katsuya said in an almost friendly manner; something that had not gone unnoticed by Makoto, who almost widened his eyes in shock, "but i need to get home. See you both at school Masaki-san, Masaki-senpai." He said before bowing and walking away, leaving the siblings alone who also decided to head home themselves, snacking on their sandwiches along the way, both agreeing that today was a pleasant day.

Makoto's mind wandered for a moment, thinking about the leopard he had just met. He had a classmate in Hawaii who was also mute, so he completely understood why the guy was silent. 'I wonder if he's in my class...'

Shirominato, April 8th 2015

Another day had passed and Makoto was ready to head on home. He was hoping he could maybe call Keywon. They had talked via text the past few days, but given the massive time difference it was a bit tricky but given that today was Friday, he had the entire weekend for that. As he was about to head towards the shoe-lockers he was stopped by Katsuya, much to his surprise. "Hey Katsuya-san! You need something?" Makoto asked curiously. He thought it was odd that the tiger approached him seemingly at random. He got the feeling that Katsuya wasn't one who often initiated conversations. The tiger looked almost awkward, clearly showing he indeed wasn't used to starting conversations.

"I have practice at my family dojo today and I was wondering if you were interested in attending. You don't have to do anything but watch. And since yesterday was interesting, I would like to get to know you more." His face was set in his usual scowl but Makoto could swear he saw the slightest hint of pink in the tiger's cheeks but he was just seeing things. Though he did give it some thought. He didn't have much else to do and he could always talk to Keywon later since he didn't have to get up early for school tomorrow. Plus he could watch Katsuya practice and that meant seeing him in a Judogi and totally sweaty from the exertion. Makoto flushed at the thought. "You okay Masaki-san? What is your answer?"

This snapped Makoto back into focus and his face burned even brighter. "Oh, I would love to! Though I don't know where it is or what time it will start." Katsuya nodded and took a piece of paper and wrote something down on it and gave it to him. Of course it was written in (slightly sloppy) Japanese but Makoto could make everything out easy enough. "Alright I'll see you there!" He said with a smile, putting the paper in his pants pocket. Katsuya nodded and walked away. Next thing Makoto knew, Shinji popped up right next to him out of nowhere.

"What did Katsuya want?" he asked, which made Makoto leep several feet in the air and grabbed his chest. He turned around and glared at the akita in irritation.

"Christ, Shinji! Don't sneak up on me like that!" He cried out, Shinji gave him an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you...but really, what did he want? Katsuya doesn't really just walk up and talk to people. Well, at least anyone besides Shiki." Makoto just took the paper out and handed it to Shinji who gave out an impressed whistle. "Damn, he invited you to the dojo? I haven't been there in years. Shiki goes sometimes so you might see him there and I think Ryutaro attends there if the lessons don't conflict with his work schedule. But hope you have fun man!" He said before walking off. "I got to work again tonight so I'll see you Monday if I don't catch you on the weekend!" He said before rushing off with his usual hyper energy. Makoto just chuckled, finding the akita's energy extremely endearing. He looked at the paper and inspected it a bit. The session was at 18:00 so he had a few hours to get ready. He was sure he would be able to take a shower and change before he had to meet up with Katsuya.

"What are you looking at baby brother?" He heard his sister say. He didn't say anything as he handed her the paper and she gave a giggle. "Aww! Kaz-chan is inviting you to a little date it seems!"

Makoto blushed and took the paper back from her. "That's not it! He just invited me to watch him in his family dojo!" He said, face still burning red from her implications. Heck, he was still 'Masaki-san'! He wasn't even on first name basis with the tiger so he doubted the tiger had any feeling towards him or liked him at all.

"Whatever you say! Tell Kaz-chan I said hi!" She said before walking off and Makoto followed behind her, whistling all the way. True to form, he was indeed able to get a shower and a change of clothes and after hugging his dad he followed the directions and found himself in front of a large traditional-styled japanese building; the building was walled and had a small courtyard and a wooden torii-gate separating it from street itself. Slowly he walked through the courtyard and got to the door but before he even touched it he saw it open right in front of him and saw the large tiger wearing the traditional judogi. He looked good in it Makoto thought. He regarded the shiba and nodded before opening the door further so he could enter the building.

Once Makoto got in the door he saw that the room was full of furs of various species, all of them dressed in the same judogi as Katsuya. They were all sitting in a seiza style, paws on their knees, staring ahead towards a table where three other tigers sat. He noticed an older tiger in his 60's. His judogi was a bit more elaborate from where he was standing. He wore a black belt with 5 yellow stripes. Makoto didn't know anything about judo but he figured it meant the man was very important. He must have been Katsuya's grandfather. The other tiger was a good bit younger than the elder, maybe in his 40's Makoto guessed. The last tiger was his age, maybe a bit older and he seemed vaguely familiar, like he was a classmate. He was so focused on the tigers, he was honestly shocked to see Shiki also sitting at the table. He was in civilian clothes; a simple black shirt and grey slacks and of course wearing his scarf. He was broken from his thoughts when the middle aged tiger spoke, addressing Katsuya in a cool tone.

"I thought you said your father would be here Katsuya. He hasn't been here in the dojo for weeks. Don't tell me, he's at the bar again? You should be home watching him, not staying with your friend here." He said, addressing Toshiki who gave him a glare and looked like he was gonna say something particularly rude before he was interrupted by the other teenage tiger.

"Dad, we both know why he doesn't live with Uncle Ryozu..." the middle-aged tiger gave his son a nod and sighed, rubbing his temples in frustration.

"You are correct Yasuharu, of course, but you still should check up on him more. My brother is a pitiable fool who hasn't been the same since your mother left, you are all that he has now." Makoto could see that the younger tiger was clenching his fists and looked as if he was grinding his jaw. His face was pointed downwards, not looking directly at his uncle (given he called Katsuya's father his brother he figured it must have been the case) and his black hair covered most of his face but Makoto could tell the tiger was getting angry. Fearing a confrontation, Makoto decided to intervene by walking up to the older tiger and bowed in deep respect.

"Thank you for allowing me to come here, sir." He said. The older tiger regarded him firmly and Makoto couldn't help but gulp, intimidated by the intense gaze. But then, to his surprise the man gave a wide smile and spoke, his voice friendly and warm.

"So you must be the Masaki-kun I've been hearing about! My name is Seiji Maruki but here you will refer to me as Maruki-sensei. Is that fine with you?" When Makoto nodded, he let out an even bigger smile and patted the seat next to him and the small feline. "Come, come! Sit down next to Shiki-chan. I would like to get to know you well as my grandson has shown an interest in you and I want to learn the boy who caught his attention."

"Ojiisan!" Katsuya shouted out, his face fully red at the implication. "It's not li-" He managed out before his grandfather let out a cheerful laugh at his grandson's protests.

"You jump to conclusion grandson! Wasn't what I meant! Or was it?" The old man teased, making Katsuya sigh and shake his head in exasperation and Makoto did his best to hide the smile he had on his face. He was a bit surprised to find that the tiger's grandfather was so light-hearted. He didn't expect that from a Judo sensei. However, Katsuya's uncle brought everyone down back to reality.

"Who is going to lead the lesson with Ryozu not being here? This was supposed to be his day to lead our students. Are we going to have to change the lesson?"

It was his own son, Yasuharu who spoke up, much to everyone's surprise. "It's simple! Let Katsuya lead the lesson! I mean, if anyone knows how Uncle Ryozu would lead the lesson it'd be him! Plus he has lead a few of his dad's lessons already so it makes sense he would lead on here as well." The older teen's father looked like was about to protest but he was cut off from his own father who clapped his paws in a delighted manner.

"That's a fantastic idea, my grandchild! Your son is right Hiroshi, Katsuya is more than qualified to lead today's lesson." The eldest tiger said, his voice light and friendly but even Makoto could tell his tone had a hint of finality and that he would brook no dissent from anyone. Katsuya's uncle just nodded and bowed in respect and turned towards his nephew, his face stern.

"You heard your grandfather, you'll be leading the lesson. I trust you will make us proud, is that correct Katusya?" the youngest of the tigers just nodded, still clutching his paw before giving his uncle a polite bow.

"I will make you proud, Ojisan." He said before turning towards his grandfather. "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do this Ojiisan." He said and his grandfather gave him a small nod before directing him to start the lesson. Which with an even deeper bow, Katsuya did and turned towards the students in front of him. "As you heard from my grandfather, I'll lead the lesson in my father's stead. If that is a problem you may leave. Is that understood ?" All of the students nodded, no one getting up to leave, which made the tiger nod. "Now let the lesson begin!"

Makoto sat down in the seat that was offered to him, sitting in the seiza style as he noticed everyone was doing, even Toshiki. As he watched, he was amazed at how skilled Katsuya was at leading the lesson. He was firm but patient and he demonstrated his maneuvers almost flawlessly. Even his own uncle looked impressed but none of the others did. Maruki-Sensei had a wide, proud smile on his face and both Yasuharu and Toshiki had a look of mild smugness on their faces as they both knew he would do well. The lesson lasted for another two hours before everyone went off to the showers to clean up before they went home for the day.

"That was incredible!" Makoto enthused about the lesson he was shown. "I didn't think someone of Katsuya's size could move so gracefully!"

"It takes a lot of practice but Katsuya is the best of the best!" Yasuharu bragged towards his cousin.

"Aren't you the captain of the judo club this year Yasu-senpai? Are you saying Katsuya is better at judo than you?" Toshiki asked, an eyebrow raised in curiosity and possible intrigue.

The other tiger just burst out laughing and gave the cat a firm pat on the back, causing him to wince. "Oh yes, he is definitely better than me at judo. The only reason I'm captain is because I'm a third year and the school prefers to have third years lead major clubs, but he has always been the mvp in terms of people in the club. He's a large part of the reason we made it to nationals last year and I hope this year we can actually win nationals this time. We made it to 6th place last year and I am sure with the current roster we can do even better! Especially with Katsuya being my second in command in the club, I will make sure he whips them into shape." As he was saying this, Makoto noticed that both Katsuya and Ryutaro were exiting the locker room, both dressed in street-clothes and talking amongst themselves as they walked towards the table where everyone else was.

Once they reached the table, Makoto was the first to speak. "That was incredible Katsuya-san! You did a great job! And you as well Ryutaro-san!" Katsuya just gave a calm nod while Ryutaro looked like he was going to blush underneath his scarlet scales.

"Thanks Makoto-san! I'm glad you could make it! What do you guys think about heading to Nichibotsu for some after lesson dinner?" Ryutaro suggested, all smiles and ready to head back to the restaurant to serve and eat at.

In that moment, Makoto could hear his stomach grumble. He didn't have time to get anything to eat while he was getting ready for the lesson and he was famished. He was honestly beginning to like the place and he would never be dumb enough turn down Ryutaro's cooking!

It seemed the others had the same sentiment as they all agreed (all the youths at least) and soon enough, all of them were walking to the cafe and Makoto couldn't help but laugh as Yasuharu-senpai relentlessly teased his younger cousin and Katsuya's humorously violent threats made in response. This continued until they reached the cafe. After a delicious meal, the group all split up and he noticed that Katsuya and Toshiki were walking the same direction home and the memory of Katsuya's uncle saying he shouldn't be staying with 'his friend'. He turned towards Katsuya's cousin who was also watching the duo leave.

"Hey Yasuharu-senpai, does Katsuya live with Toshiki-kun? Why is that?" Makoto asked out of genuine curiosity.

The tiger let out strained smile before he spoke. "Katsuya and my Ojisan don't get along very well. He's been living with Shiki-kun for awhile but as to why, it's not really my place to tell. If you want to know why you'll have to ask my cousin, but I wouldn't advise that, Katsuya is really sensitive when people inquire about it." He said before giving the shiba a very hard clap on the back, making Makoto wince. "Was good meeting you Makoto-kun, I hope to see you around!" He said and began walking the opposite way, Katsuya and Toshiki having left already and leaving Makoto alone. With a shrug, he walked his own way home, looking down on his phone, wondering if he would be able to vid chat with Keywon and tell him about his experiences today. He hoped Katsuya would invite him to another lesson soon.

Shirominato, April 9th 2015

Makoto yawned as he walked towards the grocery. He had stayed up a bit late last night chatting with Keywon, and it had been a blast to tell him all about his day. He told him things were going pretty well since he had moved and everyone was still hanging out and that they would all do their best to contact Makoto when they could. So here Makoto found himself walking towards the grocer for no real reason. Kimiko was going out with some friends to hang out in Minamiawaji. Apparently they wanted to go see the Naruto Whirlpools and do a bit of shopping while they were there, so he had nothing really to do at home or outside. Maybe some gaming but he didn't really feel like doing that right now.

As soon as he walked into the grocer, he saw Ryutaro holding a massive wagon full of supplies and that he was talking to a very pretty vixen who he figured was the Kugimiya-senpai that Katsuya had mentioned. The grocer was a bit small but it had a surprisingly large stock crammed into such a small space. Though it was probably still the largest building in the shopping district. Curious, Makoto wondered why the dragon needed so many groceries but he figured it must have been for the cafe. After a few minutes of standing there, the dragon turned around and beamed.

"Makoto-san! Good to see you! What are you doing?" Makoto just gave a small shrug and asked the same question back, pointing towards the wagon. "Ah, today is restocking day for the cafe and it's my turn to pick everything up. We typically do it twice a week." He explained before turning back to Kugimiya-senpai and handed her the money. "Here is the payment Kugimiya-senpai! Thank you for providing our restock, see you next week." The dragon said and the vixen gave a demure smile and took the money and put it in the cash register and waved him goodbye. Turning towards Makoto, the dragon gave him a large smile. "If you aren't doing anything, I was wondering if you would like to hang out at the cafe for the day. So you can see how things work. That sound fun?"

"That sounds awesome!" Makoto responded. He had always been curious to see how a restaurant worked. Like the background stuff, the things not seen from the outside. Plus, he could hopefully get some free food from the cafe if he helped out.

Ryutaro just smiled and laughed at the shiba's enthusiasm. "Glad you are excited, but come on, we'll find something for you to do!" After a few minutes they found themselves in the Harbor District where the cafe was, and instead of going through the main entrance, the two instead went through a back entrance which led directly toward the kitchen where he saw Ryutaro's father grabbing several plates and put them on a trolley and was just about to head out before he saw his son.

"Ah! Glad you are back son! I see you brought Mako-kun! Welcome!" He said, waving a large paw in greeting. "You can help Ryutaro put things up in the freezer if you wish." He said before taking the foodstuff out into the cafe proper. Makoto looked around to see the kitchen. It was impeccably clean and well organized. Towards the right he saw one of the large commercial ovens with a younger but equally as tall dragon wearing a chef hat and apron. The dragon turned around and gave a wave of his own.

"Hey, Oniisan welcome back!" He said before giving Makot a notice as well. "Also, it's good to meet you Masaki-senpai!" He said before turning his back to the oven and resumed his cooking.

"That's Akira," Ryutaro explained with a relaxed smile. "He's the little brother I told you about a few days ago. But come on, we got some unpacking to do." The dragon said as he carried the wagon into another door that was in the right corner of the kitchen and Makoto followed and found himself inside a cold, chilly room. This must have been the freezer Mr. Sakaki had told him about. The two spent the next hour or so unpacking the various foodstuffs and placing them into the proper designated area. It was actually kinda fun as Ryutaro made an effort to engage him and teach the shiba on the many aspects required to run a cafe like his family did and that he been working at the cafe himself since he entered middle school and he had been cooking since before he could even remember and that he enjoyed it greatly.

"So, what's it like? Do you do the cooking or is it split amongst the family members?" He asked, his curiosity growing greatly. Owning a restaurant seemed so awesome!

"Well I only really work three days a week, given laws on underage labor but the days I do work I handle most of the cooking. Me and my brother tend to swap days but my dad made sure we knew how to cook before we were even able to walk on our own. But I always loved cooking! I get a feeling of pride when I see people enjoy what I make. I was the one who cooked the food I bought that day at school."

Makoto's stomach growled, remembering how amazing the noodles had tasted that day. "That's so cool man! My parents never taught me or Kimiko how to cook. I never thought about learning myself, but I am so jealous you spent your whole life learning, that's so awesome!" He could almost see the dragon blush but it was hard to tell really, given his red scales but it was still really cute. They finished their chores and once that was done they found some steaming tempura on a table in the kitchen and a beautiful dragoness who was noticeably shorter than her husband and oldest son, but she was still a good bit taller than Makoto himself (and probably most women if he were honest).

"So you are the Makoto-kun I kept hearing about." The woman smiled, she had dark-blueish scales and her hair was to her shoulders and was a shade of black and her eyes were a bright hazel just like her son.

"It's good to meet you, Mrs. Sakaki." Makoto said, giving a deep bow to her in respect. "Your cafe is amazing, and thank you for letting me help around. It was so nice to learn how working in a restaurant is. I appreciate the experience."

"Oh, aren't you a sweetheart." Mrs. Sakaki said with a big smile. "It's always good to have help." She said while pointing towards the food. "Please boys, go ahead and eat up, you guys must be famished after restocking the fridge so have fun." She said before walking out of the kitchen and into the dining room of the cafe. The two dug into the food and it was of course delicious.

"It must be awesome getting food like this everyday! I mean, my parents are good cooks but nothing like this." Makoto said in-between bites of delicious food. Ryutaro just shrugged as he wiped his face with a provided handkerchief. Makoto took a moment to appreciate the dragon. He was an imposing figure, even sitting down he seemed massive. Broad shoulders, developed chest and arms, and despite being a bit pudgy compared to Katsuya who was all muscle, Makoto could tell the dragon was immensely strong. His scales were also a dazzling shade of crimson that seemed to almost shine in the light of the kitchen.

"It's alright. I guess when you have it everyday you get used to it." He said in a nonchalant manner as he started eating again, after taking another bite he continued in the same tone."Like I said, I've been helping with the cooking since as long as I can remember. It's just part of life for me in all honesty, so I never really thought about it. I know some people who don't even get a home cooked meal after school so I know just how lucky I am, but it's just a part of my family." He said before letting out a small smile which Makoto found completely adorable. He could see, despite the massive and imposing frame that the dragon was a complete softy at heart and wouldn't hurt a fly.

"That's so cool! My parents always made sure we had home cooked meals, just like they did and we always had a rule that we ate together. No phones or anything distracting was allowed. Dinner was family time after all. I never really learned how to cook on my own but I would like to learn if you're willing to teach me!" Makoto said, a content smile on his face as he rubbed his swollen belly. He was so full and happy!

Ryutaro gave a large grin that showed off his sharp teeth and laughed. "We'll see if we can arrange that! I'm usually pretty busy between work and judo practice, plus me and Katsuya have our own workout routine. The guy is a serious fitness buff and I can barely keep up with him half the time. In all honesty, if it wasn't for him I'd probably be a complete fatass." He said, poking at his tummy. "I'm still a bit flabby for my taste but I guess it comes with working at a restaurant I guess." He said with a slight shrug.

"So what got you into judo and stuff? You don't seem the martial arts type of guy to be honest. No offense, but you are kind of a big softy from what I've seen." Makoto commented, hoping that he didn't strike a nerve.

Ryutaro blushed at that, though it was kinda hard to tell with his scales already being a shade of bright red, but his facial expression made it clear that was the case. After a few moments of silence, he sighed and started to explain his reason. "Honestly, mainly to support Katsuya. He's really a nice guy deep down. It's just that he has a hard time opening up to people. Shiki-kun and Shinji-san are the only people he ever calls by their first name. I am sure you have noticed how he calls you Masaki-san, and I'm still Sakaki-san to him most of the time. I can probably count the amount of times he's called me Ryutaro on one paw." He said with a loud bellow. "But he and Shinji go way back, as in before preschool. They used to be extremely close, even closer than he and Shiki are now, but things kinda got strained when Katsuya's mom left him and his dad. That was a rough time for him and a little after that, he wound up moving in with Shiki and his grandpa. But I just joined judo to be close to him. He might not show it often but he gets lonely. Everyone is so afraid of him just because he looks mean and they don't really get to know the real person and he hates that. Don't tell him I told you this, he'd beat the shit out of me if you did."

"I won't." Makoto held up his pinky, waiting for the dragon to do the same. He smiled when the gesture was reciprocated. "So why does he live with Toshiki-kun? I know he and his dad apparently don't get along well. Why is that? Is it because Katsuya's gay?"

"It's not my place to tell you Makoto-san..." Ryutaro stated in an uncomfortable manner. "It's a real personal matter for Katsuya and it's ultimately his place to tell if he wants." He said with a loud sigh. "It's just a very complicated matter and I don't feel comfortable saying something that he should tell, so drop it okay?" Makoto nodded and apologized for his curiosity, which Ryutaro just shrugged off. "It's no problem, you're curious. That's natural but again, you should ask Katsuya if you really want to know." He joked as he finished up his food. "Let's clean up and we can go up to my room and hang out. I got a PS4 if you want to play some games." This perked Makoto's interest quite a bit as he had a PS4 at home. He had gotten it as a christmas gift last year but he hadn't dug it out of out of his suitcase yet. "That would be awesome!" He said just as Mrs. Sakaki walked in with a small smile on her face.

"Hey sweetie, Kaz-kun and Jun-chan are wanting to see if you wanted to hang out?" Ryutaro and Makoto looked towards each other and nodded in agreement. Makoto was still a bit curious about the fox. He had a delinquent look to him, which Makoto found kinda cool. He believed he would fall under the yankii subculture, but then again, Makoto's understanding of the wider Japanese culture was painfully lacking when it came to the innumerable subcultures that came and went in the land of the rising sun. Though he still struggled to see what the two of them had in common as the red panda was the farthest thing from a delinquent. After thanking Ryutaro's mother for the food, the two left the kitchen and saw the duo sitting at the table closest to the door and he could see Mr. Sakaki eyeing the fox warily. Ryutaro also noticed this and frowned towards his father.

"Be nice dad, you know Kazuki would never cause problems here." He said, disapproval in his tone. Makoto wondered if they had this conversation often.

The older dragon sighed and nodded, his shoulders sagging in what looked like guilt. "I know...you're right. I went to school with the boy's father. He was a good man and it makes me sad to see his son turn into a yankii. "

"What happened to Kazuki's father?" Makoto asked but before anyone could respond her heard a harsh voice from behind him.

"That would be none of your damn business Masaki, so drop it!" He turned around to see an annoyed looking Kazuki with Jun standing in the background in an awkward manner and seeming to debate if he should step in and intervene or not. Makoto was honestly caught off-guard by the fox's temper and those grey eyes seemed to be more cold iron than anything else. "Let's get one thing straight." He said, calming down a bit with a breath. "You're new, so I'll let you in on a little secret. I don't like nosy people, they piss me off frankly. So just drop it if you know what's good for you." He said before turning towards Ryutaro. "We were gonna head to the park. And since we were in the area, we decided to see if you wanted to come along? Didn't think you'd have Masaki here though." He said, giving another hard look towards Makoto who sheepishly blushed.

Jun decided this was the time to speak. "You're welcome to come along too Makoto-kun! If you want to, of course. The more, the merrier after all." The chubby red panda said with a bright smile.

"I would love to! I don't have much else to do honestly, so I would welcome the chance to get to hang out with you two. How does that sound Ryutaro-san?" He said, giving the dragon the final decision. This was his home after all so he should be the decider in this situation.

"That sounds fun! Me and Makoto were just gonna go up upstairs and play my PS4. This sounds like it'll be more fun though!" He said. With that, he gave a nod to his dad and after giving a nod back, Ryutaro and the others left the cafe and into the streets of the town. As soon as they exited, Kazuki took out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter and lit up a smoke, much to Jun's dismay.

"Really, Kazu? Those things are going to kill you, you know that right?" Kazuki just shrugged and took a hit of his cig and blew out some smoke in front of him. This made Jun sigh and roll his eyes. "Fine, when you get sick, it's on you." He said as the quartet made it to the park. It was a nice day. It was still somewhat chilly but none of them was bothered except for Makoto who was still used to the weather in Hawaii and shivered a bit. Jun noticed this and frowned. "You okay, Makoto-san? You seem cold."

"I'm fine, I'm just getting used to the weather. It's a big change, going from tropical Hawaii to here where it's more temperate. I'll get used to it though so don't worry." Jun just nodded and they found an empty bench to sit down at. There were kids running around, enjoying the weekend and several harried looking parents watched to make sure they were safe, which made Makoto smile. He remembered being that age. His family had moved from California to Hawaii when he was about eight. He had been sad to leave the friends he had made at the time (he still kept in contact with one or two of them but he didn't really remember most of his friends back then), but his mood cheered right up because he had met Rian and Natanel the first day (kind of like how he met Shinji and Shiki. How weird). He met Cho and Kouya a bit later, though he didn't meet Keywon until they were in 7th grade, but they quickly became best friends. Thinking about this made him really miss his friends back home but his thoughts were broken by Kazuki waving a paw in front of his face.

"Oi, Maruki! You zoned out on us!" He said in an annoyed tone which made Makoto blush. He noticed both Jun and Ryutaro were looking at him in concern.

Makoto quickly shook his head. "Sorry, I was just thinking about my friends back home. We used to run outside like those kids when we were little. I'm sure you guys did the same."

Jun smiled and nodded but Kazuki gave a shrug. "Of course! Me and Kazu used to do this all the time! Along with the twins of course." He said with a smile before a frown settled on his face. "Those two weren't always at each other's throats you know. They used to be extremely close...it's kinda sad that they do nothing but fight now."

Kazuki snorted and rolled his eyes at that. "Siblings fight. They all fight. You should know this by now.." He said in a dismissive manner, which made Ryutaro laugh and slap Kazuki on the back hard enough to make him let out a harsh grunt.

"What would you know about siblings Kazuki? " Ryutaro said while still letting out a loud bellowing laugh, grabbing his tummy. " You are an only child. You never had a sibling so you wouldn't understand. I get along fine with Akira. We almost never argue. As for the twins...I don't really know what goes on between them. I don't like prying, but aren't you pretty close to Tomoki? Why don't you ask him?"

"It's none of my business. I don't pry where my nose doesn't belong unlike SOME people." He said, giving a pointed look at Makoto which made the shiba look away in embarrassment. He did feel bad for prying into Kazuki's dad but he didn't have to keep bringing it up.

"Be nice, Kazu," Jun chided, frowning at the fox. "He didn't mean anything by it, so ease up will you?" Kazuki looked like he wanted to retort but seeing Jun's crossed arms and severe frown, he looked down and muttered something unintelligible before looking at Makoto, his face looking slightly friendlier.

"Sorry for being so harsh mate," he said while lighting another cig, ignoring Jun's disgusted grumble and took a big huff. "I'm not the best with people, as you can tell. I just don't care for nosy people." He said, taking an even larger drag of the cig and huffed some smoke right into Jun's face, causing him to cough and glare at the fox who gave him a sly smirk. "Stop making those faces, it's my body Jun and I can do whatever I damn well please with it so if you would so kindly back off and let me enjoy my smoke." Jun stopped coughing and glared harder and let out a loud huff.

"Fine, when you get lung cancer before you are 25 don't come running to me Kazu." Jun muttered angrily. Kazuki just rolled his eyes and took one final drag of the cig before throwing it to the ground and stepping on it to put it out. "At least put your cigarette butts in a bin somewhere! Don't litter!" Kazu just mumbled and picked up the butt and threw it in a bin nearby.

"You are so bossy Jun, you know that?" the fox said in an annoyed manner which the red panda shrugged off. Ryutaro then decided to take the lead in this situation.

"That's enough you two..." he said, chiding the arguing friends in a friendly matter. "Let's just enjoy each other's company while we still can. We are almost done with school so let's just get along okay?" Jun and Kazuki both looked towards each other and then to Makoto and then to Ryutaro and nodded their heads in a truce before shaking paws. Afterwards the quartet enjoyed their time together and soon enough it was getting dark and Makoto said goodbye to the other three and walked his way home, glad he had gotten to enjoy a day with his new friends.

Shirominato, April 10th 2015

Makoto once again found himself wandering around the streets of the town. He was bored honestly, and he was still new to Shirominato so he didn't know many people outside the little group he had met. He figured he could check and see if Shinji wanted to hang out but he recalled something about working this weekend because they had a large order to get ahead of so he didn't have time to do anything. He didn't know where Toshiki lived and he was sure Katsuya wouldn't appreciate being bothered by him. So he was left to Ryutaro, who he had spent a lot of time with yesterday and didn't want to bother him since he probably had other stuff to do. It was the same with Jun and Kazuki, though he had no idea where the inn was or Kazuki's families garage so he was basically lost on what to do. He was honestly about to head home and maybe do some gaming before his ears perked up when he heard two familiar voices ring down the street.

Running towards the sound, he noticed two identical otters were walking together down the street holding bags with one of them holding a list. The two seemed to be arguing about something but Makoto was just happy to find some familiar faces. "Haruki! Tomoki! Hey!" He called out as he rushed towards the two, interrupting their unknown argument. They both gave him a small smile, both seemingly surprised to see him out.

"Hey, Makoto!" Haruki greeted while Tomoki just gave a polite nod. "What brings you out?"

Makoto just shrugged. "I don't really have a reason to be out honestly. It's boring at home, Kimiko is out with her friends and my dad is too busy grading papers to do much and my mom is catching up on sleep so I don't have much to do there except for gaming and I don't feel like doing that today." Makoto said with a small shrug. "What are you two doing? " He asked them back, curious to what they were up to.

Tomoki and Haruki looked towards each other but then both shrugged and agreed to let him in on it. "We're gonna hang out with Shigeaki-kun. He isn't working today so we were gonna just walk around and hang out." Tomoki answered first, his eyes more focused on his phone rather than Makoto himself. Haruki continued from where he left off with a smile.

"Yeah, he's a pretty cool guy. You wanna come along?" He asked, completely ignoring the withering look his twin brother gave.

Letting out a soft sigh, Tomoki spoke. "If you have nothing else to really do, then you might as well tag along, but I warn you, Shigeaki-kun is mute. Do you know japanese sign language?" Makoto shook his head. He didn't know it. He knew american sign language, given his mute friend from Hawaii but he had never bothered learning any other ones. Tomoki sighed and shook his head before speaking again. "It's alright, we'll serve as interpreters. Also please don't bring too much attention to him being mute. Shigeaki-kun is very sensitive about his muteness so he doesn't like people bringing it up too much. It's pretty hard on him sometimes."

Makoto just nodded. He knew it was tough on Leroy so he could only imagine it would be similarly difficult in Japan. "I understand, I had a good friend named Leroy. He was turned mute during an accident when he was little and he was never able to speak since. Was Shigeaki-san always mute?"

"He's been mute as long as we have known him, and we've known him since preschool so I'm guessing yes?" Haruki said with a polite shrug as they continued their walk, eventually reaching the deli where the Hamano's lived.

Walking in, they saw his older sister Anju who gave them all a wide smile. "Hello you guys! Shigeaki will be down shortly! He was doing some last minute help in the kitchen but he should be done any minute." Just as she said this, the young male leopard rushed past her, waving goodbye before he rushed up towards the trio and after giving Makoto a smile and bow he looked towards Tomoki, signing something while the otter nodded along before answering helpfully.

"Makoto-san wasn't doing anything so we decided to bring him along. Would that be okay Shigeaki-kun?" The otter asked politely. The Leopard swiftly signed something while nodding with a smile on his face before turning towards Makoto and signed something before bowing. Makoto just gave a confused smile, not sure what exactly the feline was trying to tell him but he did return the bow to be polite. Shigeaki seemed to notice Makoto's confusion, judging by him turning towards Haruki this time and signed something while looking towards Makoto as if asking a question.

"Makoto doesn't know JSL, sorry, but Tomoki and I are more than happy to tell him what you mean if that's okay with you?" Shigeaki nodded enthusiastically, giving another smile before signing something else towards Makoto which Haruki helpfully explained. "He's asking you if you wanna walk around the docks? To see the ships come in."

Makoto just nodded and turned towards the leopard with a bow and smile. "That sounds fun! Shigeaki-san, I would love to watch the ships come in!" He said and with that, the now quartet left on their way to the dock. As they arrived, all four of them were laughing (at least he and the twins were laughing. Shigeaki gave the motions of laughing but of course, no sound came out as he did so). He was finding that he really enjoyed the company of the leopard. For someone who couldn't speak, he was very funny and he would probably be even funnier if Makoto understood what the boy was saying through his sign language. He really should ask his dad and see if he could do some tutoring on JSL for him, so he wouldn't have to rely on everyone else to understand what Shigeaki was 'saying'. He was once again broken from his thoughts when he felt Shigeaki tugging on his arm.

"You need something Shigeaki-san?" He asked, bringing his attention to the always quiet feline. The boy merely shook his head and pointed a bit ahead of them. Following his direction, Makoto looked forward to see the twins sitting next to each other, laughing as they watched the cargo ships pull in and out of the port area. It was a beautiful view as far as Makoto was concerned. They were overlooking the ocean and the proceedings of the shipping area. He had learned Shirominato had been growing as a port city for a few decades, which had allowed the city to not only grow, but thrive while still retaining it's small town atmosphere. While it certainly was no Tokyo or Osaka, he honestly preferred it here.

Even more so, it was nice seeing the twins looking so happy together. From what he had heard the day before, their relationship seemed a bit strained, but nobody knew why and Makoto wasn't sure he knew either enough to ask such a personal question of them. But right now it was really sweet to see the brothers just laughing and fooling around together. "This doesn't happen often does it? The two just enjoying each others company, huh?" Shigeaki just shook his head and signed something Makoto couldn't really understand but he figured he got the gist of it. "Do they argue often? Do you know why they don't get along much? Kazuki said it happened when they started high school. Could you tell me if you know?" Shigeaki just nodded and began to rapidly sign something which made Makoto sigh and put his paw up to stop the gesticulating feline. "Never mind, I keep forgetting you can't talk." He said, letting out a sigh but winced when he noticed the leopard looked hurt by his statement.

"Sorry, it's not your fault. You didn't ask to not be able to talk. It's my fault for never bothering to learn JSL. I should have learned it when we were preparing to move here." He said apologetically, already feeling bad for making the leopard uncomfortable but the feline just patted his back in a gentle manner and smiled as if to tell him not to worry about it. "Thank you..." Makoto said with a small blush before sighing. "I just wish I could understand you. I feel bad about that." Once again, Shigeaki patted him on his back before they heard Haruki's voice booming towards them.

"What are you guys doing over there? Come on!" He said while waving at more open seats next to him and his twin. Makoto and Shigeaki just looked towards each other and nodded before they rushed and took their seats next to the otter twins. Once they did so, he noticed Tomoki was looking at them both with a small smile.

"It's good to see you guys are getting along!" He said, gesturing to Makoto and Shigeaki. "It's a bit hard sometimes for Shigeaki-kun to make friends since some people don't have the patience to deal with someone who is mute. Which is there loss but even still." He said, giving a small shrug with Haruki taking over grinning ear to ear.

"Yeah, Shigeaki-kun is pretty cool, aren't you buddy?" Haruki stated, his smile widening when he saw the leopard flush under the praise. "Aww, you are blushing! That's so cute!" He said, which made Tomoki himself chuckle.

"He's embarrassed, maybe we should lay off of him." He said before focusing his gaze on Makoto which made the shiba shudder a bit. "Let's focus on our American friend...you've been here a week, correct? How does it feel? It can't have been easy to just leave a place you grew up in. Do you have any friends you left behind?" He asked, his grey eyes piercing through Makoto and feeling like they were staring into his soul. This got even worse when Haruki focused on him as well.

"Yeah, you told us a bit of your life back in Hawaii but we want to know more. I'm sure Shigeaki-kun would be interested to hear some, wouldn't you Shikeaki-kun?" The silent leopard blushed again and looked towards Makoto with a sheepish nod. With a sigh, Makoto knew he had no real choice, not that he was opposed to talking about his friends but the double teaming the twins were giving him was a bit creepy but he persevered and began talking about all his friends in Hawaii. The others listened intently, all seemingly enthralled by his tales of the antics he and his friends got into in Honolulu and soon enough he noticed it was getting dark. Frowning, Haruki looked towards the sky and then towards the others. "Anyway, it's about time for us to head home don't you think? It's a school night and our parents will get worried if we all stay out too late."

The others looked to each other and nodded with Tomoki doing the speaking for everyone. "True, we should all indeed get home. It was nice spending time with you guys." He said with a bow and with that, the boys all headed their separate ways waiting to see what the next day would bring.

Makoto smiled, happy that he had managed to make so many new friends so quickly.