FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

August 19. Late afternoon. Hiroyuki's Room. Hiroyuki's perspective.

Here I was with Torahiko sitting in front of me, he having confessed his feelings. To be honest, it should've been obvious to me from the start: those times he kept on clinging to me, kept on teasing me, and even sending me that letter. My mind blanked, unable to think of an answer. Come on Hiroyuki, think!

"... Well?" Tora asked, still blushing with his head still facing down.

I took a deep breath and gave my answer. "I... don't know yet."

He lifted up his face to me. "What do you mean 'yet'?"

"I can't answer you right now. This is just too sudden. I appreciate that you have feelings for me, but..."

He closed his fists and spoke in a low voice. "There's someone else, is there?"

"... Yeah."

Tora froze that moment. Well, if you heard that the person you liked had feelings for someone else, it's natural to be surprised right? Even though it's summer, we could feel the air around us grow cold. We stayed silent for a while, unable to look each other in the eye. Just then, he went closer and spoke again.

"You're gonna see how it works with that person first?"

"Yeah. But even if that person won't like me back, I still need time, Tora."

"I understand." He got up and offered a hand, helping me stand up. "Whatever happens, we're still friends, right?"

"Of course!"

Tora pulled me closer and wrapped his arms around me. Being that close, his chest felt so warm that moment, yet my heart hurt like it was about to break. Will this be the last time he'll hold me this close? Even so, my mind still was still filled with thoughts about that person. He let me go after a while and wished me luck before going to the door. Before he went out, a thought came to mind. Wasn't today...

"Tora!"

He turned around. "What?"

I smiled. "Happy Birthday, Tora."

He waved his hand back at me. "Thanks," he said with a smile before shutting the door.

***

August 22. Evening. Minasato Shrine. Torahiko's perspective.

"... Go get 'em, champ."

Telling them about having stuff to do at the inn was all a lie. It was the right thing to do. Going with them right now would just be a hindrance to them. But still, who'd have thought that it was Juuichi-san? Even though it's a little sad for me, as long as Hiroyuki's happy, it's alright. Making my way into the trees by the shrine, there was Hiroyuki and Juuichi-san talking in the middle of an open area. My distance from them while hiding in the bushes was short enough to make up what they were saying.

"I'm in love with you," Hiroyuki said.

Juuichi-san took a step back, his mouth wide open and his face turning red. "S-Seriously?"

With his hands behind his back, Hiroyuki pressed his lips together as he nodded. Juuichi-san regained his composure a second later and an awkward silence fell between the two of them after. Come on, one of you speak! The suspense is killing me!

Juuichi-san looked down. "Nishimura... I'm sorry, but I can't accept your feelings."

As he said that, the fireworks show started, coloring the sky in many colors. No matter how you look at it, this just didn't feel right.

"What? Why?" Hiroyuki asked.

Juuichi-san took a deep breath before lifting up his head and looked at him. "Way back when I first entered high school, it was probably way before that, there was this guy I liked. I tried asking Takahara on what to do, but even he didn't know. Right until now, I still can't decide if I should tell him."

He liked someone else? That was something new. Never thought he would have feelings for someone, a guy no less. But that was beside the point. What about Hiroyuki? At least give him a chance. Don't you think this is being unfair to him?

Seeing Hiroyuki's shoulders shudder, he called out. "Nishimura..."

When he heard Juuichi's voice, Hiroyuki wiped his tears off with his hands and turned away. "S-Sorry... but I gotta go," he said, running away from the field and leaving Juuichi-san alone there.

Alright, that's it! If there was one thing I can't stand, it was Hiroyuki crying. Even if this is Juuichi-san, I just can't let this go like it was nothing. Getting up and walking towards him while curling my right hand into a fist, trying to contain my anger, Juuichi-san turned to me.

"Tora? What are you-"

"I heard everything," I said before punching him on the cheek.

He fell backwards to his side, staggering as he tried to regain his balance. "What the hell, Tora!?"

"I should be the one asking you that question! Why, senpai? Why turn down Hiroyuki?" My voice started to choke, tears coming out from the corners of my eyes. "I was ready to step back if you two started to go out, yet why?"

Taking his hand off his cheek, he glared at me. "It should've been obvious to you by now."

"What?"

"You heard what I said right, that I liked someone?" He started to shout at me as he went closer and grabbed the collar of my shirt. "Well, guess what? That person was you! That's why I turned him down! At least you could've considered that in that little brain of yours!"

When Juuichi-san calmed down he let go of my shirt and walked away without saying another word. All alone while looking at the fireworks, my thoughts focused on what he said.

He liked me? That was even more of a surprise. Then again, it should've been obvious. He always tried to correct me when my behavior got out offhand, showed concern when I got into trouble, and even tried to comfort me when Hiroyuki left the village years ago. But still, he could've just told me back then. Why keep it for a long time?

***

August 28. Afternoon. Kazenari dojo. Juuichi's perspective

Finished with today's training, Ten and I were in the changing room gathering our things together. It's been days since that incident at the Bon Festival happened, and not a word was shared between me, Tora, and Nishimura.

It was understandable; we needed some space to get our thoughts together. Even so, there could've been a way for us to talk to each other without ending up like this. Summer's almost finished, and in just a few days, Nishimura's going to leave us again. At least before that happens, we could resolve this. Spacing out while thinking of all this, my ears twitched while hearing Ten calling for my attention.

"Mikazuki."

"Ah, yes?"

Ten picked up his bag and turned his back on me. "Clear your mind before we face each other in the competition. I don't want to fight someone whose thoughts are clouded," he said before heading towards the exit.

"Clouded? What do you mean by that?"

"Goodbye, Mikazuki." Only his footsteps from the corridor could be heard after.

Damn it! Even here, my mind can't focus on anything. Maybe it would've been better if Hiroyuki hadn't come back. Wait, what am I thinking here? He's my friend. This isn't right. Yes Tora liked him, and that was fine with me. But still, why did all this have to happen? With no options left, I turned to Takahara for help.

Meeting with Takahara later that afternoon, we talked about the situation the three of us are now facing. After telling my side of the story, he stood still as he thought of something while rubbing his chin. All I could do while he thought was for me to play with my fingers. Minutes passed before he started to talk about his plan.

"I'll have them come to your competition tomorrow," Takahara said.

"Why there?"

"Because that's the only way you three could meet."

"Right..."

"Besides, we don't know if they'll come or not." He put one of his hands on my shoulder. "Even if they don't, don't leave things hanging."

With me nodding, the plan was settled. All that's left was to wait for them.

***

August 29. Morning. Hiroyuki's House. Hiroyuki's perspective.

Kyouji came by today wanting to talk about what happened between me and Juuichi-san at the festival. It seemed like he already got a feeling of what happened back then. That aside, I gave him my side of the story and waited for his response.

"Did he tell you anything about Torahiko?" Kyouji asked.

"Tora? What's he got to do with this?"

"Oh right, you were gone by that time." He continued and told me that Tora eavesdropped on me and Juuichi-san during my confession, Juuichi-san confessing to Tora his feelings after their confrontation.

Tora was the person Juuichi-san liked? Why didn't I see this before? Whenever they were together, they always had this strange aura around them, something almost like familiarity. With Kyouji telling me about Juuichi-san's competition today, a plan came to mind.

"Let's go. But first, we need to get Tora."

*** August 29. Morning. Ooshima Inn. Torahiko's perspective.

Man, it's been boring the past week, me getting no word from either Juuichi-san or Hiroyuki. Okay, so we had feelings for the other and this situation's complicated for the three of us, but the least we could've done was to talk it out. But then, could we even face each other after all this? Gah, screw it! Let's just see what happens.

Just when I finished thinking to myself, the front door opened with a slam and there was Hiroyuki calling out to me. "Tora, quick, come with me!"

Wait, hold on. For a week, you never made any contact with me and now you're asking me to come with you? Did I fall asleep on the counter again? Pinching my arm to make sure this wasn't a dream, I felt pain coming from it. Yep, this is no dream.

"Uh, alright." I turned to the inside of the inn and called for Dad. "Dad, I'm going out."

Dad shouted back. "Alright."

With me getting out of the counter, Hiroyuki pulled my hand as he closed the front door. Outside, there was Kyouji with him.

"Where are we going?"

"To Juuichi-san's competition," Kyouji said.

A chill ran through my back after he said those words. Sure meeting him right now would allow us to put this matter to rest, but we still don't know how it'll end up. To be honest, it scared me. Even so, let nature take its course.

"Alright, let's go."

***

August 29. Noontime. Kazenari Martial Arts Hall. Juuichi's perspective

Come on, Juuichi! What are you doing? This dog's nothing but a pushover for you. Don't let yourself get distracted. What matters right now is this match. But still, what would happen now? Are they here? Are they not? If they're not, what would I do? Just as the referee was about to call for the restart of the match, my eyes caught sight of Nishimura and Torahiko shouting cheers at me.

"Juuichi-san! You can do it!"

"If you don't win this one, I'll give you an even stronger punch!"

My eyes widened at the sight of the two. Really now, those guys can't sense the mood around here, can't they? Now, onwards with the match!

The match restarted, ending with me giving a sweeping leg throw at the dog. Looking back at it, those thoughts from before just seemed hilarious now. Ah, whatever. What's important is they're here. While going up to the benches to meet them, I saw Ten and Shun who were with them leaving as they went to the back. Oh right, we still have our match later.

The three of us got to talking again, us apologizing to each other for what led up to now. As my match with Ten was about to begin, we agreed to meet later to talk more. Win or lose, it doesn't matter. After this, we can settle everything.

***

August 29. Afternoon. Stairway at the back of the hall. Hiroyuki's perspective.

The three of us sat in a circle on a flat area in the middle of the stairway, the sky tinted orange by the sunset. Even though we agreed to talk here, all we did for the past few minutes was to stare at each other. Well, with this setup of ours, would it be possible to talk with each other like normal? Tora liked me. I liked Juuichi-san. Juuichi-san liked Tora. We're friends yes, but this just felt awkward for us. Even so, nothing will come of this if we remained silent. Someone had to speak, and it looked like it was gonna be me.

I turned to Torahiko. "Tora."

"Huh, what?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, but I can't return your feelings. Truth is, I still like Juuichi-san."

"O-oh..." Tora said, looking down. Juuichi-san did the same, turning to his side.

"But..." I got up to my knees and looked closer at his face. "Could I ask from you a selfish request?"

"Sure. Anything!"

I took a deep breath and placed my hands on his shoulders. "Give Juuichi-san a chance."

"What?" Tora said, raising his brows.

"Nishimura," Juuichi-san said.

"It's crazy I know. But, you two have gotten so close to each other during the time I left. I don't want to be the one to ruin things for the both of you. So please Tora, for me..."

Tora clenched his hands. "I'll try."

Giving my word of thanks to the two of them while getting up and leaving them to be alone with each other, my footsteps could be heard while going down the stairway. They were loud enough to cover the almost silent sobs that came out of me while approaching the bottom. It's fine like this. The only thing I could do at this point was to wish for a good outcome for both of them.

***

August 29. Afternoon. Stairway at the back of the hall. Torahiko's perspective.

Hiroyuki's words were heartbreaking, but to be honest, I expected it. Even when he looked like someone who doesn't care so much, he still had a lot of concern for his friends. That was one of the things I liked about him. So now, here I was with Juuichi-san, both of us not knowing what to do. Who's gonna speak first? Just then, Juuichi-san got up and went closer in front of me.

"You alright, Tora?" he asked.

"Yeah. Just fine."

"Look, It's alright for me even if-"

"Juuichi-san, how long have you had feelings for me?"

He paused for a moment. Looking to his side and scratching the back of his head, he started to speak again. "For a while now, maybe even before Nishimura left."

"That long? You mean, during middle school?"

"Yeah. To be honest with you, I felt kind of jealous when I see you and Nishimura together."

"Eh?"

"When I see you two playing together, I could feel something in my chest ache a little. Sometimes, thoughts would run in my mind: 'Hold me like that.' 'Talk to me like that.' It's strange and petty I know." Turning away from me, his face started to have a pained look. "But can't a guy wish for something like that at least?"

Seeing Juuichi-san in this state, the middle of my chest started to feel tight. This was the first he's expressed something like this to anyone, Kyouji maybe being an exception. Thinking of those times we've been together, a thought ran through my mind: I liked being with him. The times we spent together were very fun, though I get hurt at times because of my own stupidity. Even those times he would invite me to do something boring like sit by the lake were enjoyable, just us talking to each other.

Moving closer, I wrapped my arms around him and placed my head on his chest. The sweat on his fur and gi had almost dried up from the wind and the heat, making his scent stronger. His fat that covered the strong muscles that he had made him feel so soft. I gotta admit, this doesn't feel bad at all. It's very comforting.

"T-Tora!"

I let out a smile. "It's alright, Juuichi-san. I know it's a bit sudden, but we could try working things out, right?"

***

August 29. Afternoon. Stairway at the back of the hall. Juuichi's perspective.

What more could be said? Tora hugging me was something I didn't expect to happen. Should I tell him to let go? Do I even want him to let go? For a long time, I only thought this could happen in a dream, yet here we were. My arms shook, resisting the urge to pull him closer. Tora noticed this.

"If you want to hug me back, just do it," he said.

Hearing those words from him, my body felt lighter. He was right, though. Why do I need to hold back? There's no distance between the two of us anymore. He already knew how I felt about him. Closing my eyes, I put my arms around him, pulling him closer while trying to hold back my tears. Just then, he looked up at my face and moved closer, his lips meeting mine as we kissed.

***

August 31. Morning. Minasato Bus Stop. Hiroyuki's perspective.

Today was my last with everyone here. Although I wanted it to last longer, it just can't. Despite that, a lot of good memories were made this past month. What stood out the most was helping Juuichi-san and Torahiko get together. Yes, it still hurt that I got rejected, but seeing them back to their old selves was enough to make me happy.

While everyone was saying their goodbyes, they gave me various gifts: a wood carving of a plane by Tatsu-nii, a soccer ball signed by Kyouji and Soutarou-kun, sandwiches to eat on the way by Shin-kun, a copy of the lyrics me, Kouya, and Shun-kun thought of, a scrapbook by Kounosuke, and two box lunches made by Torahiko. Juuichi's parting gift was his own jacket, telling me to return it when I come back for winter break.

"I will."

"Good," he said,

Hearing the sounds of the bus' horn, it stopped in front of us, the conductor calling for the passengers. Before I did, I had Tora and Juuichi-san come closer, me whispering something to them.

"Take care of each other, okay?"

In agreement, Tora ruffled my hair, Juuichi-san pulling on his tail just to stop him.

Waving my hand and saying goodbye to everyone from the bus window as it started moving, I got back in when they started to get distant. Thank you, everyone. I'll never forget this. Juuichi-san, Tora, be happy together.

***

August 31. Morning. Minasato Bus Stop. Torahiko's perspective

And there he goes. In just one month, all of us made up for those five years of being separated from Hiroyuki. We went to the beach, did camping together, enjoyed the Bon Festival, and played together when we watched the meteor showers. It could've lasted longer, but this is fine. There's still winter break, of course. Besides, why should I feel lonely? Juuichi-san's with me here.

"Well, it's time to go back to the inn," I said, putting my hands behind my head while turning my back towards Juuichi-san. Before I could take my first step, he stopped me.

"Wait, Tora."

"What?"

"Do you..." He looked to his right, his cheeks turning red. "... want me to walk with you?"

Finding his actions funny, I chuckled. When he's not looking like someone with a stick up his pants, he's very cute in his own way. Guess that's why Hiroyuki fell for him. Let's not waste this moment. It's time for Tiger Prince Ooshima to get some royal treatment.

"Sure, but you're carrying me by piggyback."

***

August 31. Noontime. Pathway along Minasato. Juuichi's perspective.

Why did I have to ask him? This is just crazy, me carrying him all the way to the inn. Looking at it another way, this is a good form of training. That aside, Torahiko's arms placed on my shoulders felt good, the fur of them brushing on my neck. My back could also feel the rising and falling of his chest as he breathed, his face on the back of my neck.

Torahiko whispered to my ear. "You're cute, Juuichi-san."

"S-Shut up! Do that again and I'll leave you here."

Still, that made me happy. We'll have more moments like these as time passes by, but for now this is good, though the thought of Tora asking me to do this everyday is scary to think about. Just then, he tightened his hold on me and leaned his head near my shoulder.

"Tora?"

He didn't say a word; only his purring could be heard. Looks like he fell asleep. It's a long walk back to the inn anyway so for now, sleep tight, Tora.