January 3

Hinata City, Japan

 

Kitsune drew in a deep breath of night air as she
walked through the streets of Hinata City. An
unexpected warm front had blown through Kanagawa
prefecture two days after Christmas causing much of
the snow that had decorated the town then to melt. The
warming trend had continued until now all that was
left of the snow was a lot of dirty slush and a
general feeling of moisture in the air.

A light jacket was all that was needed to keep the
foxgirl warm as she walked. I hope the weather stays
like this, thought Kitsune as she turned a corner. I
never was a huge fan of winter.

A little further down the street was a sign that had
the word "Highpoints" written on it in silver and blue
letters. Though it had only opened eight months ago,
Highpoints quickly shot to the top of Kitsune�s
favorite watering holes. Good food, a friendly staff
and reason prices had made the new bar popular with
many people in Hinata City.

But Highpoints had one other thing going for it; the
d�cor. Almost every square inch of the bar�s walls was
covered in movie posters. The posters covered all of
film from around the world and the last eighty or so
years of movie making. 

The posters and the films they promoted were often the
topic of lengthy discussions among the bar�s patrons.
Which was entirely the point. To keep the conversation
fresh and the customers coming back the posters were
changed once every two months. Right now American
horror and sci-fi films seemed to dominate the most
space.

But Kitsune wasn�t thinking about any of that as she
strolled through Highpoints� door. Once inside she
cast a quick look around. People sat at the bar, at
tables and in booths talking and drinking. Other
people were playing darts and pool, watching the TV or
just walking around, drink in hand, admiring the
posters.

At the foxgirl�s entrance a several people waved.
Kitsune had quickly become known as a regular not long
after Highpoints� opening. The staff had all learned
her preferences long ago and treated her with an extra
bit of respect due to her being considered a valued
customer.

"Kitsune! Hey, over here!" called a voice. Kitsune
turned to see a blue-haired woman sitting at a table
near the bar waving to her. 

The woman in question was named Aoi Minase. She too
had been one of Highpoints� first regulars. As people
in bars are want to do the pair had got to talking one
night and discovered that they had several things in
common. The most important among these being a mutual
love of drinking, gambling and using their extremely
attractive figures to toy with members of the male
gender.

Of course, there were also notable differences between
the two women. The biggest was that Aoi was three
years older than Kitsune. Aoi was very fond of beer
and playing pachinko while Kitsune preferred sake and
horse racing. Lastly was the fact that Aoi had worked
steadily as a waitress at a restaurant called the Pia
Carrot 2 for the last several years. In contrast
Kitsune had bounced from job to job since graduating
from high school.

"Hey, Aoi," said Kitsune as she headed over to the
other girl�s table. "What have up been up to?"

"Nothing much," replied Aoi. "And you?"

Kitsune thought back to the events from the day before
as she sat down. "Oh�not much. Same old, same old."

"So how was your New Year�s Day?"

"I wish I could remember," said the foxgirl as she
gave the bartender a look that said, "Bring me the
usual." He nodded in response.

"Wow, you must have really partied hearty," grinned
Aoi as she sipped her beer. "I got pretty hammered
myself but I remember a what I did. Well, most of it.
The fun stuff anyway."

"I went the Hinata Shrine anniversary celebration.
They had a free sake table there and�Well, let�s just
say I had my fill and then some."

"A free sake table and I missed it? Damn," grumbled
Aoi. "I was going to go to the shrine thing with my
friend Ryoko. But she somehow got her hands on two
tickets to a special New Year�s Day concert by
Firebomber at the Tokyo Dome. So we decided going to
that instead."

"I like that band too. Was it a good show?"

"Yeah, it was. We both had a great time. Was the
shrine fun?"

"What I remember of it was fun."

Aoi made an amused sound and gave her glass a little
shake. "When you can�t remember what you did the night
before, that�s when you know you had a good time."

"Naru told me that Keitaro found me so wasted I could
barely walk and he had to half drag half carry me
home."

Aoi arched an eyebrow. "Oh, he carried you home. How
romantic."

"I don�t know if I�d call something I was too
plastered to remember romantic," countered Kitsune.
"Yeah, it was nice of him to pass on the fireworks
show to take me home but Keitaro�s a nice guy. There�s
nothing romantic between us at all so stop being
silly."

The blue-haired girl had a feeling she may hit a
tender spot, which intrigued her. When Kitsune did
speak of her building manager she usually stared
things off by saying something like, �You�ll never
believe what I did to Keitaro this time!� But
Kitsune�s last words had come off as just slightly
defensive which was enough to get Aoi�s attention. A
potential chance for teasing like this was not to be
missed.

"Okay, what kind of relationship do you have with this
guy?" asked Aoi. "Other than giving his nosebleeds and
tricking him out of sake money. Or is that all there
is between you two?"

"Uh�well," began Kitsune. If Aoi had asked this
question a few days before the foxgirl would have said
that Keitaro was just a friend, albeit one who was
easy to manipulate for fun and profit. But after
having shared the secret of her family situation with
him Kitsune couldn�t deny that their relationship had
changed. Keitaro was now a confidante as well as a
friend. 

One who had actually made her blush only the night
before. 

"Hey! Earth to Kitsune!" shouted Aoi.

That snapped the foxgirl back to her senses. "Oh, uh,
sorry about that. I zoned out for a second," said
Kitsune as she scratched the back of her head in
embarrassment.

Aoi leaned back in her chair, folded her arms across
her chest and gave a little smirk. "You sure picked a
convenient moment for your little trip to space. In
case you didn�t notice, your face has turned a bit
red. Could someone be blushing? Did I hit a nerve
asking about you and Keitaro? Hhhmm?"

Kitsune�s hand instinctively flew to her face. Her
skin felt slightly warmer than normal. Or did it?

"Dammit, Aoi, that wasn�t funny!" snapped the foxgirl.

"Really? Then how come I�m laughing?" snickered Aoi
through a fit of giggles. 

Now Kitsune really was blushing. Aoi�s going to tease
me about this for weeks. I better set her straight on
how things are between Keitaro and me. Otherwise I�ll
never hear the end of this!

"Look, Aoi, Keitaro�s a nice guy and I do consider him
a friend," said Kitsune firmly. "But he�s just a
friend. I�ve told you how he�s got it bad for Naru.
Though she�s sooner kiss a pig than admit it, she
likes him a little bit too."

Aoi was now over her giggles but not ready to let her
friend off the hook yet. "Okay, I�ll give you all of
that. He likes Naru and she sorta likes him. But how
do you feel about Keitaro specifically? Are you sure
he�s just a friend?"

Kitsune scowled and took a long gulp of her beer,
which had been discreetly delivered while the two had
been talking. Once that was done she exhaled deeply
before looking her friend squarely in the eye. "Didn�t
I just say he�s only a friend? Keitaro�s a decent guy,
but he�s also a geeky second year ronin who turns into
a total spaz when it comes to girls. In no way, shape
or form is he my type. Got it?"

Aoi held up her hands in a placating gesture and tried
to look apologetic. "Okay, okay. I was just having a
little fun and your lack of a romantic life is too
easy a target to pass up.

Kitsune huffed. "All right, you�re forgiven. Though
you�re really not one to talk about someone�s lack of
a romantic life. Aren�t you the one that�s still
mooning over her boss, that Yusuke guy? Which is a
real waste of time since you told me he�s getting
married to some other girl in a few months. Am I
right?"

The blue haired girl rested her elbows up on the table
and lazily let her face rest in her hands. "Yeah,
you�re right. I guess I�m no one to talk. Yusuke�s
really happy and the girl he�s engaged to is very
nice. I should just accept the fact that I was never
anything more than an employee to Yusuke and try and
be happy for them but�"

"Hey, buck up," said Kitsune in a comforting tone.
"You�re not the only one to have someone you had it
bad for leave you behind. I�ve been there too, you
know."

Aoi nodded and looked thoughtfully into her beer mug.
"Right, your tutor from high school. That Seta guy.
It�s been what�Three years since you last saw him?"

"Give or take, yeah, almost three years."

"And a schoolgirl crush still hurts after all that
time? Come on."

"There�s a difference between a crush and being in
love for the first time," informed Kitsune simply. "A
crush is enough like love to make you feel kinda good.
But it�s one-sided so even in your head you know your
feelings can�t hurt you.

"Being in love for the first time is different. When
you realize you�re in love for the first time it�s
like someone takes a blindfold off you that you�ve
been wearing your whole life never knowing it. The
whole world looks different and the person you�re in
love with�well, they just seem to shine."

Aoi gave a little smile and nodded. "Damned if you
aren�t right. Shining�Yeah, Yusuke did seem that way
to me when I looked at him, now that I think about it.
That Seta guy was like that for you?"

Kitsune nodded. "Yeah, he was. He was smart, strong,
handsome and had this goofy natural charm about him.
Plus, he was a Tokyo U student at the time. Trust me
when I say I wasn�t the only one who had a thing for
him."

"That�s a lots of marks in the plus column," commented
Aoi. "I can see why he�d be popular with the ladies."

The foxgirl made an agreeing sound while taking
another long drink. "Even though it broke my heart
when he left I�m grateful to Seta. He was a genuinely
good guy. If you�re going to be in love for the first
time it should be with someone who is a good person.
Because no matter how your first love ends, the person
you were in love with will, in some small way, touch
every other romantic relationship you have for the
rest of your life."

"You were like me, right?" asked Aoi. "You never told
Seta how you felt about him the same way I never told
Yusuke?"

Kitsune shook her head. "No, I never did tell him.
After all this time I still regret that. I�m sure that
if I had Seta would have let me down as gently as he
could. He wasn�t the type to go after schoolgirls,
after all. I guess I�d have gotten a broken heart
either way. What hurts the most is the regret of not
telling him how I felt."

"I hear that," smiled Aoi wistfully. 

The blue-haired girl then looked at her friend with an
excited look in her eyes. "Hey, Kitsune, let�s make a
little promise to each other right now."

Those words took the foxgirl aback. What is it with
people and promises in this town? she thought.

"What kind of promise?"

"Let�s promise each other that the next time we find a
guy we love, and I mean really love, that we tell
him," explained Aoi. "Consequences be damned, we tell
him!"

Kitsune looked at her friend oddly for a moment before
one of her fox-like grins crept onto her face. "You�re
right. Life�s too short to not tell someone you love
how you feel."

Aoi arched an eyebrow. "Consequences be damned?"

Kitsune�s grin only got bigger. "Consequences be
damned."

"Cheers to that!" proposed Aoi as she raised her beer
high.

"You read my mind," said Kitsune as she too raised up
her drink.

"Cheers!" toasted the pair loudly. They then proceeded
to drain their drinks in one shot.

After that the pair signaled for another round which
was brought a minute later. Neither girl spoke until
she had another beer in hand.

"You know, the sad part of that promise is that it�s a
lot easier said than done," lamented Aoi as she took a
drink. "Decent guys are in real short supply these
days. Especially around here. God, I swear, there are
days when I think that there are nothing but perverts
in this town."

"No kidding," snorted Kitsune. "I get my share of
perverted guy stuff from Keitaro back home. At least
there it�s funny. Anywhere else, unless I�m trying to
weasel a few free drinks out of the guy, it�s just a
pain in the ass."

"Tell me about it! I�m a waitress and the Pia Carrot 2
uniforms are really cute. That combined with my
naturally sexy body makes me a prime target for all
the pervs that come in," said Aoi, in complete
seriousness. "I like the physical as much as much as
the next healthy young gal, but I really could do
without sixty-year-old guys trying to grab my butt for
a cheap thrill."

"I hear you," nodded Kitsune. "I�ve done the waitress
thing a few times myself. Those geezer types can
actually be worse than the young guys who just try and
pick you up."

"I suppose I shouldn�t complain too much," mused Aoi.
"Pia Carrot is a family restaurant chain, so we don�t
have as bad a problem with perverts as some other
places. After all, who wants to be seen trying to feel
up the waitress in front of a mother and her
two-year-old kid or someone like that? Besides, when
someone like that does show up we just sic Miki on
them."

"Miki? That�s the waitress who fancies herself a manga
artist in her spare time, right?" asked Kitsune.

Aoi nodded. "Yeah, that�s Miki. She�s pretty good with
a pencil, but what she�s really good at is waving
around a kitchen and yelling when she gets mad." 

Kitsune chuckled. "Sounds like she�d really get along
with Naru. She tends to hit people when she gets riled
up. And Motoko too. Get her angry and you�ll get a
sword in your face faster than you can �Masamune�.
Keitaro dreads ticking off either of them."

"They all do sound a bit alike," concurred Aoi. "Heck,
you should see the poor sap that delivers the
restaurant�s vegetables. Miki�s chewed him out for
being late while waving a kitchen knife around so many
times that the poor sap is scared to death of her.
You�d think he�d just learn to be on time but�Well,
that�s just how he is. 

"Anyway, that temper of Miki�s is why whenever we have
a problem with perverts we send her out to give them a
little lecture on 'the inappropriateness of such
behavior in a family establishment�. 

"The looks on those pervs faces as she waves that
knife around is great. They don�t listen to word she
says. They�re too busy ducking to avoid getting
slashed. But what makes it even funnier is that Miki
doesn�t even realize that she�s doing anything
dangerous at all with the knife. She�s just too mad to
notice. It�s hysterical!"

"Sounds a bit like how things can get at the Hinata,"
said Kitsune. "I really should drop by the Pia Carrot
2 sometime. Perverts or not, it sounds like you work
at an interesting place."

"That�s true," concurred Aoi. "Miki�s far from the
only oddball there." 

The blue-haired girl took a long swig from her beer
and smiled. Then a look of realization flashed across
her face. "Oh, hey, I was going to tell you this
earlier but we got to talking about the sad state of
our love lives and I forgot. If you wanna hear a funny
story about some perverts at the Pia Carrot let me
tell you about these two guys who came in last
Friday."

"I�m all ears," said Kitsune.

"They were about your age and both had short hair and
glasses. One was tall and the other on the short side.
I don�t remember what they called each other, but I
was the one who had to serve them so I heard some of
their conversation. I�m pretty sure the tall one�s
name started with and H and the short guy�s with an S.

"Anyway, as soon as they came in I could tell they
were going to be trouble. They just had that horny guy
look to �em, you know? So I show them to their table
and as they�re sitting down the short one tells me
that my uniform is cute, but not as cute as I am."

Kitsune rolled her eyes. "That old line? I heard that
one plenty time when I did the waitress gig. Let me
guess, he said it while addressing your chest and not
your face."

"Bingo!" confirmed Aoi. "It�s no secret that the Pia
Carrot restaurants make it a point to have both cute
uniforms and cute waitresses. After all, any good
family restaurant has to have a little something for
dad and big brother. So I�m used to those sorts of
comments and don�t mind them for the most part. 

"But this guy�I could that what he *really* wanted was
me bringing him food while wearing nothing but an
apron with Aoi ala mode for dessert."

"That�s a colorful image," said Kitsune. "But what
about the tall one? Was he eyeing you too?"

At that question Aoi scowled. "Oh, I wish he had been.
Instead he was eyeing sweet little Mina who was
serving some people a few tables down."

"Mina? Isn�t she the really young one?" asked Kitsune,
her face clearly in concentration. "Sorry, but I�m
having trouble remembering the names of everyone you
work with tonight for some reason. Which I should know
considering that you�ve talked about them plenty of
times."

"Forget it," dismissed Aoi with a casual wave of her
hand. "I once forgot my own phone number even though
I�ve had it for years. Anyway, yeah, Mina�s the young
one. She�s fourteen but is going to be starting high
school soon. Mina�s older sister, Azuza, works with me
too. Even though Mina�s still in junior high, Azuza
managed convince Ryoko that she was mature enough to
handle a job like this." 

"Ah, now the fact that Ryoko�s not just your best
friend but the manager of your branch of the Pia
Carrot I do remember!" proclaimed Kitsune happily. She
then grinned in embarrassment. "Uh, sorry, didn�t mean
to interrupt. Go on."

"I�ll give her credit where credit�s due, Mina�s a
good worker, the customers all love her and all of us
at the Pia Carrot treat her like a little sister,"
began Aoi. "So seeing this guy give Mina one of
�those� looks really got under my skin. That, and the
fact that while I was taking their order the short one
�accidentally� dropped his fork on the ground so he
could try and look up my skirt while he picked it up.
But I�ve had that tired on me plenty of times so I was
able to move so he couldn�t see anything."

Kitsune nodded as she listened. "The accidentally
dropping the silverware routine. The first time I
worked as a waitress and a guy pulled that on me I
didn�t realize what he was doing until it was too
late," lamented the foxgirl. "That was how I learned
the hard way that there actually are some times when
thong panties just aren�t a good idea. 

"Word must have gotten around to the local perverts
real quick because before I knew it I had guys trying
that on me half a dozen time a day. Even after I
switched to regular panties. I eventually had to quite
that job to get away from those pervs. Which was a
real shame since the pay was good."

Aoi was giggling again. "That�s sad, but also kinda
funny. No doubt about it, life�s rough for us working
girls. But let me finish up my story.

"When I went to get those two pervs� food, that was
when the tall one made his move. He called Mina over,
pretending to have a question about something on the
menu most likely. Then he starts in on her. I was
still waiting for their food when I looked back and
saw that he was talking to Mina and that she was
blushing. And I don�t mean the good kind of blushing.
So I called to Miki, who was in the kitchen chopping
vegetables, �Hey, Miki. We�ve got perverts at table
#9. One of �em�s hitting on Mina right now.�

"Damn, but I�ve never seen Miki move so fast. She was
over there lecturing and waving her knife around in a
flash. Those two creeps where petrified. I think the
short one might have even been crying a little bit. It
felt so good to see those two get what they deserved.

"Anyway, the second Miki finished her �lecture� and
went back to the kitchen those two jumped up, tossed
the money for their food on the table and bolted for
the door. They were both in such a hurry to get away
from Miki they almost each other down trying to get
out of the restaurant. It was priceless!"

"Aw, that�s great!" laughed Kitsune. "So what was that
one perv saying to Mina? I hope it wasn�t anything too
nasty."

"I don�t know," shrugged Aoi. "I asked what he said to
her later but she didn�t want to talk about it. I
figured she�s been through enough for one day so I let
it drop. But I don�t think whatever that guy said to
her could have been all that bad. Those two were more
the horny loser type rather than the real sicko type.
Plus, Mina�s the shy, innocent sort. She blushes
pretty easy."

"Sounds like Shinobu," said Kitsune. "You should see
the shades of red she�ll turn if romance or anything
relating to good �ol s-e-x comes up. It�s pretty
funny."

"Ah, to be young gain," sighed Aoi. "I�d hate it.
Going through being a teenager once was enough for
me."

"That goes double for me," nodded Kitsune. "I hope
Shinobu will have an easier time being a teenager than
I did. Right now she�s got her first love thing going
on with Keitaro of all people."

"You�re sure it�s not just a crush?"

Kitsune shook her head emphatically. "No, the way she
looks at Keitaro is the same way I used to look at
Seta. It�s the real deal. I�m sure of it."

"Then I guess that makes her a pretty lucky girl,"
smiled Aoi as she took a drink from her beer.

The foxgirl had a puzzled face. "How so?"

Aoi made an amused smile. "Weren�t you just talking a
few minutes ago about how �If you�re going to be in
love for the first time it should be with someone who
is a good person. Because no matter how your first
love ends, the person you were in love with will, in
some small way, touch every other romantic
relationship you have for the rest of your life,�
right?

"And you said earlier that Keitaro *is* a nice guy.
You don�t think he�s the sort who�d take advantage of
her, do you?"

Kitsune made a dismissive gesture with her hand and
snorted. "Of course not. He�s probably had a naughty
thought about her from time to time, but Keitaro would
never do that to Shinobu. I�ve told you have she looks
up to him and even calls him �sempai�. You can tell by
the look on his face that the way Shinobu looks up to
him means a lot to Keitaro. He�d never do deliberately
do anything to hurt her. Or anyone else, now that I
think about it.

"Besides, the big dope hasn�t got clue one that
Shinobu feels anything more than respect for him.
Though it�s glaringly obvious to anyone who isn�t
named Keitaro Urashima how she feels about him."

"So like I said, she a lucky girl," repeated Aoi. "Her
first love is someone Shinobu both likes and respects,
who cares a lot about her feelings and would never try
and take advantage of her or hurt her. I this big bad
world that�s a pretty rare thing."

Kitsune gazed into her beer and considered her
friend�s words. "I guess you�re right," she said after
a long moment. "Shinobu is pretty lucky. That was a
good observation, Aoi. I never really thought about it
like that."

"I didn�t really do anything," shrugged Aoi. "I just
repeated back to you your oh so poetic musings on love
from earlier, Ms. Poet."

"What�s with the �Ms. Poet� stuff?" said Kitsune while
giving her friend an odd look.

Aoi was smiling to herself again. "I�m just saying
that what you were saying about first loves earlier
was pretty poetic. I never really pictured you as the
poetic sort."

"Aw, come on!" said Kitsune. "You make it sound like I
said something out of Shakespeare or something.
Besides, you�ve spent enough time in bars to know that
booze and talking about your love life will turn
*anyone* into a poet. Usually a bad one. So knock it
off."

The blue-haired girl had one last dig to get in on her
friend. "You used to write really angsty poetry when
you were a teenager, didn�t you?"

Kitsune blanched and glared at her friend. "Aoi!"

The other girl snickered loudly. "Hey, don�t feel bad.
It�s something most teenage girls do at least once or
twice. I admit it. I did that a few times.

"Hey, did you save any of them? Can I read them, Ms.
Great Poet Kitsune," begged Aoi in an exaggerated
voice.

"AOI!"

"All right, all right. I�ll stop. From now on no more
talk about romance, okay?"

"Okay," huffed Kitsune. "Come on, let�s get with the
gettin� blitzed. God knows I could do without
remembering the last few minutes in the morning."

"Before we do that I just want your opinion on one
last romantic thing," said Aoi. "I know what I said a
second ago but�well, indulge me."

"Oh, all right," sighed Kitsune. "But make it quick.
This beer�s not getting any colder."

"Do you think that there really is a special someone
out there for everyone?" asked Aoi simply.

Kitsune noted the serious look on her friend�s face
before pausing to consider. The foxgirl thought deeply
for several moments before looking Aoi in the eye
again. "Yeah, I actually do. I don�t know why, but I
do. My past experiences with love sure aren�t evidence
to support that, but that�s how I feel. I guess�I
guess I still like to think that there�s some hope yet
for romance."

Aoi gave a small, slightly sad smiled and raised her
beer glass. "Yeah, I guess that�s how I feel too. So
here�s to romance. May it lead us two sexy gals to our
special someones."

"And may that day be sooner rather than later," added
Kitsune with a melancholy smile of her own.

"Cheers!"

 

To be continued�


FYI, I lifted Aoi from the Pia Carrot 2
videogame/anime. I`m a huge fan of the character and
she seemed a perfect choice to be Kitsune`s friend.

=====
"What is the difference between genius and stupidity? Genius has limits." 
-Albert Einstein

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!
http://sbc.yahoo.com

             .---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
             | Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
             | Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
             |     Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject     |
             `---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'