FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

As the bus left the station, I stood here and took a moment to savor the atmosphere: the clear blue skies, the rustling of the trees, and the scent of grass and earth carried by the breeze. Every single one of them gave me a feeling of nostalgia as I recalled once more the days I spent here. Since no one was around - strange as Tora said that he would wait for me - I tried doing something that would have probably have people calling me crazy. Bowing my head down, I offered a formal greeting to the village.

"I'm back, Minasato. Sorry for taking a while."

Just then, I heard some rustling coming from the bushes. Puzzled, I went closer and was startled by the figure that popped out. It was a large tiger-man with noticeably built muscles, him wearing a red tank top and roaring at me. There were a lot of beastmen in this village, as opposed to the city where I could probably spot one of two of them. How they came to exist in this world of ours though was something I would rather not question. I never really did have much care for the history subjects back in school. They existed the moment I was born and that was it for me.

But that aside, here I was on the ground, my whole body shaking as the tiger's figure blocked out the sunlight. Even the cases that I carried fell on their sides when I let them go out of fear. And just when I thought I was done for, the damn tiger started laughing his ass off.

"Man, that was easy!" the tiger said. "Oh, your luggage. Here, let me pick them up."

"Wait! Are you... Torahiko?"

"Ouch, Hiroyuki," the tiger said, standing my cases back up. "That hurt. I remembered your face you you completely forgot mine?"

"B-But back then, you were even shorter than me! What happened?"

Torahiko snickered. "I had a growth spurt back in junior high. And since I took a liking to swimming and hitting the gym, I got even bigger."

"Is that so, huh? I'm kinda jealous..."

"Ah, don't sweat it! Anyway, you were taking a while so I decided to surprise you."

Well, I was indeed surprised. Though his body had pretty much outgrown mine, his energetic personality still hasn't changed and I was happy about it. Then out of nowhere, Tora pulled me close and gave me a firm hug with his striped furry arms. Our differences in height became even clearer when he did that. Back when we were kids, he was such a small and cute tiger who needed to jump or even stand on his toes to give me a hug. Now, he was big and strong, and my height can only go up to his chest. While I did appreciate the gesture, the hug was a bit too forceful, and it was hurting me. To my relief, he let go after a short while.

"Geez, Tora. Go easy on me next time. That hurt!"

Tora chuckled. "Sorry. Just really glad to see you, that's all. Anyway, when I mentioned to everyone about you coming back last night, you wouldn't believe how excited they were!"

"I-Is that so...?"

"Damn straight! After you get things set at home, you better head straight to Raimon. You have a lot of catching up to do. And I mean a lot!"

While Tora said that, he put me in a headlock and rubbed his fist onto my head, me begging him to stop. He was always one who loved physical contact, especially with me, but this was a bit too much. When he finally stopped, I asked him if he could give me his cellphone number and e-mail. To my surprise, he said that no one in the village had one as they were out of range.

"Only Kazenari has reception as of now," Tora said. "But Shigure-jiisan is working on our little 'connection problem'."

"So I guess you don't have any computers or an Internet connection here either?"

"Nope. Besides, we only used the computers for schoolwork, so the ones at Kazenari Public Library are good enough."

So much for wanting to get in touch with them. But then again, being cut off from the busy city life would be a refreshing change of pace for me. Carrying the luggage, we headed for Grandpa and Grandma's home. As we walked, I surveyed the surroundings and it seemed like not much has changed. The rice fields were still there, the dirt roads were still dirt roads though it led to some pavement farther on, and there was barely a concrete building in sight. It was like the place was stuck in an unchanging realm!

There was one small change that Tora mentioned: the village revitalization project. It was something that involved Kounosuke and the number of weird souvenirs increasing to attract tourists. I wanted to ask more, but Tora had me save my questions for the party. When we finally got to my place, Tora let go of the other case and we bade each other goodbye, him heading to Raimon. It was just like the old days, except that Tora grew bigger than me.

Right after I called Tora last night, I called Grandpa and Grandma to let them know that I would be staying with them for the summer. They were more than happy to let me stay, and before ending the call, I apologized to them for not being able to visit them in the past years. And now that I was here, I opened the sliding door and announced my arrival. Grandma came out of the living room and greeted me in the front hall.

"Ah, Hiroyuki-chan!" Grandma said. "Come on in. Grandpa, Hiroyuki-chan's arrived!"

"Hiroyuki?" Grandpa said, coming to the front hall. "Well I'll be! Never thought I'd see you again after all these years!"

"Sorry for the sudden visit," I said. "I kinda did it all on a whim."

Grandpa let out a hearty laugh. "There's no need to apologize. Come and make yourself at home."

As I carried my luggage, Grandma led me to the room where I would be staying for the whole month. It was a quaint place that used to be Dad's room, it having a TV and a fan. After Grandma pointed out where the futon and the phone was, I told her that I should be going soon as Tora and the rest were waiting for me at Raimon. She got a bit sad about this as she wanted to prepare something special for me, but I told her that we could have it for dinner later. We agreed to it and I got to unpacking my things.

First was the clothes. Taking them out of the bag, I put them into the drawers and when it felt hotter, I tried turning on the fan. Sadly, it didn't work and to ask for a trade with my grandparents would be rude. I would have to deal with the matter later as I was in a hurry. With all my things set, I excused myself and headed straight to Raimon.