Chapter 8: School Day

As we entered the school, a hubbub of chatter and students heading to their classes surrounded us. We stopped at our shoe lockers to change our shoes.

"Looks like we're locker neighbors, Hina-chan," Sayori cheerfully noted.

"Indeed," I chuckled at her enthusiastic nature and replied. As I opened my locker, a sudden cascade of envelopes tumbled down upon me. "Nyaa!" I squealed in surprise, on the verge of falling backward, but Eri swiftly caught me, her face mere inches from mine.

'Eri is so cool,' I squealed internally, my face turning bright red, and my tails swayed excitedly.

"Hina, are you okay?" She asked, her expression filled with concern.

"Mmmh... I'm fine, tha...thank you, Eri," I mumbled shyly, my bashfulness resurfacing after Eri helped me regain my footing.

"Eri, that was so cool, how you caught her out of nowhere. You're like her knight or something," Sayori exclaimed, her excitement evident in her voice.

Eri chuckled and replied, "Something like that," her wink and smile directed at me only deepened my blush.

"What is all this, though?" Sakura inquired while picking up some of the scattered letters from the floor.

We all joined in, gathering the letters, and Sayori giggled as she examined them. "They look like love letters, ah, and it seems they're from both girls and boys."

As we examined the letters, I sensed a dark aura emanating from Eri. My heightened senses allowed me to hear her murmuring, "I don't mind sharing Hina with a cute girl, but I won't let a boy even think about making a move."

I retorted internally, 'That's not something you have to worry about, you know. As a lover of all cute things, I think boys are gross, girls are cute. Oh, and please lower your killing intent,' but instead, I just held Eri's hand to calm her down.

Sakura, seeming to notice Eri's aura, chimed in, "They should probably give up, especially those boys. It's pretty obvious they have no shot considering..."

Puzzled by Sakura's cryptic statement, I asked, "Considering what?"

"How obviously you and Eri love each other," Sayori answered with a giggle, her expression implying, 'Did you even need to ask?'

"Nyaaa?" I squealed, completely taken aback by Sayori's frank observation. My ears twitched nervously, and my face turned bright red.

Eri, though, had a calmer reaction, her face equally blushing. "Hehe, you two are so cute. So, are you dating?" Sayori asked excitedly.

I gently nodded my head, trying to hide my face with my tails.

"I knew it," Sayori replied with a proud grin.

"Congratulations," Sakura added with a smile that combined exasperation and happiness. "As much as I'd love to continue watching this cute scene, we need to head to class, or we'll be late."

"Yeah, you're right, let's go," I replied after we finished picking up the letters and changing our shoes.

As we walked into the classroom, silence descended upon it, and all heads turned in our direction. It was a rather intimidating sight, and I immediately flinched, taking cover behind Eri and clutching her hand.

The silence was broken by the collective chorus of girls in the class saying, "So!"

"So?" I repeated, tilting my head in puzzlement, trying to figure out their intent. I looked at Eri for answers, but she wore a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes while casting a somewhat scornful gaze at the boys who seemed to be watching us with envy.

'I know Eri is cute, but stay away; she's mine,' I retorted internally, my thoughts directed at the boys. As I pondered the girls' cryptic statement, they finally yelled out what they meant.

"So cute!" All the girls squealed.

"Nyaaa!" The volume of their squeals startled me, and the context made me blush fiercely. I hid behind my tails and Eri, overwhelmed by embarrassment.

Eri, noticing my discomfort, smiled and patted my head. "Everyone, please calm down. I know Hina is the most adorable creature in the world, but she is very shy, so please go easy on her."

"Eri..." I looked up at Eri, who had always been there to protect me.

"Yes, what is it, Hina?" Eri asked with a loving smile.

"You baaakkkaa!" I screamed, my face burning with embarrassment. Why do you always say that so proudly like that?

Amid the chaos that had erupted on my first morning back at school, our teacher, Yuki-sensei, entered the room.

"Everyone, take your seats and quiet down. Tachibana-sama, I am glad you are feeling better, but please don't yell in the classroom," Yuki-sensei instructed sternly yet gently.

"Yes, Ma'am. Sorry," I replied. After doing so, I glanced at Eri with an angry pout and made a silent promise to myself, 'I am going to chomp you the first chance I get, you know.'

Yuki-sensei might have seemed like a stern teacher, but in reality...

"Good morning, class. Your favorite Sensei is finally getting married. We've only been on one date so far, but I feel good about it," Yuki-sensei announced.

I learned that Yuki-sensei tended to overshare with her students, especially about her personal life. 'I will pray for you, Sensei,' I thought to myself as the class proceeded without any further disruptions.

As homeroom class ended, the teachers switched classrooms, and the next two classes, History and Math, proceeded without any problems. The teachers for those classes seemed fairly normal, at least. Now, it was time for our physical education class. Eri, Sakura, Sayori, and I headed to the changing room together, but...

"Hina, please talk to me," Eri whined, looking at me with pleading eyes during the breaks between classes as the teachers swapped, I had refused to speak to Eri a single time.

"Hmmph," I turned my head away, ignoring Eri's pleas. 'Don't look at me with that cute expression; I'm still mad, you know,' I thought to myself.

"Iyaa, Eri made Hina-chan really mad," Sayori exclaimed.

"Eri, I don't think sharing your dessert at lunch is going to help you this time. Good luck," Sakura added with an exasperated smile.

After entering the changing room, my shyness overcame my anger as I realized I had to change in front of others.

"E...Eri, please help me," I grabbed Eri's hand, looking at her with teary eyes, my ears and tails drooping. I felt apologetic for asking her for help when I had been ignoring her over something trivial.

"Of course, I will help you; just close your eyes," Eri said, giving me a gentle look.

"Mynnah... Thank you, Eri," I purred, closing my eyes.

After what felt like a minute or so, Eri patted my head again and said, "All done, Hina; you can open your eyes now."

"All ready? How?" I asked, looking up at Eri in amazement.

"Years of training; I know you are shy, so I trained to ensure you wouldn't have to feel embarrassed when changing," Eri answered with a smile.

'Come to think of it, the last couple of times she helped me change, it was really fast. So much was happening I never really noticed it,' I thought to myself.

"Eri, you are so cool," I exclaimed, hugging her.

"Ahem!" Someone coughed, drawing our attention. It was Sakura, and I had completely forgotten that we weren't alone. When I looked around, I saw a bunch of girls who had been changing, all of them looking at me with blushed faces.

"Eeek, you are too cute, Hina-chan. Thank you for such a delicious feast for the eyes, you two," Sayori squealed.

Sakura playfully chopped Sayori on the head and told her to hurry up and finish changing. My face immediately became the reddest it had been all day, and I immediately covered my face, taking glances at Eri, who had finished changing.

I grabbed her arm and gently chomped her, after which she looked at me with a happy yet slightly puzzled face and asked, "Does this mean you forgive me?"

"Yes, I forgive you... Thank you for helping me, baka," I replied with a red face.

Eri gave me a wonderful bright smile and said, "I will always help you when you need me."

"You two really go into your own pink world, don't you? We need to get to the track field," Sakura, who seemed to be the voice of reason in our little group, exclaimed with exasperation. She then glanced at Sayori, whose cheerful chatter had resumed as she changed, and her gaze seemed to change to one of warmth. It was clear she cared about Sayori.

'Could it be Sakura has feelings for Sayori,' I thought, making a mental note to discuss it with Eri. Perhaps we could help if Sayori felt the same way.

"Come on, let's go, you girls. We haven't even run yet, and I am already feeling tired," Sakura said, making us all laugh in agreement as we left the changing room.

When we arrived at the track field, we saw our P.E. teacher, who Sakura had informed me was named Kyoko-sensei.

"Line up, girls," Kyoko-sensei yelled out when we all arrived.

After we lined up, Kyoko-sensei looked at me and asked, "Tachibana-sama, good to see you back in class. Do you feel well enough to join in today?"

"Yes, Ma'am," I replied, puzzled as to why all my teachers referred to me with the "sama" honorific. I made a mental note to ask Eri about it later.

"Good. Then let's get moving. Today, we will be doing a 200-meter dash to prepare for the upcoming sports day. Find a partner and start stretching," Kyoko-sensei instructed after giving me a smile.

Sakura and Sayori paired up, as did Eri and myself. As we stretched, I found it a bit challenging to lift Eri for the back stretch.

"Mmmph..." I groaned, which prompted a snicker from Sayori.

"Hina-chan, are you sure you are going to be okay during this class? You don't seem to be very good at stuff like this," Sayori teased, her words flicking my competitive switch.

"I might be very strong, but as a fox-spirit, I have quite a bit of confidence in my speed, you know," I replied, a proud smile on my face, my ears twitching excitedly. This was my strong suit, and I was ready to prove it.

"Ooh, really? Care to make this race interesting? The person with the worst time buys the drinks during lunch. I'll have you know I'm in the track club," Sayuri challenged with an equally proud smile. A spark of competition ignited between us.

"I don't have any stamina, so I'm out. You girls can have fun," Sakura said, giving us an exasperated look.

"I will participate, too, but remember it's just a friendly competition between friends," Eri added before patting my head, calming me down.

After we finished stretching, the race began. Sayori and I were in the first group, with Eri and Sakura in the second.

After we lined up, Kyoko-sensei blew her whistle to start the race.

I took off immediately, but when I glanced back, I noticed Sayori was close behind. I was impressed by her ability to keep up with me, considering I had a slight unfair advantage. A genuine smile crossed my face.

Sayori and I were neck and neck, but I managed to cross the finish line first.

After we finished, the timekeepers showed us our times in stunned silence. I had clocked 22.5 seconds, while Sayori had recorded 27.7 seconds. We exchanged smiles and shook hands.

"That was amazing, Hina-chan! Do you want to join the track club?" Sayori asked, clearly enthusiastic.

I smiled back and shook my head, declining her offer. "I'm sorry, but I don't plan to join any clubs. I have a family member who is away from home right now, and I want to give myself the highest chance to be there to greet them when they come back."

Sayori gave me a warm smile and replied, "I understand."

As we finished talking, Eri and Sakura completed their race.

"Good work, you two. What time did you get?" I asked, curious about Eri's performance, my tails swaying excitedly.

"My time was 23 seconds," Eri replied with a smile. I was surprised by her time; I honestly felt that Eri might be faster than even me. That's when Eri gave me a wink and a smile.

'She lost on purpose so there wouldn't be any hard feelings,' I thought to myself. I grabbed her hand and whispered in her ear, where only the two of us could hear, "You are so cool; I love you."

Eri immediately blushed. 'Yep, embarrassed Eri is the cutest in the world,' I thought, saving this scene in my Eri folder inside my brain.

"What time did you get, Sakura?" Sayori asked.

"30 seconds..." Sakura answered, sounding exhausted and slightly embarrassed.

"That's better than what you got in middle school. You should be proud. I'll buy you a drink when we eat lunch," Sayori replied, patting Sakura on the back with a bright and gentle smile. I noticed a small blush appear on Sakura's face.

While we were all laughing and resting, the rest of the groups finished their dashes, and it was time for lunch. After changing back into our uniforms, with Eri's help once again, we stopped by a vending machine. Eri bought me a drink, and Sayori bought one for Sakura.

We decided to eat lunch in the classroom. When we opened our lunch boxes, Sakura and Sayori looked at mine and Eri's lunches with awe at the contrasting sight. My lunch box was a little bigger than Eri's and was filled with meats and sweets, not a single veggie in sight. In contrast, Eri's lunch was more sensible with boneless fried chicken, white rice, some vegetables, and some cookies for dessert.

"Um...Hina-chan?" Sayuri called out to me with a worried smile.

"Hmm?" I asked, already stuffing my cheeks with my chicken.

"Y...you don't have a single vegetable in your lunch. I thought you and Eri lived together, how come your lunch boxes are so different?" Sayuri asked.

'Now that I think about it, I know I eat more than Eri, but why is the contents so much different from Eri's? I still wouldn't eat the vegetables if they were the same, though. I hope it isn't causing the chef any trouble,' I thought to myself, looking at Eri for an answer.

Eri laughed and smiled before wiping my face with a napkin, causing me to purr when she touched my cheek.

"It's because everyone loves to see Hina happy and smiling, so we all tend to spoil her a little. And there is a certain doting old man who is in charge of telling the chef the lunch plans," Eri answered.

"Ch...chef?" Sakura and Sayori questioned in unison. They then looked at our lunches, with their mouths watering, and seemed like they were about to ask something.

"I wouldn't recommend that," Eri warned them, looking at me with a gentle expression.

Confused, I tilted my head in puzzlement at what Eri meant. She just laughed and rubbed my ears, telling me to keep eating.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, giving us both a confused look as I continued eating.

"Hina can't share food that was made just for her. If it was made for everyone, then it is okay, but it might be better to show you..."

Eri reached for some of my food, and before I knew it, I bit her hand. I looked up at Eri and cried, "I'm sorry, Eri, I don't know what happened."

Sakura and Sayori were speechless.

"It's okay, Hina. I'm fine. You didn't bite me hard. I'm sorry for reaching for your food. Go ahead and eat. I will give you some of my dessert after you finish yours," Eri patted my head, giving me a look of love and a slight sadness. I was confused but did what I was told.

"What happened? Why did she bite you?" Sayori asked.

"Please don't think poorly of Hina. She didn't receive the type of nourishment she was meant to when we were separated. That's why she is so small. So, now that she is getting the things her body was craving for, her natural instincts take over and she protects her food," Eri answered honestly with a sad expression.

Sakura and Sayori gave me a warm look of understanding and began eating their food.

I felt confused about my actions as well. I certainly remember eating a lot when living with Eri and my mother as a child. As I tried to remember the time I was separated from my family, everything came up as blank. The only things I could remember were when I lived in the apartment alone, I got sent the bare minimum amount of money needed for food and daily necessities every month, so it's true I didn't eat much then. 'I don't want to be protective over my food. I want to share with people. I don't want to be selfish,' I thought to myself, feeling tears starting to form.

"Hina, look at me," Eri told me while patting my head.

"Yes...?" I asked, looking up at Eri.

"I know what you are thinking to yourself, but please believe me, you are the farthest thing from selfish. This is just a natural instinct. You will be able to share eventually, but for now, eat as much as you want without doing so," Eri told me with a stern yet loving tone.

"Eri..." I gave a bright smile back, accepting her words.

Sensing Eri and I were about to go into our 'pink world' that Sakura mentioned earlier, I brought up a different subject. "Sakura, Sayori, do you two have any plans this weekend?"

"No, I don't think I do," Sakura answered after thinking for a second.

"I don't either. Why?" Sayori replied and asked.

My ears started twitching, my tails started swaying nervously. "Wo...would?" I tried to ask but I was too nervous. I looked at Eri for help.

"What Hina is trying to say is, we are going to buy her a smartphone as she hasn't ever had one before and go look around at clothes and such. We would love it if you two could join us. Hina wants to get to know you better outside of school after all," Eri answered for me while giving a gentle laugh.

Sayori and Sakura looked at me, and I nodded my head, blushing. Then they both smiled and answered at the same time, "Of course, we would love to."

After lunch, the rest of the day proceeded smoothly. The first week was mostly about letting students get used to the school; however, next week, we would start getting homework.

We said our goodbyes to Sakura and Sayori, deciding to meet at the mall around 11 tomorrow morning. When we were sitting in the car, I laid my head on Eri's shoulder, and she asked, "Did you have fun, Hina?"

"Yes, it felt like today was long, but I had a lot of fun, and I am excited for tomorrow. I hope we can become close friends," I answered honestly.

"I'm glad, and I am sure you will. You are very lovable, after all," Eri answered with a giggle and warm eyes.

"And..." I started to say.

"And?" Eri asked with a quizzical look.

"And thank you for helping me so much today. I love you," I answered while wrapping Eri's arm with my tails and kissing her.