The following morning I awoke to the feeling of a cool, predawn breeze blowing in from my window, and the streetlight outside growing dimmer as the sun prepared to rise. I yawned even as the dreams, both good and bad, from the night before faded, and climbed out of bed scratching my head. Another cool breeze blew in through the window, and I shivered slightly then looked around my room while letting out a yawn, and trying to decide whether or not I should just crawl back into bed. As my eyes roved around the interior of my room, I noticed the boxes I'd yet to unpack, and made a note to do so at some point over the next couple of days. Deciding to start my day, I walked over to my closet and prepared to get dressed.
I pulled on a t shirt, followed by my hoodie, then grabbed my jogging pants and pulled them up my legs, before pulling on my classic black and red sneakers. I took one last look around my room, mentally reminding myself to unpack over the next few days, since school started July 15th, and today was June 23rd, and headed out into the second floor hallway of our new home. As I stepped out into the hallway, I made sure no one else was awake, before pulling on my headphones and cycling through my playlists for the one I usually used when jogging. I started walking downstairs to the first floor as the sound of an electric guitar started filtering through my headphones.
When I got to the first floor, my head started bobbing along to the beat, as more instruments joined the guitar and the vocalist prepared to start singing, and the music truly picked up the moment I opened the front door and walked outside. I started jogging in place, waiting for another drum beat, and when the beat hit, I took off down our front porch, and along the sidewalk in the front of our house, heading west by turning left, if the light rising to my east was that of the rising sun, and took off down the road humming along to the music. As I jogged down the road I took in the neighborhood. The first thing that caught my attention was that the houses varied in appearance. Some were blue, some were red, hell some were lime green, and man what an eyesore that one was. They also varied in size, and shape. Some, like our own home, were two or three stories tall, others were a single story, not counting possible basements I couldn't see, and all of them had their own plots of land attached.
Most of the plots were only about an acre, if that, but a few, like ours, had over two or three acres, because technically this area was not so much marked as residential as marked as agricultural, it was due to the city's weird zoning laws, but hey I wasn't going to complain. It meant that the fact our house had a good two acres of woods out back, and bordered the forest surrounding town, so when I was more used to traveling through town, I'd still have more places to explore. I could barely see the trees peaking over the roofs of the houses to my left, and to my right, were slightly more modern houses, and behind them, even more houses, showing that the city proper started in that direction. Other than the houses, my keen hearing picked up the sound of animals, people moving around in their homes, and even a few alarms going off, telling people to start their day.
I couldn't help but smile at the thought of the fact I was finally out of Genetech's labs, and in an actual city, a small city, but a city nonetheless. I hummed as I went over the facts mom and dad had drilled into my siblings and I's, heads about New Haven. It was a small city of just over a hundred and fifty thousand people, it had four local high schools, six junior highs, and ten elementary schools, each group of schools having larger buildings and facilities than the grades below them. Besides traditional sports teams, the high schools had a wide host of eclectic clubs, teams, and organizations to keep teenagers from causing trouble in town. As for the layout, well our house was on the northernmost border of the city, right inside city limits, and to the south was more of the residential districts, followed by the entertainment and market districts at the city center, then the western part of the city was the industrial districts, the eastern were home to places like little china town, little Mexico, and even little Italy. Finally the south of town was the seedier part of town. It was full of druggies, psychos, and other undesirables the town couldn't get rid of according to mom and dad. Of course Genetech's facilities are on the west side of town, the schools scattered throughout the Northern, Western, and Eastern districts, with a lone school in the Southern district for those who can't afford to live anywhere else, and a few other notable things were that the town was chock full of different parks, restaurants, and even a few attractions.
It was as these thoughts were crossing my mind that I came to the end of our street, and turned left, heading south into town proper. Before I turned though, I took in the sight of the forest off to my right, and couldn't help but smile, anxious to eventually explore it, and the ranches that were dotted along the length of the forests border. After taking in the sight of the forest, I turned back toward the south and set off along the sidewalk, humming along to a new song, and noticed the sun had risen enough that people were preparing to go about their days. I saw a few anthros walking out of their homes to head to work, a few Feralis dragging non Feralis family members behind them in the direction I was heading, and a mix of gene modded and regular humans going about their mornings.
I couldn't help but grin to myself, amazed by how different everything was from Grandpa Hitoshi's place in the countryside of Japan, and how much more free everyone seemed than the people who I used to see in Genetech's labs when we lived within the walls of their compounds. As I jogged along, I breathed deeply of the fresh air, happy there were no chemical smells and reached into my pocket to pull on a pair of wraparound sunglasses, deciding to hide my eyes now that there were more people out and about, since Silver eyes were not common, especially on humans. I pulled up the hood of my sweatshirt to cast my face in shadows, which, I would later learn made me look like I was up to no good, rather than not wanting to be bothered, but at the time it was an instinctual defense mechanism to make sure that no one paid any attention to me.
It worked, maybe a little too well, because people even refused to meet my eyes when I'd nod my head in acknowledgment of them. The few people my age I passed would instantly look away, and some, mostly those with prey species DNA, such as prey species Feralis, and those with prey species gene mods, would actually go as far as walking to the other side of the street, if they had to pass me, and if not would literally turn and go down a separate street entirely if they didn't. I honestly had no idea why, but just figured it was something regular people did in the city, not really paying enough attention to how these same people reacted to others who weren't dressed similarly to me, and as such, not realizing that it was a combination of how I dressed, how I carried myself while jogging, and just my aura in general that made them wary. Hell, some regular humans who were sensitive to such things, avoided me too, and it just reassured me that yes, this was in fact a common thing for some people in the outside world.
As I continued along the path humming softly under my breath, I eventually noticed a path off to my left, in the direction of the rising sun, and decided to take it, hoping it'd lead to a park or some other place I could just enjoy nature before heading home. I was mentally keeping track of how long I'd been running, and realized that everyone should be waking up in about an hour, giving me, hopefully, enough time to check out the park, and get back just as my parents were getting ready to prepare for breakfast, and of course start the day before heading off to their first day of work.
Making a mental map of the roads I'd taken to get where I was, I continued along the path until it opened into a wider area, with some well tended trees, flowerbeds, and a lake off in the distance. I grinned, realizing that it was, in fact a park like I'd been hoping, and decided to jog around it for another fifteen minutes, to see what amenities it had, then turn around and head home.
I jogged into the park at a relaxed pace, taking in the sights of the flowerbeds, the trees scattered throughout, with a small area that looked like it led to a man made woods, the pond or lake off in the distance, and the people scattered throughout. Off to my left were a group of people riding skate boards, one raccoon in particular doing what I believed was called a kick flip, meanwhile dead ahead, on the edge of the pond or lake, still couldn't tell just what it was because it was larger than most ponds I'd seen, but it'd be odd for a man made park to have a lake within its confines, there were some girls wearing cheer uniforms and doing routines. I was pretty sure they went to my future high school, and thought about talking to them, when I noticed that two of them had started arguing, and wisely decided to stay away. Finally, off to my right was a group of musicians playing some soft music, as if they were welcoming the morning in their own way.
I smiled as the soft melodies mixed with the hard rock coming from my phone, and turned around to start heading home. The return trip was, faster I guess? Than the trip out there, probably cause my feet knew the way having traversed it once before, but I still wasn't as quick as I'd hoped to be. I'd been hoping to arrive before anyone other than my parents were awake, sadly as I approached the house, I could hear my siblings arguing about whether or not I'd been kidnapped. I could tell by the yelling that Hikari was in the “He just went for a freaking jog,” category with Marcus supporting her, while Kate and Amelia were in the “He would have at least left a note,” category, which to be honest, they were kind of right? I mean whenever I went for a jog at Grandpa Hitoshi's or Grandpa Jack's places I'd leave a note telling everyone when I'd be back, or whether or not I planned on staying out until everyone woke up.
Sadly, in the excitement of being in a new place, I'd forgotten to write a note this morning, and now my poor parent's, and the neighbors' ears were being subjected to an arguing Kate and Hikari. I could hear a slight bit of worry in both their voices, much more pronounced in Kate's of course, but I knew my youngest twin was using her argument with Kate to reassure herself that I was fine, and that I'd just forgotten to write a note, like had occasionally happened at our grandparents' homes. Realizing the mess I made, I sighed and shut off my phone's music, then lowered my headphones around my neck, and the hood of my hoodie, before jogging up the steps of the house, making sure to stomp my feet as I went to alert them to my presence, and prepared to open the front door. Unfortunately, for me, as I reached for the front door it was swung open and I was tackled by all four of my younger siblings who started harassing me with questions that showed their worry. Well, the girls were harassing me with questions, Marcus was just chuckling and letting out I told you so's even as he clung to me just as tightly as the girls.
I sighed from my position under everyone and patted their heads saying “There, there, I'm home. I just went for a jog, no one kidnapped me, and I just forgot to leave a note. Normally I'd have been home when just mom and dad were awake, but new area, new route, and thus I was a little slower than I intended. Now can you guys get off me so I can go take a shower? I may not have worked up much of a sweat, but I still worked up enough of one, that I really am not enjoying the smell of myself. I'll tell you guys about the things I saw, though you're probably used to them since you were allowed to leave the lab more often than me, during breakfast, ok?”
They nodded and let me get up then Hikari said, “Next time, leave us a damn note dork.” I couldn't help but snicker at her words, knowing she only called me a dork when I was being forgetful and ruffled her hair in response making her glare at me and punch me in the side. I chuckled, figuring she probably hurt her hand worse than my side as she started rubbing it and said, “Crap I forgot that despite appearing so scrawny you do have some pretty damn hard muscles.” I snorted at that and raised an eyebrow, motioning for the four of them to leave the doorway. Hikari sighed, and dragged the younger two to the side, while Kate looked up at me with a pout on her lips.
I sighed and said, “I'm fine Kate, seriously. I would have waited till everyone was awake, but the cool morning breeze just felt too good to not take advantage of. You guys know that as the mornings get warmer, I can't exactly wear my hoodies, and I was trying not to draw attention, hence the sunglasses.”
Kate sighed and said, “You realize that since this is a city, you walking around with your hood up, sunglasses on, and hands barely moving while you jog, you would freak people out, right?” I blinked and shot her a look asking 'Really?' She sighed and asked “If you saw someone with their face partially covered, that was over six feet tall, and seemed to be moving with purpose, but no particular direction in mind, and probably knowing you occasionally turning their head to take in the sights, wouldn't you find them suspicious.” I started to argue that no I wouldn't, then realized that, yes, yes I would. I groaned and she said, “It'd be one thing if everyone knew you, and why you hid your eyes, but we're new in town, this was your first jog, on our First, well, technically second, day in town and I bet you didn't even realize you were scaring people, did you?”
I hummed and said, “I might have scared people? I mean quite a few people, especially those with prey mutations, did kinda avoid me, but I just thought that was normal behavior for this town...Oh boy, I guess I didn't think things through though, huh? Cause I just didn't want anyone to bother me, but you're saying I probably looked like I was up to no good, which means it's probably a good thing I didn't get the cops called on me, though might have helped I didn't do anything worth calling the cops for, and just jogged through town. Though, I may have made it seem like I was trying to case the houses and find one to rob, if I looked anything like what I'm imagining in my head now that you asked me if I would find my attitude suspicious.”
Kate sighed and patted my shoulder saying “As long as you learn from this, nothing to worry about. Anyway, go shower, you said, you stink, and while we can't smell it, it's probably bothering your nose, we'll see you at breakfast, and the four of us can talk about what we'll do today while mom and dad are at work.” I nodded at that and kissed her on top of the head in thanks, making her blush, before jogging upstairs to grab some clean clothes, and take a shower.
My shower passed uneventfully, unlike my arrival at home, and I walked downstairs to join everyone at breakfast. Dad was sitting at the head of our dining room table, which I remembered unpacking when we first got to the house, and mom was setting food in front of everyone. She turned to me and asked “Hey hun, need me to make a similar plate to yesterday since you went for a jog this morning according to your sisters?” I nodded my stomach rumbling loudly and she chucked before saying “Alright, just hold on. I gotta get your siblings fed first, then I'll bring out your food, and you can eat. While you eat, your father and I will set some ground rules for you kids, for the last two weeks before your school year starts, then you can go do whatever you want today.”
I nodded and said, “Got it mom, though other than possibly taking everyone to the park I found, I think I'll spend the next two weeks just unpacking the house, working on my journal, and setting up my room. I figure I'll do like I did today, and go jogging early in the mornings, though may spend the afternoons checking out the woods, especially if there are any Feralis colonies within.”
Mom chuckled and said, “Your obsession with learning the local customs of any Feralis you meet are always amusing, but try to make some friends over the next two weeks, please?” I shrugged and made a motion that said, no promises causing her to sigh and say “I guess I'll take what I can get. As for the rest of you kids, you should probably have your brother go with you while you learn the route to your new schools, and since he likes waking up so early, the five of you can spend the first week traveling together. That way you'll know you're at school on time, and maybe you can grab food on the way. Also, Jake its about time we started giving you an allowance like your siblings, since you'll probably want to buy things now that you're no longer stuck in the lab.”
I nodded and she said, “So starting this wee we'll be giving you about two hundred bucks a week, it'd be more, but I feel like you've been causing trouble for the lab before we moved, thus instead of the thousand your father suggested, we'll stick with two hundred, got it?” I nodded and she smiled saying “You can earn more by proving your still responsible, and making some friends. Girls, Marcus, please keep your brother from making too many social faux pas. Wait, on second though, Kate, Hikari, please keep all three of your siblings from causing too much trouble, and Jake and Marcus especially from making enemies out of anyone in town.” Hikari laughed at mom's words but nodded, while Kate looked serious and met mom's eyes before nodding slowly. Mom sighed and said, “Hikari, you do realize this will be the first time your brother has been out in a city, without the entire family around, and his social IQ is currently in the negatives?”
I started to argue it wasn't that bad when mom said, “And before you argue with me Jake, think about it. The most you know about regular people is pop culture and dry history books and stuff, and if your conversation I heard while you were at the front door is anything to go by, you scared some of the town's residents half to death because you didn't think about how you would appear due to you being more focused on your freedom rather than actually being friendly with the neighbors, and keeping your face uncovered.” I blushed at that and she said, “So yes, your social IQ is probably in the negatives especially cause I bet you think that your peers will be LESS stupid than the junior high students you met at my father's place, rather than MORE stupid due to hormones.” I tried to argue that with age comes wisdom, and she said, “Jake, honey, before you say anything about wisdom, think about your own situation, your older, but are you truly any wiser in the ways of the world when we had to keep you confined to the lab until your preteens?”
I sighed and said, “Fine, maybe with age doesn't come wisdom, but high school students can't be that bad, can they?” Kate and Hikari burst out laughing at my question and I asked “What, what did I say that's so funny?”
Kate sighed after her laughing fit ended and said, “Big bro, remember that our public school back in New York contained everyone from junior high and high school in one building?” I nodded and she said, “Remember Mark Matthews?” I nodded once again. She sighed and said, “He was a senior, big bro, a senior in high school, not junior high, and how did he act the one time he followed Hikari and I home?”
I growled and said, “Like a complete asshole, who made me want to punch him in the face, why?”
Kate hummed and Hikari said, “Because that's how the average high school guy acts. Their hormones take over their brains, and all they can think about is getting their dick wet, especially predatory guys, or guys who are going through rut. Mark was normally alright, but he had gone into rut that week, and Kate and I were starting to enter puberty, so our bodies were showing signs of our development. If you had asked Mark how old he thought we were, he'd have told you he probably thought we were sixteen year olds who'd been held back, not thirteen year olds. Now factor that in with school politics, your lack of social knowledge, and your protective streak, which don't get me wrong we love you for, but you are literally a ticking time bomb when it comes to school, if someone doesn't help us teach you a bit more about the average teenager. That said, Kate and I refuse to do it, because to quote Charlene, the dog girl cheer captain from our old school 'Your brother is like a big dumb puppy when it comes to social stuff, isn't he? It's kinda cute, and combine it with his attractive body, and it makes me wish he was already a high school student.' That said, Kate and I are already going to have trouble keeping bitches off your back when school starts, so we won't have time to teach you social cues, so four oursakes, PLEASE MAKE SOME FRIENDS THE FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL!”
I blinked and said, “Alright? I'll try at the least,but I don't think I have to worry about anyone trying to get into my pants or anything. After all, my precious little sisters will keep the 'bitches' off me, and I'm not completely oblivious to the sign of people being attracted to me..” Mom suddenly burst out laughing when I said, that, and I asked “”What's so funny, mom?”
She just waved me off and dad sighed saying “Your mom just remembered a funny joke kiddo, also you sure you understand hidden social cues, cause your sisters are currently looking at you like your a complete dumbass who is as dense as a brick.” I glanced at them to see, that yes, they were in fact looking at me in just such a way and he said, “That said, please don't think about dating, and definitely don't think about having sex, until your at least sixteen. You'll be fifteen in the fall, so you'll just have to wait till next fall, but would rather not find out what happens to you if you have sex before full sexual maturity, and before you're the legal age of consent.” I nodded slowly at that, remembering that sometime back in the twenty second century, the age of consent for sexual actions was reduced from legal adulthood at eighteen, to sixteen. It was put into effect to help the races that had shorter life spans, and never repealed.
Mom watched me as my face went through multiple colors from the memory of the talk, and the age of consent and said “I see my lessons on that stuck. Good, that means you won't be running off to do anything a young lady doesn't want, or try to have sex before your old enough.” I nodded and she changed the subject, feeling I'd been tortured enough and asked “So, where did you go on your jog?”
I yawned and replied “I went to a park a little ways south of here, I think it was on the edge of the west district It had either a really big pond, or a small lake within, didn't get close enough to be able to make out which it was, due to the local cheerleaders from the North District High School practicing there, and two of them getting into an argument, or at least it looked like they were getting into an argument.”
She chuckled and said “Wise decision, especially since it wouldn't look good for someone they didn't know to interrupt whatever they had going on, and I'm betting your instincts warned you that it was a dangerous situation to interfere in. After all, I can attest that usually when two people start arguing if someone interrupts them, they'll turn on that person and either force them to stay out of it, or drag them into it, depending on whether or not they know the person. That goes for even if the person is trying to help, people usually don't like others butting into their discussions or arguments.” I nodded and she patted my head as she started to clean the table then said “Alright, enough about all that, why don't you and your siblings run off to decide what your doing for the rest of the day, while I finish cleaning up, and your father gets ready for our day at the lab.”
I nodded before getting up, and walking into the living room, Kate, Hikari, Marcus, Kiko and Amelia following me, then the five of us plopped down on the furniture and started talking about what we should do for the last three weeks before class. Today was Sunday, June 23rd, so we had exactly twenty two days before classes started on the fifteenth of July, meaning we had just over three weeks before school started, and I argued we should use that time wisely. My siblings agreed, but our opinions on what was wise ways to use our time varied wildly from person to person.
I believed we should get the lay of the town, then get started on the curriculum for the new school year, if it was available online. Kate and Hikari agreed that we should get the lay of the land, so to speak, but they argued that we should also learn the places kids and teenagers our age hung out, so that we could blend in, or introduce ourselves. Marcus and Amelia, however said we should just find the quickest routes to school, then goof off the rest of our vacation and just relax at home until school started, since it would be a waste to try and meet new people before we started classes, and were forced to know them.
We argued for about ten minutes before finally Kiko, who hadn't said her own ideas yet, said “ You guys realize we can do all of that, right? Jake can lead us around town, we can get the lay of the land, and the fastest routes to school, then we can all do our own thing. I mean, we all know Jake is going to run off into the woods first chance he gets, the twins are going to probably just play video games from the moment we unpack them, and finally Kate, Hikari, and I want to socialize, so we can do that and everyone's happy, ok?”
We all glanced at each other then agreed with her and she said “Great, so our first two days in town we'll take time to learn the lay of the land, then after that we'll spend the rest of the week unpacking, and next weekend we'll all start doing our own thing, until School starts.” Everyone just nodded, finding her plan satisfactory and she said “Great. Also, why the hell did I have to think of this, when I literally have a pair of older triplets on the couch over there, who usually aren't this bullheaded about stuff? What happened to you threes mental connection that you were arguing over what to do after learning the lay of the land, and required an ELEVEN year old, namely me, to figure this out?”
Kate, Hikari and I blushed looking anywhere but at Kiko and she sighed then said “Whatever, doesn't really matter I guess. Just find it sad you guys all argued about what to do AFTER finding out the layout of town, instead of just making a plan to do that, then saying what each of you would do. You guys do remember mom and dad don't expect the six of us to be together every minute between now and the end of summer vacation, right?” I winced at that, while Hikari and Kate just looked slightly chagrined at the reminder, that no, mom and dad did not inf act expect us to watch over our younger siblings all the time, nor did they expect the three of us to spend all our time together, as they raised each and every one of us to be an individual with their own thoughts, hopes, dreams, and yes even fears.
I sighed and said “Sorry Kiko, think that last run of tests yesterday kinda fucked up my brain recently, and that along with being in a new area that we don't know anything about, and haven't even really heard of, or well I haven't really heard of, before mom and dad suddenly sprung the fact we're moving here on us.” Kiko nodded in understanding, and I couldn't help but feel like an idiot for having to explain myself to my younger sister, even if she was extremely mature for an eleven year old. Kate and Hikari gave there own reasons for why they weren't exactly thinking beyond spending time together as a group, and I couldn't help but feel like they didn't give EVERY reason.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
After that I suggested my siblings all get dressed, cause they were still in their night clothes, then we'd go out and explore the town properly and Amelia, the best artist in our group, would make a map to each of the key locations we'd all like to have the fastest route to. I didn't really need her map, due to my ability to make a mental map of any place I'd ever been, but my siblings liked letting Amelia stress her artistic skills, and used her maps every now and then, primarily when they'd forgotten where the place they were going was located. I remembered Kate and Hikari talking about how helpful her maps were when exploring New York without me. The girls, and Marcus of course, agreed to my suggestion and ran upstairs to get changed, with Hikari and Kate hugging me before they left, then I leaned my head back against to backrest of the couch, and closed my eyes, deciding to relax while I waited for them.
I think I dozed off at some point after closing my eyes, because what felt like a few seconds later, I felt someone poking my sides and opened my eyes to see Kate and Hikari on either side of me pouting, and glared at me. I sighed and said “Guessing you guys are ready to head off?” They nodded and I stood up, then the six of us walked outside and set off to explore the town. I pointed in the direction I'd started my jog this morning, and we set off that way, then at the end of our road, my siblings and I turned to the south and started walking yet again. As we walked, we fell into a formation with Kate and Hikari in the front, me in the back, and Kiko, Amelia, and Marcus in the middle. As we walked through town Amelia's tail wagged, and Marcus' ears twitched keeping track of the world around us. He'd occasionally look back at me, to see if I noticed anything he missed and I would just smile to let him know, no, no one was trying to follow us or even paying attention to us.
As we walked through town, I noticed the residential district was starting to end, and we were getting into the commercial district. I made a mental note that the road directly connected to ours led straight into town, which meant, it was one of the branching roads that led to the schools in the northern district. Amelia's little ears twitched, showing she seemed to be thinking the same thing as me, while Marcus was grumbling about how we hadn't found our schools yet. I ruffled his hair from behind and said “easy squirt, we're on the northernmost road in town, and we only took one turn, that headed south. The schools somewhere between where we are now, and our road. On that note, the park I found was on Lowell Lane, and that was about three blocks back, if we took a right.” My siblings nodded, making note of what I said and I continued “Anyway, might as well explore the commercial district before trying to find the schools on our way home.
Hikari nodded at my words and said “Yeah, it would really help to know what exactly the commercial district contains, not just for hanging out with our classmates, but also for what stores we can go to, and yes I know you're not much of a shopper big bro, but you realize if you don't get used to it, when you get a girlfriend, you're going to suffer from having to hold bags and stuff.” I snorted, finding that thought amusing, because I was pretty sure guys being told to hold their girlfriend's bags were only on TV, but Kate and Hikari swore they used to see guys at the local malls doing just that back in New York. I honestly couldn't trust them on that, because they'd always smile when they said it, like there was some kind of inside joke. With all that said, the girls dragged Marcus and I all around the commercial district, pointing out the main places they thought teenagers, and even elementary school kids, would be hanging out.
At some point during the girls dragging us around, Marcus slipped off to go play at the local arcade, while I was still being dragged around by my sisters. I glanced at him while he slipped away and said just loud enough for him to hear “Meet up with us in about half an hour, cause I know you don't have the way home memorized.” Marcus gave me a thumbs up and I sighed as the girls continued to drag me from shop to shop, until finally stopping at the local mall. I glanced up at the name of it, and couldn't help but snicker as it was called the “Dancing Tanuki Mall”
While I snickered, I couldn't help but wonder if the person who originally built the mall had been Japanese, or just had a love of Japanese culture, cause Tanuki were both tricksters and merchants in folklore. Kate, who knew of my love of mythology, glanced at the name and sighed then said “Of course that's why you're laughing. I guess it's kind of fitting to name a mall after a mythical raccoon dog, but still, not nice to laugh at the local's naming conventions big bro.” I shrugged and she sighed then said “Whatever, I guess. Just, don't go asking everyone why it's named that, and if it has any cultural significance, ok?” I nodded, but a part of me couldn't help but feel like the name Dancing Tanuki should be something we saw in the Oriental districts of town, not the commercial. Then I thought about how on the other hand America was a melting pot of culture, still, and maybe the architects just wanted to name the mall something oriental in order to fuck with people.
While I was thinking about that idea though, my sisters were in a huddle talking amongst themselves and from what little I could make out, that I didn't intentionally block out, they were trying to decide if it was worth going into the mall, or they should wait until school started up and they made some new friends. Realizing that they'd be discussing this for a while, I leaned on one of the columns in front of the mall, and waited for their decision.
Amazingly, their discussion was still going, ten minutes later when Marcus caught up to us, and handed me a can of soda. I patted his head in thanks and sipped it as the girls' discussion started to get louder, and whistled loudly. They turned to me and I said “It's been twenty minutes of you four arguing, can we just head to the damn park I found, so we can just find a place to chill, since if we stand here any longer we're going to attract attention?” The girls huddled up again, and started talking for about five minutes, then looked at me and nodded.
Seeing their nods, I smiled and motioned for them to follow me, then retraced our steps to the north side of the Commercial district, and from there I led everyone to the park I found earlier this morning. My sisters and Marcus followed along, with Amelia making more maps, because ironically the others would be lost without them, and Marcus started asking me about the people I'd seen earlier in the day. I told him about how the city was full of a mix of Feralis, Anthros, Humans, and Gene Modded hybrids. Marcus nodded in understanding and asked how many of each were teenagers and children like the six of us, and I replied “Not sure, but with how big the city is, most likely there are quite a few of each in our classes. I just hope no one decides to pick a fight with any of us, just because we're new in town.”
Kate giggled at my words and said “The only one most people will likely pick a fight with is you, Jake, and the only reason they'll pick a fight with you, is your lack of understanding of social norms.” I winced at Kate calling out my social deficiencies but I couldn't help but agree deep in my heart. After all, I'd grown up in the labs our parents had worked in, and only knew a little bit about being around people my own age from visiting our grandparents' homes and the occasional person my siblings brought over to hang out. Of course, up until I was twelve I wasn't really allowed to meet the people my siblings brought over, but when I finally was, I couldn't help but find the myriad of people my siblings made friend with, and their many different personalities, as amazing, intriguing, and all around interesting.
While I was thinking about the many different personalities of the people my siblings had been friend with over the years, I led the five of them to the park, which I only realized when the smell of the body of water I wasn't sure was a pond or lake, entered my nose. My siblings looked around with wonder, while I started jogging toward the pond, or lake, to find out which it was. I jogged to the shore over the course of about five minutes, while my siblings split off to start doing the things they found interesting. Kate and Hikari walked over to a rock climbing wall I hadn't noticed on my first visit, Kiko walked over to the swings to get some air time, and the twins went over to a section for younger kids which included a jungle gym, monkey bars, slides, and other playground equipment.
While my siblings were about to enjoy themselves, I finally got to the edge of the body of water and realized, that yes it was in fact a lake. It was about four hundred feet from the bank I was on to the opposite bank, with the depth of the water increasing the closer you got to the center. I was really tempted to just strip down to my boxers and dive in, but what little modesty I had prevented me from doing so, well that and worries about public indecency laws. I noticed on the north bank of the lake, cause I was on the east, was a bunch of trees, and on the south bank was a line of houses. Across the lake on the west bank was a dock or pier for small water craft, and I noticed people out on the lake using paddle boats, as well as there being a dock off to my right with a boat rental stand being manned by a bored looking anthro lemur girl. I could also see some jet skis, and other small water craft at the boat rental across the lake, and couldn't help but wonder if it was really alright to use a jet ski on a small lake like this.
After I satisfied my curiosity about the lake, I walked back to the main part of the park, where my siblings were scattered about, and studied all of the different facilities. There were the aforementioned playground for kids, the rock climbing wall, a stage with a band playing what sounded like old time Jazz, a small skate park, and multiple jogging paths. Also on the north side of the park, there were a few houses, leading up to the forest on the north bank of the lake, which I noticed was longer north to south, than east to west, appearing to be over a thousand feet from the north bank to the south, assuaging, or in more common terms, easing, my worries about the jet skis a little bit.
I noticed that the skate park was currently full of kids skateboarding, using roller skates, and riding bikes, all while practicing tricks and stuff. I couldn't help but wonder if the town had a history of more extreme sports competitions, and was really tempted to walk over and ask if I could borrow someone's board. I held myself back though, because it'd been over a year since I'd last used a skateboard, and it would look really weird for a person no one knew to suddenly request permission to use someone's board, even if they introduced themselves, when they appeared out of nowhere. I sighed softly and muttered “Ah well, maybe after school starts I can make a few friends and see about skateboarding with them, or skating in general.” With that thought in mind, I walked over to a bench along one of the jogging paths and sat down, deciding to just people watch and try to get a feel for the normal denizens of the park.
I knew the girls would probably complain that instead of watching everyone, I should actually try to make friends, but Marcus would probably back me up if I explained that I just wanted to get a feel for the place, rather than cause complications when we'd just moved into town. That said, even with Marcus' support I could totally see at least Kate and Hikari chewing me out for sticking to what they'd call my bad habits, even as my eyes roved around the park taking everything in. The first thing I noticed was that my sisters had started talking to a group of teens at the rock wall, and seemed to be getting along with them really well. Next I noticed a few games of football, flag football, and soccer taking place, one of which included Marcus and a bunch of kids around his age. I could tell Marcus was having fun by the way his tail was wagging as he ran, and the grin on his face.
After looking away from Marcus I noticed that Amelia had found a picnic table, and was drawing with a few of the less active kids in the park, with a smile on her face, as she told them about her dreams. After checking on Amelia, I glanced at Kiko, who was still on the swings, but seemed to be getting into a contest of who could swing higher with another girl around her age, and the two seemed to be having a lot of fun.
I smirked slightly to myself once I was sure my siblings were having fun, and continued my people watching, by checking on the other areas that interested me in the park. The jogging paths were mostly filled by older people, and a few kids who looked to be in high school, that seemed to be preparing for track and field, the lake had a few more paddle boats going out, and one or two people must have rented the jet skis as I could see them racing up and down the lake in an area designated for the speedy water craft, and the band had attracted a small crowd of people, most of them older ladies and gentlemen who seemed to enjoy the music, while playing games like checkers, chess, mahjong, shogi, or card games. I made note of who was winning and losing those games even as my eyes moved around the park, until they spotted an area labeled “Feralis, feral animals, and those who wish to spend time with them only. No dog whistles, fireworks, or other loud noise makers beyond this point.”
I hummed and said “Huh, looks like they have a place for those with a more animalistic bent even. I'm really starting to like this park, and I kinda hope there are some in all five districts.” After I had my fill of people watching I closed my eyes and just relaxed letting my acute hearing pick up the sounds going on around me, and slowly focused on shutting out each sound, starting with the most distant, and slowly let my mind just relax. I'd been practicing this technique for a while, and I hoped that if I perfected it, I could shut out everything but the sounds I truly wanted to hear, preventing me from eavesdropping on others, and also allowing me to not have to worry about things beyond my control.
I was working on this because my brain had slowly started being overloaded by all the things going on around me. I mean, I was smart enough to differentiate between things, but at the same time, I didn't want to have to constantly subconsciously separate all the sounds around me into things that were important, unimportant, and things I wasn't supposed to know. Thus, I was now working on shutting out things, and shoving them to the back of my mind, so that my conscious mind wouldn't focus on them, unless they were important.
Sadly, it was a slow process, and it currently wasn't beyond the experimental stage, because of the amoutn of concentration it took to NOT hear something was a lot more, than the amount it took to normally hear things, especially with how I'd been trained from a young age that every piece of information my brain took in was important, until mom and dad had taken over my training and testing.
Thankfully after about ten minutes I was able to limit my sphere of hearing to about ten feet around me, so that I would know if anyone approached, but otherwise I wouldn't consciously recognize any sounds, besides my siblings voices if they were in pain, unless something that was important for someone's safety was said. I mentally floated in my bubble of silence until Kate, Hikari, Marcus, Amelia, and Kiko walked up and I opened one eye before asking “Ready to go home?”
The five of them nodded and I said “Great, I hope you guys made some friends. Cause if not, I may have to kick some asses if the people you guys were hanging out with were planning on just using you, especially you and Kate, Hikari.”
Hikari snorted and said “No, no one was trying to use us, big bro. We just met a few guys and girls our age, who will be starting their freshman year with the three of us, and decided to get to know more about them. I doubt you have a problem with that, since you didn't immediately rush over and tell them to fuck off, right?” I nodded and got up then she said “What about you, did you find out whatever you were trying to figure out when we arrived?”
I nodded and said “Yup, the lake is in fact a lake, not a pond. Which both surprises and excites me, because you guys know I love swimming. I honestly thought it was just a pond when I came here the first time, but the fact it's a lake means that I actually have a place to go swimming. I almost dove in after stripping down, but my sense of public decency stopped me, this time.” Kate snickered at the this time comment, probably remembering when I'd dove into the koi pond at grandpa Hitoshi's and grandma Ahri scolded me for hours. I caught her eye and asked “Fond memories?” She nodded and I said “Good, now let's get home, shall we?”
All five of my siblings nodded, most of them somewhat tired, because they'd actually been doing something that required energy, unlike me sitting on my ass on a park bench, and I led them home. Of course, as we headed home, my siblings waved at the people they'd spent the afternoon with, and I tried to make note of people who they were especially interested in. Sadly that was a losing battle, because I hadn't paid enough attention when they were in the park to decide who they had gotten the closest too, and couldn't help but mentally sigh, reminding myself that for now I wasn't trying to make friends, even if Hikari and Kate would have been ecstatic if I attempted to do so. I shook those thoughts away as my siblings and I continued down the road, and occasionally glanced up at the sky on the way home, memorizing the position of the sun, and making note of how long it should take us to get home if we didn't stop. I figured it should take us about half an hour, maybe an hour tops, to get back to the house and at that point my siblings would probably be exhausted, cause I planned on pushing us at a pretty quick pace.
I glanced at the five of them and said “Let's go, jogging time. I want to get home within the next hour, hour and a half, so that we can get started on unpacking.” They groaned but nodded and we picked up the pace to a jog, occasionally waving to those we passed on the way. Amelia was the only one who didn't wave, having to continue her little cartography session so that the girls, and Marcus, would have a map back to the park.
We got home exactly an hour after leaving the park, according to the position of the sun, and the time on my cellphone. Everyone else was panting with slight exhaustion, while I was just barely winded and honestly wanted to do more, but I figured it was best to get started on unpacking the house. I glanced at my siblings and said “Alright guys, you can head inside and relax, I'll unpack my room, then start unpacking the kitchen, the stuff that goes in the living room, and finally unpack all the stuff for the bathrooms that we missed last night, alright?”
They nodded and we all filed into the house, then I jogged up to my room and started unpacking. I hadn't noticed it this morning, but my room was actually pretty large. It easily fit my queen sized bed, the boxes stacked up alongside the double closet, and my furniture. With that in mind I started unpacking, first taking what clothes I hadn't unpacked already, and hanging them up in the closet, then putting my books, monitor, and computer around my desk, before finally starting to put stuff on the walls, including a few posters, wall hangers, and a pair of dark blackout curtains on my large bedroom window. When I was content with the look of my room I walked out of it and started to finish unpacking the bathrooms.
When that was done, I walked downstairs and took care of the living room, and kitchen, before plopping on the living room couch and closing my eyes to listen to what my siblings were doing. I could hear Kate and Hikari talking to themselves as they decorated their own rooms, the twins arguing as they worked on their room, and Kiko was playing loud music, and singing along, as she bustled about in her room unpacking. I smiled softly realizing everyone was doing their best and pulled out my phone, then started checking up on a few stories I was reading online, and texting a few of my online friends, who I'd never met, which was not that ironic seeing as I'd barely left my family's properties, or the labs I grew up in, since I was a child.
While I did that, I received a text from mom, telling me she and dad were bringing home some pizza from a local pizza place her coworkers recommended, and I sent back a thumbs up emoji. I shouted throughout the house “MOM AND DAD WILL BE HOME IN TWO HOURS WITH PIZZA, THAT SAID, MAKE SURE YOU UNPACK YOUR CRAP BEFORE THEY GET HERE SO YOU CAN JUST DIVE RIGHT IN! I'M GOING TO GO MAKE SURE THAT NOTHING IMPORTANT WAS PUT IN THE GARAGE OR SHED OUT BACK! DO NOT DESTROY THE HOUSE IN THE FEW MINUTES THAT WILL TAKE ME, OR I'M TANNING ALL YOUR HIDES!”
I received varying responses, all of them amounting to Ok, and we won't destroy the house as I got up and walked into the garage then started checking the boxes within to make sure nothing important was placed there instead of in the actual house. It took me about a half hour to check all the boxes in the garage, and a further fifteen minutes to check the shed in the back of the house, before I walked back inside and sat down on the couch. Of course, when I walked in I saw Marcus and Amelia playing a fighting game on the living Room's large TV, and Hikari and Kate apparently were texting their new friends from the park if their conversation with each other was anything to go by. Kiko meanwhile was just reading a book in dad's armchair, apparently content to just relax in her own way.
I smiled slightly and muttered “Glad they're all relaxing and the house is in one piece, guess I'll go up to my room and just relax on my computer. Thank god we have internet installed tomorrow. I don't know what the fuck I'd do if I couldn't game with the guys on Thursday night, or catch Mikhail's stream on Friday. He'd probably bitch at me all weekend if I missed it, especially since it's his two year anniversary as a streamer.”
I walked upstairs, preparing to boot up my computer, however when I was halfway up Kate called out to me and asked “Hey big bro, you said Mom and Dad will be back in a little under an hour with pizza, right?” I nodded and she asked “So, that means you unpacked the kitchen mostly for nothing?” I snorted and she said “Ok, so obviously it wasn't for nothing, but still, if they didn't plan on cooking tonight, or asking you to do so, doesn't that mean you could have held back on unpacking it until tomorrow?” I shrugged and she sighed then said “Fine, you don't care, I get it. Just, don't be antisocial for dinner tonight, ok?” I gave her a thumbs up and she smiled then said “Love you big bro.”
I chuckled and said “Love you too Kate, and same goes for the rest of you. I wouldn't change any of our family for the world.” I could tell that made my siblings smile as I continued upstairs to set up my PC, then stopped at the top of the stairs and glanced at a picture on the wall next to the bathroom door. It was a picture that showed the entire family, it was from about a year or two ago, and it even had Michael and the others who weren't living in the house. I stared at it for a while taking in each of my siblings, my parents, and my “uncles and aunts” appearances. Dad was the obvious one I started with, his hair slicked back in the picture, with mom on his right, and Michael on his left. Michael had dad's black hair, mom's blue eyes, and was about six feet tall. His build was rather broad, and he was wearing his typical lab coat, slacks, and if I remembered right loafers. His skin was rather pale from a lack of sunlight, but his eyes were full of joy and laughter.
In front of Michael was Maria, her long blonde hair in a high ponytail, and her green eyes full of mischief. She had a pair of blonde fox ears on her head and a fox tail wrapped around her waist like a belt, and she was wearing a black blouse, and blue jeans. To her right, was Kasumi, her black hair and black wolf ears appearing to be mid twitch during the picture, Her hair only went down to her shoulders, but it framed her soft green eyes that were full of love and adoration for our family. She was wearing a lab coat like Michael, but underneath she had on a green blouse, and a brown skirt. To Kasumi's right was Jordan, the second youngest boy in our family, his black and blonde hair looking a mess, and his heterochromatic eyes, one blue, the other green, were full of joy at having the entire family together. Jordan was about 4 and a half feet tall, and he was wearing blue jeans and a blue shirt. On his direct right, and to the left of Kiko, was Alan, Kiko's twin his dirty blonde hair was spiked up with gel, his blue eyes framed by his messy bangs. He was about an inch or two taller than Jordan, and was wearing a green kimono given to him by grandpa. Kate, Hikari, and I were sitting in front of everyone with Amelia and Marcus in Kate and Hikari's laps, and beside Mom and Dad were my “aunts and uncles.” They were an eclectic bunch wearing a mix of combat fatigues, lab coats, and other outfits. There were six of them, but before I could go down memory lane and start thinking about them, mom and dad called from downstairs “JAKE COME AND EAT!”
I sighed and jogged downstairs to join the family for dinner, my stomach rumbling, and couldn't help but wonder how the hell I'd lost at least fifteen minutes just staring at that picture. As I sat at the kitchen table, and grabbed myself a plate of pizza, Mom and Dad started asking us how our day went. My siblings talked about what they'd done, the people they met, etc., while I just enjoyed my food until mom turned to me and asked “What about you honey, meet anyone you found interesting?” I shook my head swallowing the food in my mouth and she said “Did you at least enjoy seeing the town with your siblings?”
I nodded and said “Of course mom. I also found out the lake in the park, is in fact a lake and not a pond like I thought. It's pretty damn big too. Also, I plan on waiting until the school year starts to make new friends, at least in school people might feel a little obligated to put up with my...quirks.” Mom sighed and I smiled slightly before saying “Plus I plan on spending the next few weeks exploring town, and even more importantly exploring the woods to the north of town.” Mom groaned at that and I grinned, knowing she was probably thinking about the last time I went off exploring, when Grandpa Hitoshi took me with him on a trip to a nature preserve in Japan.
She sighed and said “Please, if you do start exploring, please be home before dark every night, ok?” I nodded with a smirk and she turned to dad then said “I blame you, my father, and your father for his wanderlust.”
Dad started to protest then paused and said “You know, I can't deny the three of us instilled the urge to wander in him, didn't we?” Mom and my siblings nodded and dad said “I guess being locked up in the labs for so long didn't really help with that. That said, Jake, please be careful while your out wandering around, ok?” I nodded and Dad patted my head, then ruffled my hair and said “Good, as long as you do that, your mom and I won't have any reason to complain, right hun?”
She nodded and the rest of dinner passed in amicable conversation. After dinner dad suddenly looked at me and said “By the way, you need to be home Thursday morning to talk to the internet guy, got it?” I nodded and he said “Good, cause if you aren't here, you won't be having internet until next weekend when your mom and I are off work and I can reschedule the appointment.” I nodded again, silently swearing to put a reminder for myself on my phone to stay home on Thursday, then dad said “Alright, that said, you can all go off and do your own thing, your mom and I will clean up the kitchen.”
None of us had to be told twice, and we all ran off to do our own thing, causing mom to laugh behind us and dad to mutter about ungrateful brats in a playful tone. I rushed up to my room and set up my PC, deciding to get it over with so no one would interrupt me this time, and then once it booted up, I started typing in my journal, as well as working on a story I'd started when I was twelve.
I worked on my novel for about an hour or two, then shut down my computer and climbed into bed, today was Monday, so I had three days until the internet would be back, meaning I'd have two days to explore town. However, I decided to just stick around the house for the first week in town, and do whatever needed to be done, then at the start of the second week, aka next Sunday, I'd head out to the woods and explore for a week, before exploring the different streets and parts of town for the last two weeks before school started. I also made a mental note to find the fastest routes to the schools, and lead my siblings to them, while letting Amelia draw maps, then we could all be prepared for the first day, and MAYBE I wouldn't have to walk them to school.
I fell asleep plotting how to find the schools, and the fastest route to them, then the following morning I just hung out around the house, rather than going for my usual jog. I did however start doing some workouts I could do indoors to keep in shape throughout the day, and spent time with my siblings, when they weren't running off to hang out with their new friends, that is.
The rest of the week passed uneventfully, aside from us getting our internet on Thursday, and me leading my siblings to the schools on Friday. Nothing really major happened in that time, other than that though. Though, that's probably because I didn't really leave the house much over the rest of the week, other than to go on the occasional jog, or going to the park to relax when being cooped up got to be too much for me. Anyway the week passed quickly, and I went to bed on Sunday night planning to go exploring the woods and farmsteads to the north of town the following morning, and couldn't help but grin at the idea of a mini adventure.