The next morning, Pacifica got the much-coveted spot of “Shouri’s arms” on this fine Friday. Rebecca maintained her claim on Shouri’s back with Taika taking Pacifica’s. It seemed the two foxes wouldn’t share a side of the bed.

At any rate, Shouri awoke and began the gradual process of waking up the rest of the room.

It was a new day, and while it was a bit on the warmer side at the moment, the clouds spared Shouri and Pacifica the wrath of the sun as they made their daily trek to the combination cafeteria-casting range.

“Summer is definitely on the way,” Pacifica commented.

“It fucking sucks,” Shouri complained.

“Relax relax,” the otter sang.

Despite the complaints, the pair was in a good mood this morning. They ran into Vince as soon as they entered Building B. “Oh hey, Vince.” Shouri waved.

“Shouri! Good morning!” And the noise was back.

“It’s too early – inside voice please,” Shouri pleaded.

Pacifica smiled, though the edges of her lips slowly descended when she caught sight of Cecil. There it was – that feeling again. Something felt off about him, just as she had sensed when they first met. What’s more, he looked worse for wear. Even... darker? That didn’t make sense. A trick of the eyes perhaps?

“Hey, you okay Cecil?” Pacifica whispered to the lion man.

“I’m fine,” he responded rather gruffly, which put off the otter.

“Catch you later, come on Cecil.”

Shouri and Pacifica were left alone once more. “What’s wrong?” The Maestro immediately picked up on his Resonator’s shift in mood.

She gulped, fidgeting in place while wracking her brain to find the right words. “I think... there’s something wrong with Cecil.”

“Hm? How so?” Shouri frowned.

“I keep feeling this-” she paused, considering her word choice, “-weirdness from him. I can’t really describe it. Just something in the back of my head whispering that something is wrong,” she admitted.

The Maestro processed what his Resonator was telling him, remaining quiet.

“I thought I was just being silly. He was so normal last night, but this morning he feels off again.” She trembled. “I’m worried.” She looked into her Maestro’s eyes.

He nodded slowly. “I trust you.” Grabbing her hands, he committed to their next course of action: “We’ll find him tonight and keep a close watch on him.”

“Thank you. They’re both good people, I know it.” Her hands trembled in Shouri’s grasp. “I have a really really bad feeling about this,” she whispered.

That was real, from the heart. She was truly scared of whatever she was feeling. “For now, let’s keep this between us – okay?”

“Yeah. I dunno if Rebby felt it. She hasn’t said anything if she did notice it.”

“Hrm. Maybe we can talk to Vince about it. He might know something.”

Pacifica took a deep breath in before letting it out. She squeezed his hands tightly. “Thanks, Sho, you’re the best.” She managed to crack a smile for him.

“No, you,” he chuckled back.

----------------------------------------

Rebecca looked up from her food. There was something she noticed when Shouri and Pacifica got back that she hadn’t thought about before: Pacifica and Shouri were closer than they let on; same with Taika and Shouri. Her mind began to wander; their Maestro didn’t treat them differently from any other person.

Well, that wasn’t true.

He treated them better than he treated others. Her gaze slowly shifted to him. He had already polished off his breakfast and was reclined back, using her tuner to browse the web.

Has he gotten... intimate with Pacifica and Taika? They traveled without any other Maestros, unlike some others she had been under. There was plenty of time where they were just alone, the three of them. The way they all slept didn’t help dissuade that thought.

Rebecca blushed, lowering her head. Would he want to do that with her?

“Rebecca, are you okay?” Pacifica placed a hand on the fox’s shoulder.

“EEP!” Rebecca yelped, jumping from the sudden touch.

The room went quiet, all eyes on the fire Resonator. “I-I’m fine!” she shouted. They all continued to stare. “S-stop looking at me! Keep eating!” she barked.

Shouri raised a brow but went back to his tuner. “Anyways girls,” he spoke up. “I think today we’re going into the city.”

The red rapidly faded from the humiliated fox’s face as she leaned back, folding her arms across her chest. Embarrassment was replaced by indignation. “Why would we go there?” she spoke low, her eyes narrowing to a grimace.

Taika opened her mouth to snap at Rebecca, but Shouri raised his hand to silence her. “Rebecca, come with me.” He rose from his seat and made his way for the door.

Continuing to hold herself, Rebecca quickly studied the other Resonators' expressions. Taika had crossed her arms, eyes narrowed but locked on Rebecca. Pacifica however furrowed her brows, wrought with worry.

Seeing how she probably wasn’t going to get out of this conversation with their Maestro, Rebecca snorted indignantly and decided to just get it over with. She took the walk of shame to the door and departed with their Maestro.

Now they stood alone in the hallway. He didn’t immediately face her, however, and began to walk.

“Let’s take a walk, Rebecca.”

Hesitantly she complied and they took a lap around the building, neither speaking a word, lost in their thoughts. The aura around them was so intense the Resonators vacuuming the hallway stopped and stepped to the side to allow the pair to pass. Eventually the duo came to a stop in front of the fitness center where a couple of the janitorial Resonators were cleaning the gym equipment. “Do you want to talk about it?” Shouri broke the silence.

“Talk about what?” She averted her gaze instantly.

“Your problem with this city,” he stated directly.

Once more the vixen clammed up, holding herself.

“I promise I won’t judge. I just want to know how to help.”

A few seconds of awkward silence and shuffling passed before Rebecca found her courage. “This was the city where my mother sold me.”

“Ah.” Shouri slowly nodded, the full significance of the event clicking into place for him.

“Yeah. “Ah” is right. Fuck this city.” Rebecca tightened her grip around herself.

“I’m a failure of a Renard. I’m not exceptional, just plain and boring.” The vixen ground her teeth hard, becoming more frustrated the longer she spoke. “I dunno why you wasted your money on me,” she squeaked, the tears breaking free from their dams and flowing down her cheeks.

There was a sudden warmth on her face, as Shouri blocked one of the rivers of tears with a finger. “That’s not true,” he whispered. “You were worth every sharp. Even if you weren’t a Renard, I would have thrown myself into those Scherzando to save you.” The Maestro stood up straight, shaking the collected tears from his finger. “So, I don’t want you to degrade yourself over something as silly as a clan name again – ‘kay?”

The Renard in question didn’t know what to say. For her entire life, it was practically beaten into her that she was only as valuable as the six letters that came together to make her clan name. This boy though refused that aspect of her, wanting her as a person and not a commodity. Shakily, the vixen nodded in agreement. Perhaps... even she could be healed.

“Just know that if we ever meet your mom Pacifica will probably try to throw hands with her,” Shouri snorted, covering his mouth.

“Eh?” Rebecca blinked, thrown off guard by that comment.

Shouri couldn’t stifle the laughter. “Pacifica has taken it upon herself to fight all of our parents since we all seem to have some form of parental issues except her,” he explained.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

The fire fox cracked a tear-laden smile. “I see.”

----------------------------------------

With the matter of the city settled, the group of four made their way downtown. The trip was pretty peaceful, with Pacifica and Taika taking in the sights while Shouri chatted with Rebecca to keep her distracted.

Their stop was one of the transfer centers and they needed to walk a couple of city blocks to reach their destination.

“Here we are, ladies.” Shouri motioned to a rather fancy-looking storefront - Renoir’s Apparel, it was titled with a bright, practically sparkling sign that hung over the revolving door.

“This-” Pacifica began.

“-looks kinda-” Rebecca continued.

“-expensive,” Taika trailed off.

“A bit. But you know what they say – you gotta spend money to make money. Or more accurately I don’t want us getting hurt while trying to fatten our pocketbook,” Shouri told his party of Resonators. “Come come.” He ushered them inside, despite their trepidation.

The trio of girls looked around while Shouri took care of the bureaucracy. It was an odd sort of store – at least for a clothing shop. All manner of clothing stood proudly displayed, though it felt shallow in depth. The building was clearly much larger on the inside than the small storefront they had stepped into.

“Welcome to Renoir’s, is this your first time here?” a dog boy greeted the trio of girls.

“Ah yes!” Pacifica took charge.

“We’re with our Maestro.” Rebecca pointed to Shouri near the front desk.

The boy looked back to the Maestro who was chatting with an older woman. “Ah yes. That’s my Maestro Sonia, the owner. I’m Vinci, I’ll be assisting you today as well.” The boy curtsied for the girls.

Vinci was a small thing, a head shorter than the already petite Taika, but he carried an air of elegance that blended with their high-brow surroundings. “With me please!” He motioned for them to follow. The trio looked to their Maestro, who was still discussing the transaction with the store owner it seemed. He gave them a gesture to follow Vinci, so they heeded his command.

They were led into the back rooms, specifically to an area with several sectioned-off rooms – here’s where all the space had gone. A helpful sign designated this part of the building as the “changing rooms.”

“You go here-” Vinci pointed Pacifica to the first dressing room

“-and you here-” Taika to the second.

“-and you in here.” Rebecca to the third.

They entered their assigned rooms and found some plain clothing waiting for them. Just a plain T-shirt and shorts as well as some slippers. It was obvious what was intended. However as they changed out of their everyday wear, the girls noticed something.

“This fits well...” Pacifica looked herself over in the mirror, tracing her sides with her hands.

“How’d he know my size?” Rebecca muttered, noting how well her tail fit through the tail slit on the back of her shorts.

“Just leave your old clothes in there!” They heard Vinci shout over the walls of the dressing rooms.

With that matter settled the three Resonators exited the confines of their dressing rooms and looked each other over. This was the first time they were in matching clothes. Pacifica instantly lit up and hugged the two foxes without a word of warning.

“H-hey!” Rebecca shouted.

“Davvero?!” Taika yelped.

Vinci broke up the festivities with a throat clear. “This way please.” He once more gestured for them to follow his lead. Through several hallways they walked, taking in the various paintings and décor that hung proudly on the walls.

Their final destination was a small suite, where Shouri was waiting for them, dressed similarly – a plain t-shirt, shorts, and slippers.

“We all match!” Pacifica’s tail wagged joyously at their new “uniforms,”

Shouri raised a brow, looking to his vixens for advice – they both shook their heads, not understanding Pacifica’s zeal for the temporary outfits.

“Anyways, this place specializes in clothing meant for battle. Not only do they make clothes, but from what I read they’re also experts in repairing and reinforcing damaged clothing,” he explained to the trio as they sat down with him.

Pacifica tilted her head. “Is that cheaper?” she guessed.

The Maestro nodded. “Very much so. Especially since Taika and I’s outfits were already high-grade battle attire, ours will be done super cheap while yours and Rebecca’s are mid-grade, they can be made as resistant as ours for a small premium.”

The otter looked down at the borrowed clothing she was wearing. “Yeah, I guess I didn’t ever think about that,” she muttered. “Then again, I never really thought I’d end up with a Maestro.”

Taika slowly nodded, agreeing with that sentiment, while Rebecca lowered herself a bit, her gaze shifting to Shouri.

“Either way, let’s just relax for a bit. We should take it where we can,” the Maestro in question advised of his traveling companions.

“Hey, are these massage chairs?” Pacifica questioned, realizing there were controls embedded into the armrest.

“Yy-y-y-y-yy-ea-aa-a-ah…” Rebecca managed to get out as she melted into the vibrating chair.

“Oh, press the blue button,” Shouri pointed out.

Pacifica did as she was instructed and a compartment popped out from the bottom of the seat near her feet. “A foot bath!? No way!” She kicked off the slippers and dunked her feet into the warm inviting waters. “Oh, this is awesome…”

“I needed this…” Taika joined the rest of the group in having her stress and tension be massaged away.

It wasn’t too long before Vinci and Sonia returned. “I hope you all have enjoyed our facilities.” Sonia smiled.

“It’s pretty gooooood…” Pacifica cooed.

“I can’t feel my life, it’s niiiice,” Rebecca added.

“I didn’t know massages felt this good,” Taika chimed in.

The store owner giggled – she stepped around the table and presented Shouri with his freshly mended clothing.

“I’ve adjusted some of the sizing on these to account for growth, let me know if they’re too loose,” Vinci told the Resonators, handing each girl their respective clothing set.

“Well, there’s only one way to find out.” Shouri looked at his group.

“A couple more minutes please,” Pacifica demanded.

“Five,” Rebecca corrected the otter.

“Twenty.” Taika increased the time.

“Giirrrlls…” Shouri said in that nagging “mom” voice.

After prying the three Resonators from the lap of luxury they begrudgingly made their way back to the dressing rooms, each disrobing and putting on their refreshed outfits. Rebecca especially noted the snug fit of her clothes. To note though she had been provided an additional box that Taika and Pacifica didn’t receive.

Popping the top off it was a new pair of socks and shoes. “Ah...” Drawing the shoes out she gave them a thorough inspection. They seemed like her size at first glance. More than that they matched her existing outfit, bearing the same orange and white patterning that her blazer and skirt had.

Slipping them on, she noted how comfy they felt while tying them up. Rising to her feet, the vixen scrutinized her reflection in the mirror. Somehow, she felt the refurbished clothes were brighter. Surely, they weren’t that dirty or worn down, right?

She found that she was the last one to leave the confines of the dressing rooms. Of course, that put all eyes on her. “Wh-what?” She frowned sharply, tail swishing hard.

Shouri spoke first. “You look great Rebecca,” he spoke gently, with a vigorous, approving nod from Pacifica as well.

Taika looked over the other fox and also gave a short nod.

“E-eh? It’s not that different!” There was part of her that kinda hated how genuine these people were – it was so overwhelming.