FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter IV

After the incident, the store closed, Ryo and Sylvia being the only ones left outside. Ryo sat on the front end of his bike awaiting an explanation.

"What was that all about?" he asked, "Who was that?"

"He works with a group of loan sharks. People who can't pay them back are either killed or captured and sold to slavers." She looked at Ryo with sincerity in her eyes. "My dad made some bad investments, and we ended up owing the government a lot of money. It was only after they threatened to put us on the street when my dad made a deal with the sharks. I got this job shortly after in hopes of helping to pay them back. But I can only do so much. That was around the time I met you."

"You could've told me, you know?"

"They've been keeping a close eye on us. If we had told anyone, there's no telling what they would've done to us." He sighed, knowing she was right. "So.." she started, "where did you get that mind of money?"

"Oh, that?" he choked a little before answering, "That was from an account I use for an emergency, built up from hunts and all." He looked up at the stars for a moment, "So what now?"

"Well, we can talk about that plan we made a few months ago," the fox girl answered, "you know, about us traveling the stars together." Ryo quickly felt a state of panic and concern.

"I don't think that's such a good idea at the moment."

"What? Why?"

"Well," he tried to think of an excuse, "what about your job?"

"I can give my boss a heads up, and he's fine working alone. He's been running this place since I was a pup."

"What about your parents?"

"I know they'll be sad to see me go, but if you're worried about whether or not they'll let me come along, that won't be any trouble at all. They can't just tell me what to do, I'm an adult now."

"That's not.." he stopped himself, not knowing what else to say.

"What's the matter, Ryo?" She suddenly became suspicious, "Are you trying to keep me away?"

"No, that's not.." he was interrupted before he could finish.

"Is there someone else?"

"That's not it at all," he quickly answered. She stopped and listened to what he had to say. "I would love it if you came along. It's just things are complicated right now." She looked at him sincerely, her suspicion turning to concern.

"What's happened?"

He began to explain his situation, about being framed and becoming an outlaw. Each new piece of information only added to her astonishment, and she began to understand what he was trying to do.

"So now you see," he finished. "I would hate to drag you into all of this." She stared intensely at him for a moment, then suddenly and quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug.

"I don't care about any of that. I still wanna come with you." She pulled away for a moment and looked him in the eyes endearingly. "I'd give anything just to be with you." He stared into her eyes for a moment and thought hard about what he should do, realizing how much it meant to her.

"I suppose I could make room for you." His answer caused a reaction that made her hug him again, and smile with tears.

Moments later, Ryo started up his bike as Sylvia sat behind him and held on tightly. He decided to take her home so she could get ready. He pulled up to a small, white house. He grabbed the fox girl's hand and helped her off.

"I need to get everything ready for you, so take your time, and don't forget to say goodbye."

"You're not just gonna take off and leave me behind, are you?" she said with a hint of worry in her voice. He looked at her for a long moment, a bit surprised by her question. He gave a sigh and placed a curled finger gently under her chin.

"I promise, I will return and take you with me." She gave a reassuring smile. As he prepared to depart, her voice caught his attention once more.

"Ryo?" he heard as he remounted his bike. He found himself looking up at her, and was caught off guard when she pressed her lips against his, taking him into a long and passionate kiss. When she pulled away from him, for a moment, Ryo was lost in thought, then quickly shook himself back to reality.

"I'll be back shortly." He departed back to the ship.

As he entered and parked in the hanger, he noticed something different about the atmosphere. It felt empty. Chrys and Dalian must've still been out. It was a bit of a relief to him, as he didn't feel like dealing with the overzealous cat.

He had only just finished setting up Chrys's room, and began setting up Sylvia's. Each room had the same basic things, including a bed, dresser, and shower. Anything else was up to the owner. It took less time than he thought to set up, although he didn't have any distractions to slow him down. Once he was finished, he was more than happy to head back out.

He returned to the Bellehart's house. Sylvia stood outside, eager for him to return. By this time, she had changed out of her uniform into something more casual. Under her white coat, she wore a short, green tank top that didn't go lower than her upper chest, revealing her snowy white belly, with a gold star in the center. She wore a simple pair of blue ankle cut, blue jeans. She was carrying a basic, small white purse, and a black bag that likely contained some of her belongings.

She saw Ryo approaching and smiled warmly as he came to a stop. He had a glimpse of her eyes, and could clearly see distress.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's just.." she choked for a moment and looked back at her home, then back to him, "I had a little falling out with my parents."

"I take it they didn't take your decision too well."

"My mom is okay with it, but my dad.." she paused for a moment, "he was completely against it. He tried to talk me out of it, he even threatened to disown me."

"And what did you say?" She smiled and looked at him proudly.

"I looked him straight in the eye and told him I'm a grown woman, and I'll go where I please, with whoever I please. He didn't have anything to say after that." Ryo stared at her for a moment.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"I admit, it is a little hard to leave home. But my mind's made up. I want to live my dream, and a chance to finally be with you." It took a moment, but he finally managed a smile.

"Hop on." He made a gesture towards the empty spot behind him. She gladly accepted, sat down behind him, and held on tight.

Sylvia could see the ship as they approached, and was quite impressed with the with the size and the design. The hanger was open and the lights were on, which told Ryo the others were back. As he parked and helped Sylvia off, he could immediately hear someone approaching. Chrys came in, and she seemed to have done as Ryo asked, and bought herself some new clothes, being a white T-shirt, blue jeans, and a dark blue denim crop jacket. She was overly excited to see him, and just about pounced him.

"Hi, Ryo. Did you have a nice time?"

"You could say that." He began to feel uncomfortable, and was trying desperately to push her away. Chrys suddenly noticed the fox girl behind him.

"Who's this?" She grabbed and held Ryo's arm, "Is she the new made?" Sylvia gave her a cold stare.

"Not exactly." He yanked his arm away. Chrys stared curiously. Sylvia wrapped an arm around his without breaking her cold stare at the feline.

"I'm Ryo's girlfriend." A nerve seemed to have been pinched in Chrys. It took a lot of willpower for her not to attack the fox.

"Oh, that's..nice," she struggled to get out.

"This is Sylvia. She's joining us on our trip."

"And who are you?" the fox girl asked.

"I'm Chryselia. But everyone calls me Chrys."

"Nice to meet you. So how do you know Ryo?"

"I met him in a bar, then I followed him and snuck on his ship."

"Oh," she paused for a moment, "interesting." She glimpsed at Ryo, who was rubbing his head with his free hand. He seemed to be getting a headache out of disbelief.

"Yes," Chrys continued, "so what about you? How'd you two even meet?"

"Oh, it was about a year ago when I started my job. I was a nervous wreck then. He came in about the same time I went on break. I had to build up the courage to talk to him, but after that, he asked if I'd like to sit with him. Since then, he's been visiting weekly to take me out."

"I see," Chrys stuttered.

"Are you okay, Chrys?" Ryo asked. She crossed her arms before answering.

"I'm fine. I just remembered something I had to do. If you'll excuse me." As she left them alone, Sylvia looked at Ryo for a moment.

"What was that all about?" Ryo gave a sigh before answering.

"I'll tell you later." He took a pause before continuing. "Would you like a tour of the ship?" The fox girl gave a cheerful smile, giggled, and held on to his arm tightly.

"Just lead the way, captain."

Chrys entered her recently finished room, collapsed face first on her bed, crying into a pillow.

"Oh, I am so stupid," she sobbed.

"Why's that?" a voice spoke out of no where, making her react with a gasp. She looked around for the source, and noticed something at the foot of her bed. A teddy-bear sized panda bear had appeared as if from nowhere, and was slightly transparent, like a spirit. To Chrys, this tiny spirit was her friend.

"I don't know why I even came along at all. Why love someone I just met? This is all so stupid."

"Well maybe if you didn't think with your pants so much.." her little friend joked.

"That's not it." She ignored his insult.

"Then what?"

"I love someone I just met."

"So what's the big deal?" he pressed on.

"I already told you."

"I know, but why is it a big deal?"

"Because he's with someone else." She continued to sob.

"It hurts you, doesn't it?"

Yes, and I don't know why. Because it shouldn't. "

"Because he reminds you of someone," the panda added.

"Someone in my memory. I don't even remember his name. And I still can't remember anything." She sat up, curled up into a ball, and continued to cry with her head between her knees. Her tiny friend jumped up on her shoulder and gave her a gentle pat on the head.

"Come on, kitten, don't cry," he comforted. She finally looked up, her eyes now red from the tears.

"I'm such a mess. I need to keep trying to recover my memory."

"Don't worry. Everything will turn out okay," he said with several more gentle pats.

"But when? And how?"

"In time, kitten. Just try to stay strong." She wiped the tears from her eyes, and managed a smile.

"I will Nin. Thank you."