Chapter 5: August 25th, 1982

Time is always like a river that never ends. Friendships would naturally grow and improve depending on the individuals. Almost four years would pass with the most straightforward ease. The world would go through many changes, just in those years alone. New leadership, new ideas in economics, further changes in society, technology, everything was changing at a quicker and quicker pace. Things that were brand new in the late seventies were a regular thing now.

Of course, all of that honestly didn’t matter to Gary. He was now in High School and sixteen years old. He had one thought that was on his mind, and that was the wrapped gift that was in his backpack.

Gary looked much older now. He grew an additional foot during those years. He had to shave his face along with the other changes that were happening to his body as puberty naturally took over. His body frame was skinny but athletic. He seemed cute to some of the girls in his high school. Some already knew that another girl had taken him. She was from the same neighborhood, and they were recognized as one of a few couples that walked around the high school freely. It was not uncommon, of course, for couples to date and be together regularly during this time, of course. Hormones were a natural process that dictated students during high school. Some were worse or better off than others. Pecking orders from those that were stronger or weaker was a natural process as well.

For the teen, Gary was just a regular student who made moderate grades and treated others well. He was not the most popular student except for most people’s knowledge of the Japanese teen that he was dating. Of course, no one but Gary knew who that Japanese teen was. The students simply knew Fumi was a smart student that followed her boyfriend. She listened to what the teachers would tell her as long as it did not get in the way of her relationship.

Today was a special day for Gary, and he knew it all too well. He spent the last week gathering his own money to buy and wrap a gift up for Fumi. She had no idea what in store for her.

The class bell rang. The day was finally over, and school was dismissed. It was a typical Tuesday afternoon to some, but for Gary, he knew what the day was going to be, and he wanted to make sure that this day would be unique. He reached the bus as Fumi ran up to him. She was taller than she was in the years that passed. Even in her human form, she also was a foot taller. Her feminine features showed. She displayed curves on her body and had breasts now, something that Gary took notice.

They gripped each other’s hand as they stepped on the bus together. The other students on the bus sighed or rolled their heads at seeing the couple together. It was such a regular thing that people simply just didn’t care together. It wouldn’t have mattered to Gary or Fumi anyway. They cared about each other and their families. That was all that was important to them in any case.

Gary and Fumi sat their backpacks down to the floor of the bus as they sat at their favorite spot on the bus’s ugly vinyl seats. They rested comfortably together as they looked at each other and ignored the other students that spoke around them.

“How was chemistry class?” he asked her.

“I got an A+ on that chapter 9 test. I think I will get an A for the class.”

“Dah ... it is a shame that I don’t have the same class as you did. I got a B minus for it.”

She slapped his arm. “Come on, that was why you were spending the night with me last week was to get those grades up.”

“I know, my goal was to get my math scores up. I managed to get it better, though. I am going to get an A-minus instead of a B thanks to you.”

“Heh...” Fumi shrugged as she gripped Gary’s hand. She seemed to grasp his hand rather tightly.

“I feel your grip. Something bothering you?”

She shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

“Ehm ... ehm,” he tried to cough. “I know what is bothering you,” he said as he reached to his backpack. He unzipped it open and pulled it out. It was a small gift that was wrapped in gift wrapping. It had a tiny bow with a label that said to Fumi from Gary.

“Ah... , “ she reacted. “I didn’t think that you would remember Gary,” she said as she smiled at him.

“I wouldn’t have forgotten that it was your birthday today. Happy 15^th birthday.”

She held the gift close to her and kept his look at him. “I am happy that you remembered. You ended up remembering my birthday a day late.”

“Yeah ... I am sorry. I had two tests that day. I was distracted.”

“It’s ok... , “ she patted his arm. “There ... are some things that I will need to talk to you tonight. Do you think that you can come over tonight? It is vital.”

“Sure thing.”

“Good,” she nodded. “I think you might know a little bit of it ... it ... is important that you show up.”

“As I said, I will be there.”

She nodded as her attention focused on the gift. “Can I open it?”

“Hmmm ... maybe, it will be better tonight once we see each other.”

“I agree,” she said as she unzipped her bag and put the gift inside. “I promise not to open it till I see you tonight.”

They paused as they sat comfortably together on the seat. “I still can’t believe that it’s almost been four years.”

“Yep, yours is on the 20^th of September. You will be 16.”

“I still can’t believe I missed your birthday by a week when I moved in.”

“It’s alright. We are together now. That is all that matters.”

The bus began to move forward

“I can’t think of a day without us together. Your mom has been so happy to have me with you. I almost feel that she is getting happier as the days pass. I almost feel like she is celebrating for something that is going to happen, instead of me being there.”

“My mom is happy to have you with us. She doesn’t want anybody but you to be there.”

“I can only guess as to why,” he hinted to her.

“So much ... so much has happened in the last few years. I am so happy that you moved here and became so close to me.”

“You have been more than a friend to me. You have been everything to me.”

She took a deep breath. “Today ... I need you to be at my house. It’s so important ... promise me.”

“Hey ... I live next door to you. I will be there, alright?”

She calmed down and nodded her head. “Alright.”

The bus pulled over to their homes as the two disembarked from the vehicle. Gary stepped onto his lawn as he turned and waved to Fumi.

“I will be at your home in about an hour, alright?” Gary called out to her.

She nodded her head as she walked with her backpack to her home. Gary walked to his house as he reached the front door. He knocked on the door and waited for his mother to answer it. If she was still at work, he had a spare key just in case. There was activity in the home as he heard the door unlock and open up.

Standing at the front door was his mother. He saw nothing but sadness in his mom’s face. Tears were running down her cheeks as she had a handkerchief in her hand.

“Mom ... what is wrong?” he asked her as he entered the home. She stepped away and headed back into the kitchen. He closed the door behind him as he walked up to his mother that sat down by the kitchen table. She was busy wiping her nose.

“Son ... things are not doing very well at work. I ... might be losing my job.”

“I don’t understand, mom. Everyone at the company has well respected your work.”

“No ... not anymore. We had a manager. He took over the company about three months ago. This man... , “ she paused as she shook her head. “He was firing people and then forcing others to work longer hours as a result. I work with the financing, and I can tell you that the company has plenty of money. He is trying to downsize the company to nothing and then watch the company tank itself. Then he will sell it to the next bidder and walk away with the profits as others suffer.”

“That is horrible,” Gary commented. “You happen to know what his name is?”

“Chris Ferguson. He has already tried to fire me before. He attacked my work over and over again. The company is thinking of going on strike, but it might be too late. Our pleas and issues with him are being ignored. This manager is evil. He has already laid off five fellow workers that I know. He is planning on doing it with me next. He doesn’t care about anything. He only yells and screams at people.”

“I haven’t heard about this till now. Why?”

“He was doing this recently. He didn’t start laying off people until last week. Again, our company is doing well. There is no reason for him to do it.”

“So what happens if he does lay you off?”

“I am not worried about him firing me as much as I worry about him possibly transferring me to another place. He has already been talking about it. If they do that ... it means that we will have to move again.”

Gary clenched his fist. “No...”

“I waited to tell you this because I didn’t want you to worry about something that may never happen. It’s only gotten worse, though, that I have to tell you that finally.”

“No, no, no!” he slapped the table.

“I know, my dear. I know you and Fumi are so close. She is like a daughter to me. She is so sweet. I am willing to look into possibilities if the day comes, and I am transferred or forced to move.”

Gary stood up as he walked away, upset. “I ... I need to go see Fumi. Today is her birthday ... I don’t even know what to say.”

“I can try to make dinner for you?”

He shook his hand. “Don’t worry about it, mom ... I don’t feel too hungry.”

“I am sorry, son. I am truly sorry.”

He walked to the door, feeling dejected. He turned his head. “It isn’t your fault, mom. I know you are doing your best.”

She crossed her arms as she looked at the table. She continued to wipe the tears as Gary opened the door, walked out, and closed it behind him.

He felt terrible for leaving her like that, but he was struggling with his own emotions. Fumi was his dearest friend. For almost four years, he had, but one friend that was closest to him, and that was her. She was so unique and perfect for him that he needed nobody else except his mom and her. Even Eshima was open to him and respected him.

Gary walked away from the house, feeling disturbed as he looked at both sides of the street before crossing the road. The large home of Eshima Yuki was something he was used to now as he stepped onto the lovely lawn and walked up to the front door. The sun symbol was still there, gleaming away at him as he knocked on the door.

“Come in!” he heard a familiar voice. With that, he turned the knob of the door. It was not locked as he entered the home and closed the door.

“Remember!” she told him. The voice came from the kitchen. Gary stopped and noticed that Fumi was in her human.

“Oh yeah!” he remembered. He turned the knob on the door and locked it.

“Good,” she said. A small amount of smoke-filled her form as she walked back into the kitchen and left his line of sight.

He walked down the hallway and walked into the kitchen to find Eshima and Fumi both in their original forms sitting down at the kitchen table. The rat women were dressed in their kimonos as they looked at Gary as he walked in.

“Gary come and have a seat,” Mrs. Yuki told him.

He didn’t take long to pull out the chair underneath the table as he went and sat down next to them.

“Hello, Mrs. Yuki. Hello Fumi,” he said, looking at her.

“Good. I am glad to have you here for my daughter’s birthday,” Eshima said. “As you know, today is my daughter’s fifteenth birthday. This is an important day for her. A day like this is so important that those like you are encouraged to be a part of.”

“Fumi had told me a little bit about the importance of her birthday. I wouldn’t miss it.”

“I know you wouldn’t. Fumi, do you have The Book of the Yuki?” she directed her question to her.

Fumi nodded her head as she pulled out the book and placed it on the table. It was the same book that Gary and Fumi looked at almost four years ago. He had only seen it every once and awhile as Fumi would read it. Each year as she grew older, a part of the book would be unlocked by her mother. This was the first time that Gary had heard the name of this book. It seemed generic, but it did seem like a guide for the children of the Yuki. He did find some ideas to be odd that it portrayed, but it wasn’t to say that he didn’t see it that bad either. It had a guide on kissing between humans and the Yuki rats that he and Fumi had fun doing. The book’s cover was yellow and had an icon of a rat silhouette on it. The title was written in both English and Japanese on it.

There was the lock that sat on the pages. Fumi placed the book down on the table as Eshima held the key in her hand. She then gestured her daughter to hand the book to her. She complied as she gave the book to her mother. The book was placed in front of Mrs Yuki as she took the key and stuck it into the slot. The metal lock gave way as the lock fell open.

“This book is now completely free for you to read. I recommend that you read this as soon as possible, as I have told you earlier. Gary ... I recommend that you also be there with her to read it too.”

“It is that important?” he asked.

“Yes. I already instructed her about the importance of this book. All children born of the Yuki family must have these books. It is a guide on our lives and was written specifically for us by us. You can think of it as a bible of sorts even though it goes beyond that as well. Upon reaching the age of 15, the entire book is free to read now. It is only shared between her and ... her closest companion.”

“I see...”

Fumi placed her furred hand on the book as she looked at Gary.

“Are you hungry, Gary?” Eshima asked him. “I have food ready for you to eat.”

“Yeah ... I could have something to eat,” he replied. His mother’s words would haunt him but the feeling of being in the same household was comforting at least.

An hour passed as Gary was stuffed. Mrs. Yuki prepared an excellent meal almost straight out of Japan itself. Sushi, fried rice, sashimi, and onigiri, she was like a master at cooking that made him always come back to eat at their home. Even Gary’s mother had arrived a few times to eat there as the Yuki were in their respected human forms. Eshima also had a birthday cake waiting for her that they even had as well.

Gary tried to keep the words that his mother had told him. It weighed heavily in his mind, but every time he saw Fumi’s face, he would think of something else instead. They had a chocolate cake that Eshima either purchased or made herself.

“That was a good cake,” Gary commented after finishing up the cake. “Thank you for the meal and the dessert.”

“I just want everyone to be happy,” she replied as she took the dishes to her sink. Her furry nose was aimed at the dishes as her hands in the water. Her red eyes turned to look at him. “I don’t know about you two, but I could either use some help here, or you two can go and do something fun for her birthday.”

Fumi had already got out of her chair with the book in her hand. There was a mild curiosity that grew in her inflections as she held the book. She wanted to go upstairs and relax in her room. Besides, she wanted just to sit down and chat with Gary.

“Gary, let’s go to my room,” Fumi beckoned him. She pushed in her chair to the table as Gary stood up and forced his chair back.

They both left the room as Eshima watched the two leave from her peripheral vision. There was almost a devious smile that appeared on her face.

“How does it feel being fifteen now?” Gary asked her as they walked to the stairs together.

“I don’t feel any different, but then again, you have been to my last three birthdays.”

They reached the stairs as they began to walk up together.

“You know,” Gary continued. “I can’t imagine a day without us together.”

“I am always happy to have you here. I just wish I can be in my true form out there...”

“I know,” he said as they reached the top of the stairs. “Maybe one day, your family will decide to reveal themselves or something.”

“I don’t think that is going to happen for a long time,” she replied as they walked to her room door. “My family already has these underground dens made just because they are fearful of too many humans seeing them at once. With the dens, human contact can be controlled.”

She opened the door to her room as they stepped inside together. She closed the door behind them and flipped on the lights to the room. Fumi looked at the book in her hand as the curiosity was getting to her.

“I put your gift in here so I can open it with you here,” she told him. She walked past her fresh new Commodore 64 computer that was on her table next to her TV and reached the small wrapped box. “I am ready to open your gift.”

He stood there and smiled as he watched her use her small little claws begin to dig into the wrapping paper. She then brought it to her mouth and used her long front teeth to bite and pull the wrapping paper off of the gift itself. The destroyed wrapping paper fell to the ground.

It was a small blue velvet box that she held in her hand. Her gaze went to him as she smiled at him.

“Open it,” he gestured to her.

She used her fingers to open the small box, and she gasped at what she saw. She used her free hand to pull out a locket.

“Gary, you got me a locket. It’s a heart-shaped locket too.”

“Open the locket.”

She used one of her tiny claws to open it. Inside was a picture of him on one of the sides of the locket.

“I wanted to use a picture of your true form in that locket, but I know that you wouldn’t have any of that,” he explained.

“That isn’t completely true. If we were in the dens right now, I would most certainly get a picture of me and put it in there. It is a wonderful gift, though, and I will put my human picture in there. Gary, this is a wonderful gift.”

“I know that you have plenty of money, but I wanted to get it for you. I saved my money to make sure you got it.”

She thanked him as she took the chain necklace and wrapped it around her neck. Her hair was still lying down to her shoulders as she carefully moved her hair out of the way. Amazingly without any help, she connected the clasps and then spun it around on her neck, so the heart lay entirely in the center front of her body. She held the locket in her fingers and smiled at him.

She thanked him again as she walked up and pecked him on the cheek. Her fur tickled his face.

“Come on,” she almost whispered to him. “What is in this book that it needs me to be fifteen for?”

“I don’t know, but I imagine it isn’t much.”

“Gary ... half of this book is all for me to read once I hit this age. It has to be something amazing...” She said this as she almost leaped to the bed and rested on her stomach. Her hairless pink tail smacked the wooden railing of the bed as she leaned comfortably in a reading position. She began to open up the book.

“It is probably just recipes for food or something or a better guide on kissing.”

“Come on,” she said, patting the bed. She left enough room for him to be close to her and to read along with her. “Besides, you became a better kisser after we started practicing the pages. Our first kiss was so special, but it could always use improvement.”

“Yeah,” he replied as he got next to her on the bed and rested on his stomach. “Something about kissing a long furry nose and the big front pointed teeth makes an interesting kiss to make.”

She used her hand and smacked him on the side playfully. “A part of me wants to read this badly.”

“Well ... there it is now. Read away.”

“That is what I am going to do.”

“Ugh ... so boring.”

“Well, you can always play on my computer or the Atari,” she said as she began to read the first few pages of the unlocked chapters.

“Nah ... that is alright. I prefer to be next to you, anyway. It feels nice.”

She took her hand and gripped onto his as she used her other hand to hold the book open for her to read. He felt her long, rodent ears press to the side.

As she began to read the book, she started to get disturbed a little bit. Gary was just by her side and mostly dug into his thoughts. A minute went by until Fumi finally said something.

“Umm...” she said.

“You seem disturbed,” he told her.

“Yeah ... I am.”

“Why what does it say?”

She placed the book down but still kept it firmly in her hand. She turned to look at him. “Gary...”

“What?”

“I ... we are not like you.”

“Uh ... yeah, I am human, and you are a rat.”

“No, no, that isn’t what I mean. According to the book, I haven’t truly hit puberty yet, and it’s not like what human women go through.”

“What do you mean? You have breasts now. I mean ... you don’t bleed or anything, right? I don’t ever remember you talking about it.”

“No,” she shook her head. “Yuki don’t have periods, but we have something that happens to us instead. Perhaps I should read it to you.”

She had her full undivided attention to him. He could tell that she was breathing hard.

“You have reached the age of fifteen,” she said, reading from the book. “This is an important part of your life and one that is the most important above all else. You have reached the age of adulthood compared to other humans who value adulthood at the age of 18 or 15 or 21, depending on the culture, beliefs, religion, etc. For the Yuki women, it was discovered something that influences our concept of life that is more important than anything else. Discovered by the great mother Yuki, she never had to worry about this but witnessed her three daughters begin to experience a form of puberty that occurred in all her offspring. At around the age of fifteen to sixteen, the Yuki women would begin to go into heat. This is a critical period in the Yuki’s life. It is the time when the woman is most likely to conceive above any other period. This is a time when you, the Yuki, must carry out your sacred oath to the family and produce a child for the benefit of the Yuki family.”

Gary expressed shock. “What? Make a baby?”

“This is not an option in the life of the Yuki. It is not just a sacred event, but a time that one must engage in sexual intercourse with her mate. The mate must be human since the entire family is based on one person, the great mother, Yuki. Incest will not be tolerated among brothers and sisters and will be faced with the harshest punishments. A human male is required for the joining of this period, preferably of a mid-teen to adulthood where the most viable sperm can be acquired.”