It was a nice and sunny day in New Tokyork. So nice in fact, that Hazakura and Cassiopea decided to bring their three-year-old son, Natsukashii to the park to make friends and have fun. Although he didn't talk, he could still have a good time. Hazukara placed him on the ground and gave him a small kiss on the forehead.
"Have fun, sweetie!" She said, walking over to the bench with Cassiopea. Natsukashii sat on the ground, confused about what to do. He's never been to a park before. He's certainly never made friends before. He felt lonely before a blonde boy walked up to him with a smile.
"Hi! I'm Alex!" He introduced. "Wanna play with me?
Natsu didn't understand but he didn't refuse the offer. He wobbily got up and ran around with Alex.
"I'll show you to my other friends. They'll really like you," He advised, running towards a group of other kids. There were two blonde twins playing in the sandbox and one boy that had brown hair and multicolored eyes playing with a toy car, Triplet boys that had different colored fox ears and tail chasing each other, and a deer centaur boy sitting in the grass nearby.
"Guys, guys! I found a new friend!" Alex announced, prompting the kids to look at him and Natsu.
"Go on, introduce yourself!" He insisted, slightly elbowing Natsu. He stepped in front of him with his hands folded shyly. He looked down, not too sure if he should say anything. Instead, he stayed silent.
"What's wrong?" The first blonde twin asked.
"Snake got your tongue?" The second twin added.
"Maybe you should as his mum what his name is," The cervitaur suggested.
"Ah, right! Thanks, Ajisai!" Alex appreciated, running over to where the adults were with Natsu. Natsu softly tugged on Hazukura's kimono to get her attention.
"What's up, baby?" She quizzed. He folded his hands and gestured over to Alex.
"Oh! You made a new friend!" Cassiopea chirped. Natsu nodded, giving a small, shy grin.
"I'm Alexander Harper!" Alex introduced.
"You're Claire's kid, aren't you?" Cassiopea queried.
"Mhm! I wanted to know what my friend's name was," He answered.
"His name is Natsukashii," Hazukara introduced.
"Natsukashii," Alex repeated. "I like it! I'm gonna call him Natsu for short!"
"I'm glad you like it, teddy bear!" She smiled. "If you need anything, come to us, ok?
They both nodded and went back to the group of kids.
"Guys, this is Natsukashii! Call him Natsu for short," Alex introduced.
"Hi! I'm Wabi!" The first blonde twin introduced.
"And I'm Sabi!" The second blonde twin added. "Our middle brother is Kintsugi but you can call him Sugi for short!" The multicolored eyed, brown-haired boy gave them a small wave.
"I'm Kouyou!" The first dark brown-haired fox boy introduced.
"I'm Rakuyou!" The second bronze-haired fox boy introduced.
"I'm um..Shirinyoku..," The third snow-haired fox boy introduced. "I hope we can all be friends.."
"Heya! I'm Ajisai!" The long-haired deer-centaur boy introduced. "Real pleasure to meet ya!"
Natsu smiled and gave a small nod, understanding their introductions.
"I know this may be weird, but are you a shifter too?" Kouyou questioned. Natsu didn't quite understand. He tilted his head in confusion.
"He asked if you can turn into an animal," Wabi clarified, going into his naga form. He had the tail of a lime green python.
"Like us!" Sabi added, going into his naga form as well. He had the same tail as Wabi. Natsu couldn't reply, so he shook his head.
"Well, you aren't human, are you?" Rakuyou questioned.
"Can't you see his ears? He's apparently an elf!" Kouyou advised.
"I dunno. He doesn't seem like he's just an elf," Rakuyou said, examining him. Natsu gave off a soft whimper and shrunk himself.
"Raku, stop scarin' him!" Ajisai chided.
"I'm not trying to, I'm just trying to see what he is!" He protested.
"Guys, be nice to my new friend! He's new here, so you need to be as kind as possible to him!" Alex stated.
"Oh. Sorry," Raku said, backing away from him. Natsu grinned and brushed it off.
"Do you wanna play wif' us?" Sabi queried. Natsu nodded and joined the naga twins at the sandbox. Meanwhile, with Hazukara and Cassiopea, they were making new acquaintances themselves.
"So, you all take care of your triplets together?" Hazakura quizzed.
"Yup! All three of us raised them together. It's quite easy," The Tsdundoku triplets' first dad, Kin answered. With him were two other men he was married to.
"How interesting!" She chirped.
"It's not often when you see a poly couple with kids. Especially triplets," Cassiopea commented.
"It truly is!" Kin's husband, Hebi agreed. "Since the town we lived in was homophobic, we moved here to New Tokyork where everyone is welcome no matter who they are."
"That's very understandable," She said. "Say, what was your name again?"
"I'm Kin Tsdundoku. My husbands are Hebi and Jericho," He introduced. The two other men gave a little wave to her. She smiled and waved back.
"Say, where did Claire go? I've been meaning to catch up with her," Hazakura asked.
"Sorry! I had to use the bathroom for a second," Claire announced, sprinting to sit on the bench.
"Oh, there you are!" Hazakura cheered.
"Kura! I thought I saw you around here," She chirped. "How's little Natsu?"
"He made a couple of new friends," She advised.
"Awhh, how adorable!" She gushed. "I saw Alex with some other kids too."
"I heard that letting your toddler make friends with other kids is very important to their development," Hebi acknowledged.
"Good to know," Claire grinned. As they chatted, the clouds overhead began to get dark, and it began to smell of rain.
"Oh, dear. Looks like it's about to rain," Claire said.
"We can continue our chat at my house if you'd like," Hazakura advised.
"I'd love to!" She chirped.
"Cassi, is that ok with you?" Kura quizzed.
"Of course! We could use some company," She answered.
"Great!" Claire cheered.
"I don't mean to intrude, but can we come over too?" Kin requested.
"Of course! It'll be like a little friendly get-together!" She accepted.
"Well, we better get our kids before it rains, huh? Wouldn't want em gettin' soaked and wet," Jericho commented.
"Ah, right! We best get going before it rains," Cassiopea said. "Natsu! We're about to go home, sweetheart!"
Natsu perked up when he heard his name.
"That must be your mum," Alex said. Natsu nodded, getting up and running towards them.
"W-wait up!" Alex called, running after him.
"I guess it's almost time for us to leave too," Sabi said.
"Triplets! Let's head back, ok?" Kin called.
"Ok!" Wabi called back, turning to the other triplets and Ajisai. "See ya later!"
"Bye!" Kouyou waved.
"See you next time!" Rakuyou waved.
"Where's mummy?" Shirinyoku asked. "I don't wanna be out while it's raining..It might thunder and lighting.."
"Don't worry! She'll come soon!" Kouyou reassured. As if by coincidence, a pair of vixens called for them.
"There they are! C'mon!" Kouyou said, running over to them. "Bye, Aji!"
"Bye!" Ajisai waved. His dad, Mankai went over to pick him up.
"Time to go home, Aji. I'm sure you wouldn't want to get your coat wet," He said.
"Ok, dad! He chirped, beginning to exit when he spotted the other parents around the bench. "Dad, what're they doin' over there?"
"I don't know, Aji. Want to find out?" He questioned.
"Mhm!" He answered. They trotted over to the benches together.
"Aji!" Alex chirped, hugging him. "I didn't know you'd still be here too!"
"Nor did I!" He smiled. "What's everyone doing here?"
"The adults are gonna have a party at Natsu's house!" He advised.
"A party? But why?" He queried.
"I dunno. Maybe because they don't wanna leave each other yet," He guessed.
"I like parties! Are there gonna be snacks?" He inquired.
"Probably," He shrugged.
"Right. We'll meet at your house then," Kin concluded. As they talked, tiny raindrops began falling from the sky. One of them landed on Aji's nose.
"Hey dad, did you feel that?" He quizzed.
"Come to think of it, I did feel a raindrop or two." He answered, holding out his hand. A few drops of rain fell onto it.
"We best get going before it becomes heavy," Cassiopea advised, using her wings like an umbrella. "We'll see you all in a few!"
"Bye, Natsu!" Alex waved. Natsu waved back as he and his parents drove back home. Once they got home, Natsu got wrapped up under a comfortable blanket, Hazakura baked some sweets, and Cassiopea made tea with sandwiches. Once she got done, she went up to check on Natsu.
"Hey, Sweetheart!" She greeted. "You alright?"
He turned and nodded at her with a smile.
"Did you have fun today?" She quizzed. He nodded in reply.
"I'm glad!" She grinned. "Your friends are coming over. Are you excited?"
He was a bit nervous but happy. He answered her by nodding.
Right at the nick of time, there was a knock at the door.
"That must be them!" She chirped. "Be right back, buttercup!"
She quickly went down to answer the door. Claire, Alex, and the Tsundoku family were standing on the other side.
"Hey!" She greeted. "Please, do come in!"
She stepped aside to let them all in.
”You have such a nice house!” Kin complimented.
”Thank you!” She chirped.
”Mummy, mummy! Can we go play with Natsu?” Alex quizzed.
”Go right ahead!” She answered.
”C’mon, guys! Let’s go play!” Alex chirped, running upstairs and up to Natsu’s room. Alex knocked softly on the door, earning Natsu’s attention. He got up and answered the door to see Alex and the triplets on the other side.
”Hi, Natsu!” Alex greeted.
”Can we play wif’ you?” Sabi requested. Natsu nodded and let them in. They looked around his room and examined his toys.
”Wow, Natsu! You have so many toys!” Sabi chirped, running over to gawk and play with them. Alex and Wabi followed suit. As for Sugi, he watched tv.
”..You like anime too?” He asked. Natsu nodded and joined him.
”Why don’t you talk?” He questioned. Natsu folded his hands and looked down.
”Is it because you’re sick?” He queried. Natsu shook his head and hopped off the bed. He went over to play with the other kids.
”Hey, Natsu! Wanna play Legos?” Alex queried. He nodded and picked up a handful from the bucket. He quickly got to work, making a little dog.
“What is it?” Sabi asked. Natsu panted, imitating a dog.
"It's a doggy!" Alex chirped. Natsu nodded and played with the lego dog. Wabi, Sabi, and Alex joined in with their legos. After a while, the other kids came over. They went up to Natsu's room while the adults chatted downstairs.
"Hi, Natsu!" Aji greeted.
"Hi, Guys!" The fox triplets echoed.
"Aji! Fox boys! What're you doing here?" Alex greeted, running over to them with Natsu.
"Natsu's mum invited us too!" Aji answered.
"Now we can play together!" Kouyou cheered.
"Speaking of playing, got any games?" Rakuyou asked. Natsu nodded and led them to his game drawer. He had plenty of board games from Sugarland to Monopoly.
"What's Monopoly?" Aji quizzed.
"Some boring game about money," Alex answered.
"Got any video games?" Kouyou questioned. Natsu shook his head. He was a bit too young for video games.
"Why not?" Rakuyou queried.
"He may be too young to play video games. Unlike us big kids," Alex responded, bragging a bit at the end.
"H-How about we just watch t-tv instead?" Shirinyoku suggested.
"Sure!" Aji accepted, sitting on the bed with Sugi and the others. Together, they watched tv.
"Hey, Natsu..I'm really sorry for earlier," Sugi apologized. "It's okay if you can't talk. You're not sick."
Natsu waved in forgiveness. Sugi smiled in return. Suddenly, a loud thunderstrike sounded, causing the kids to scream and scatter. The Tsundoku and Momji triplets shifted and hid under the bed, Aji scrambled and followed suit, and Natsu hid under the covers crying. He was terrified of loud noises, especially thunder. Alex was used to it, so he wasn't very scared. He checked on Natsu first.
"Hey, it's alright," He comforted. "It's not gonna hurt you. I'll keep you safe." Natsu gave him puppy eyes and held his hand as he came out from under the sheets. Alex comforted the others and they all played and watched tv.
"Hey, do you think you can bring any snacks, Natsu?" Sabi quizzed. Natsu nodded and headed towards the door.
"Wait! Alex called, running to him. "It may be dangerous. I'll come with you." He held his hand and smiled. They ventured downstairs alongside each other to grab a snack when Natsu got distracted and heard a commotion nearby. There were three new women with children that had found refuge from the rain in the house. Natsu carefully listened in on the conversation.
"Are you sure we won't be any trouble?" The first woman questioned.
"W-We can leave if you want," The second woman added.
"No, no! Do make yourselves at home! His mother, Kura insisted. "If you need a place to rest until the rain blows over, you're welcome to stay!"
"Thank you so very much, madame!" The third woman appreciated.
"We're very grateful for you letting us stay here," The first woman thanked.
"No need to thank me, ladies," Kura smiled. "Everyone is welcome here! Say, what are your names?"
"I am Madeline-Odette. Please, do call me either Madeline or Odette," The first woman introduced. "This is my daughter, Nostalgie-Lune." She gestured to the little girl hiding behind her leg.
"My wife is Luciana. She's learning as much English as she can, for her first language is Italian. She and I would appreciate it if you taught her some more English," Madeline introduced.
"It is..very nice to meet you," Luciana grinned. "Thank you for welcoming us."
"Of course!" Kura chirped.
"I'm Laire Dallis!" The third woman cheerily introduced, shaking Kura's hand. "This here's my wife and kid, Mairi and Ainsley." She gestured to the woman beside her and the girl standing in front of her. The girl gave a small wave and a smile.
"It's very nice to meet you!" Kura cheered. "I'm Hazakura, and my wife is Cassiopea," She presented. Cassiopea smiled and shook their hands.
"Pleasure to meet ya!" She bubbled.
"You're surprisingly very nice people," Madeline commented. "Other people would turn us away and leave us out in the rain."
"It's lucky that Maddie and Luci found Ainsley and I lost in the rain. If not for her, we wouldn't have found shelter. You have her to thank for that," Laire beamed.
"I'm glad we could help you," Madeline chirped.
"I'm glad I could give you all shelter," Kura smiled.
"I..forgot to ask but, do you have children as well?" Luci quizzed.
"Why, of course! We have a three-year-old named Natsukashii. He's mute because of an accident but he can still make friends," Kura told.
"Speaking of, where is he?" Cassi questioned.
"Last time I checked, he was upstairs with the others," Kura answered.
"Would it be okay if we let our kids play with him?" Maddie requested.
"Go ahead! Would you care for tea and snacks?" Kura accepted.
"We have been out for quite a while. We could go for a snack or two," Maddie said. As the adults sat and talked, Ainsley started to make friends. She happily walked over to Nostalgie who had found a spot on the floor to sit.
"Hi! I'm Ainsley!" She greeted. Nostalgie shyly looked up at her, examining her carefully. Her hair was short, curly, and cinnamon-brown, her eyes were light grey and wide with curiosity, Her teeth were straight with fangs, she wore a light brown, comfortable coat with ripped jeans and white boots stained slightly with mud. She was a curious child indeed.
"..Nostalgie," She responded.
"What a pretty name!" Ainsley complimented. Nostalgie blushed, a smile curling on the side of her lip.
"Th-Thank you..," She praised.
"No problem!" She smiled. "Wanna play with me?"
"..Sure," She accepted, taking her hand and heading upstairs. Natsu watched the whole conversation in surprise and curiosity. He didn't know just who they were quite yet, but he'd find out. He was quickly interrupted from his thoughts by Alex who accidentally startled him.
"Sorry," Alex giggled. "C'mon, let's head back. I got all the snacks!" Alex grabbed his hand and ran up the steps to see the girls and boys playing together. Nostalgie looked at them with curiosity.
"Ooh! New friends!" Ainsley chirped, running over to greet them. "I'm Ainsley Dallis!"
"I'm Alex. This is my friend, Natsu," He introduced. Natsu blushed and gave a small wave.
"Nice to meet ya!" She beamed. "Wanna play with me? I'll show ya somethin' real cool!"
"Yeah! Let's play!" Alex chirped, together, they sat on the bed. Ainsley grabbed her phone and opened one of the games.
"My mummy let me get a game that's a lotta fun," She said. "My cousin said that it's too scary but I've seen scary stuff before."
"Ooh! Can we see it?" Alex queried.
"Sure!" She accepted, starting up the game. The background was red and black, and the words, FNAF 4 could be read along with a new game and continue button. Ainsley pressed the continue button and waited patiently for it to start. The game started in a child's bedroom lit only by a flashlight. In the game, she could turn around to face the bed, go from opposite doors in the room, and closet to check for monsters. She began to go door to door, thankfully not seeing any monsters so far.
"What's this game about?" Alex questioned.
"I think it's about getting rid of monsters in your house," She answered, going back to the bed and jumping when she saw a monster version of the plush bear. Alex and Natsu did the same.
"What was that?!" Alex queried.
"I dunno, but it was scary!" She squeaked, going back to check door to door to see if there were monsters. There were none, but she saw something at the end of the hall.
"I think I saw something!" She quivered. The fox triplets, naga triplets, and Aji began to take notice of the game she was playing and went over to investigate.
"What're you guys playing?" Kou quizzed, accidentally startling them.
"Oh, it's just you guys," Alex breathed with relief.
"Who're you?" Raku queried.
"I'm Ainsley!" She responded with a twinkle in her eyes.
"I'm Kou," Kou introduced.
"I'm Raku!" Raku presented. "Our brother, Shirin's somewhere hiding."
"I'm Sabi!" Sabi greeted.
"I'm Wabi," Wabi added.
"..I'm Kintsugi but call me Sugi," Sugi told.
"I'm Aji!" Aji acquainted.
"Didn't you have someone else with you?" Alex questioned.
"Oh! I almost forgot about Nostalgie!" She remembered. "She wants to be alone for now, but it's ok! We can all play the game together!"
"Ok!" Aji agreed.
As she checked the door to the right, another silhouette popped up and disappeared at the end of the hall.
"A monster!" Raku gasped.
"Even worse! A bear!" Aji added. "Bears are really scary.."
"Monsters aren't scary!" Sabi scoffed. Ainsley took it as a challenge.
"Wanna bet?~" She challenged.
"You're on!" He smirked. Ainsley went to the door on the left and shut it when she heard breathing. The time in the game was three o'clock. The lights flickered, signaling that something would go wrong.
"Go check the other door!" Aji squealed. The room was suddenly filled with suspense as she got to the other door. When she shined the flashlight, a monster popped up with a loud, perilous roar! Everyone screamed scattered across the room in fear. Aji laughed, coming from his hiding spot.
"Let's do that again!" He giggled.
"You thought it was fun?" Ainsley asked.
"Yeah! Being scared can be fun!" He laughed.
"How about we play another game?" Kou suggested.
"What game?" Sugi queried.
"Hide and chase!" Raku responded.
"How do you play?" Alex inquired.
"It's a game for both shifters and humans. While the one who's it counts, everyone hides. When the person who's it gets to zero, they have to find the people hiding. When someone's found, they have to shift and run away. If the person who's it catches them, then they're out," Raku explained.
"Let's play then!" Ainsley cheered.
"But wait! Natsu and I can't shift!" Alex advised.
"That's ok! As I said, shifters, humans, and non-shifters can play too!" Raku smiled.
"Who'll be it?" Kou quizzed.
"Hm..Alex can be it!" Ainsley said, pointing to Alex.
"Ok! Everyone go hide, quick while I count!" He instructed, covering his eyes and counting. The other kids scattered into their hiding places. The naga triplets hid in the closet, The fox triplets hid under the bed, Aji hid behind the toybox and Natsu hid under the sheets of his bed, making sure to lay as flat as possible so he wouldn't be found.
"Two..one! Ready or not, here I come!" Alex uncovered his eyes and searched around the room. He looked behind the lamp, then behind the tv and under the bed where he found the fox triplets.
"Found you!" Alex chirped, The triplets laughed and shifted into foxes, running from beneath the bed and away from Alex. Since they were foxes, they were faster and a bit harder to catch.
"Try to catch us!" Raku challenged, dashing away from him.
"I would but you're too fast!" Alex said, running after he and the other triplets. After lots of running, he finally caught them.
"Haha! now I got you!" Alex grinned.
"Awhh, now we're out!" Raku chuckled.
"Don't worry! You can help me find the other kids," He proposed.
"Ok!" Kou accepted, shifting back into his human form before helping to search for the others. A short giggle came from behind the toybox, prompting them to look. They found Aji who upon being spotted took a swift dash, prompting a chase from them. Being a cervitaur, he was quite fast on his hooves. Not only that, but he was also a great jumper, allowing him to jump over big and small obstacles with ease. It wasn't until he tripped over a pillow did he get caught.
"Looks like you caught me," He chuckled.
"That's right!" Alex smiled.
"Now you have to help us find the others!" Raku added.
"Alright, then. Let's get started!" He grinned, beginning to look around for the others. In the closet, Wabi and Sabi giggled shushed chuckles while Wabi sighed with boredom. He just wanted to take a nap. In the midst of their findings, Aji and the fox triplets picked up the faintest sound of laughter from somewhere in the room.
"Wait, I think I hear something," Aji advised.
"Yeah, me too..," Kou agreed, looking around. He moved near the closet, hearing more and more of the laughter.
"I think there's something inside," He whispered, moving to open the door when Sabi suddenly jumped out above him with Wabi following suit! Sugi just shrugged and stayed in the closet.
"You can catch me if you want. This game is a bit boring anyway," He said. Kou and Aji shrugged before running after the twins. In their snake-half forms. they could slither away from predators and towards prey much faster. Though, it didn't take them long to be caught. All it took was them to become cornered and they were easily caught.
"Now all we have to do is find Natsu and we win!" Alex advised.
"Speaking of, I don't see him anywhere," Aji said, looking around.
"Let's hope he isn't too hard to catch," Sabi commented, looking around for him. The snake twins looked in the closet, the fox twins looked behind the toy box, Alex looked under the bed, and Aji checked in the box in the closet. None of them could find him.
"I can't find him," Sabi advised.
"Me neither," Kou said, shaking his head.
"He's one good hider, that's for sure," Raku commented.
"Hey, wait! We haven't found Ainsley yet!" Aji advised.
"Oh, right! I almost forgot about her," Kou said.
"Did you check the toy box?" Sugi advised, standing among them.
"Why would she be there?" Alex quizzed.
"I dunno. Just check," He shrugged. Alex carefully went over to open the toybox, finding Ainsley inside.
"Haha, you found me!" She giggled.
"Wow, you're a good hider," He praised, helping her out.
"Thanks!" She smiled. "Now, all we have left to find now is Natsu."
"We've been having trouble finding him so far," Wabi advised.
"Hang on a sec. Isn't your brother a shifter too?" She asked.
"Yeah, why?" Wabi answered.
"Maybe he can sniff him out!" She proposed.
"That's a great idea!" Sabi agreed. "Sugi, sniff him out!"
"Fine," He said, sniffing the air and trying to catch a scent. What wafted to his nose was a lemony scent. The scent of Periwinkle flowers. "I think I smell him."
"Really? Where is he?" Alex questioned. Sugi kept his nose in the air, following the path of the scent until getting to his bed. The scent was strongest there.
"He must be here," Aji whispered, trotting over with the others. They gathered around the bed in anticipation.
"Well, go on. See if it's him," Sabi instructed. Alex went over to grab the sheets, slowly pulling it back to reveal a peaceful, sleeping Natsu underneath. He curled up on his side and snoring softly. It was pretty cute.
"Awhh, he looks so cute!" Ainsley quietly squealed.
"Should we join him?" Kou whispered in question.
"Well, I am quite tired after our game. Sure, let's take a nap," Alex quietly replied, climbing up on the bed and curling up next to Natsu. The others followed suit, soon they all dozed off together. As they slept, the rain soon began to let up, and it was time for the kids to go home. The adults downstairs said their goodbyes before gathering their children.
"Thank you so much for letting us stay, Miss Yanagi," Madaline appreciated, bowing in thanks.
"Yeah, this was a fun time. I'd love to come back!" Laire agreed.
"You have our numbers, right?" Kin questioned.
"Yeah, I have your numbers. And you're welcome!" Kura responded with a smile.
"Well, we may as well gather our kids and head home since it's safe," The fox triplet's mother, Vixen advised, getting up to stretch.
"We hope to see you again," Her wife, Kumiho grinned.
"I hope to see you all again too!" Cassi smiled. Kumiho smiled back before heading upstairs with the others to pick up their kids. They found them all asleep on Natsu's bed. They smiled amongst each other and gently picked up their children before heading back downstairs.
"Thank you..again," Luciana whispered to Kura and Cassi before walking out with the others. The house was empty now. Cassi and Kura sat on the couch, chuckling after a long day.
"What a day, huh?" Kura chuckled.
"Yeah, what a day," Cassi agreed. "Should we check on Natsu?"
"Yes, but you stay and rest. I'll check on him," She said, kissing her cheek and heading upstairs to check on him. He was still asleep but now that he was more comfortable, his wings spread out. Kura smiled and went over to softly place a kiss upon his forehead.
"Sweet dreams, my sweet," She whispered before leaving him to rest. Even in his sleep, he gave a smile.