He sighed and flopped back onto his pillow, arms spread as if to beseech the sky--or at least his ceiling. Why did life have to be so complicated? He didn't want to hurt any of the girls' feelings by rejecting them, and yet he didn't intend to single any of them out for special attention, either. So he handled the situation as diplomatically as possible, thanking each girl individually while making it clear that he wasn't ready for a romantic involvement.
Many no doubt assumed that he spent all his spare time studying to maintain his place at the top of the class and had none left over for a relationship. Some gossiped that he already had a girlfriend, but she was from a different school. Others disagreed, insisting that he was looking but hadn't found anyone who could match him in talent and beauty.
Pheromones, he decided. He wished that, just once, he could navigate through his varied interactions on a trail clearly marked by simple, basic, primal scent. I was here, perhaps. My territory, keep out! He smiled lazily and licked his lips. Come hither, stud, and show me what you've got.
He drew his arms in and ran his fingers through his hair. Frolicking had its fine points. While he was dreaming, why not indulge himself? Who needed school, when he could chase butterflies through a field? No worries about grades, no appearances to uphold, no hiding part of his identity from those around him.
He closed his eyes and set his imagination free. He was a being of liquid silver, gliding through underbrush with barely a sound. He spooked a small prey animal and laughed as it scurried away, squeaking in terror. He bounded out onto a grassy plain, tails streaming behind him, claws digging into the fresh earth and thrusting him forward.
Muscles tensed and flexed. Wildflowers tickled his legs and belly as he ran. Wind fluttered ghostlike across his fur, making the skin beneath tingle. With ears pricked to catch every sound, he came to an abrupt halt and lifted his nose in the air, striving to encounter another whiff of the aroma he found irresistible.
He spotted her at last, a short distance away, her coat glossy with health and her eyes brightly inquisitive. He watched her for a few seconds, panting after his exertion. What she offered was uncomplicated, yet satisfying, with no strings attached. How could he deny such a creature?
He set one paw out to close the distance between them--
"Shuuichi-kun!"
He started, roused from his daydream by his mother's voice. He contemplated the vision of silver and sunlight for a brief moment, then shook it off and pushed himself up from the bed. He left the heaped mysteries behind without a second glance and went to answer the summons.
His mother stood by the front door, purse in hand, sliding her shoes on. "I'm picking up food for supper tonight. Would you like anything special? It's your birthday meal."
"No, thank you, 'Kaasan. I'm..." His gaze lit on a flash of color. "What's that?"
"Oh, this?" She pulled a trinket from her purse and held it out. "Silly, isn't it? I don't know why I bought it, except it reminded me of you."
He took the proffered item. A swift examination revealed it to be a keychain, ornamented with a replica of a fox tail. The fur brushed softly against his curious fingers. "This reminds you of me?" he echoed, his voice hushed. She couldn't know...
"It's such a bright red, like your hair," she replied. She tilted her head to one side and regarded him, her expression wistful. "Perhaps it's sentimental of me, but you grow up so quickly."
He closed his hand around the toy. "May I have it?"
"What?"
"As a birthday present. May I?"
She laughed lightly and shrugged. "If you want it, you're welcome."
"Thank you very much, 'Kaasan." He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. What she offered was uncomplicated. It was satisfying, though in an altogether different sense, and unconditional.
She offered love.
That was the real reason he had never chosen to pursue a relationship with one of his classmates. After a lifetime of empty chase and capture, he had been provided a taste of true, enduring love, and it had spoiled him for anything less. When next he gave freely of himself to another, it would be for that timeless emotion.
After she left, he drew the tip of the fox tail along his lips, and when he spoke, his whisper stirred the fur as the breath of the one he awaited might someday touch his. "Thank you."