“Wake up, fatso! You're snoring so loud none of us can sleep!”
River woke with a start at the loud voices and laughter coming from outside his tent. It was the first night of Hidden City High’s Todd Scouts camping trip. Finding the sleeping bag beside him empty, he crawled out to find his tent partner dragging a half-asleep polar bear yokai out of a smaller tent, “Mickey, what’s going on??”
“Mind yer own beeswax, rich boy,” the eel yokai bristled with electric energy as he snapped at the turtle.
“They alreddy got me my own stinkin’ tent an’ errythin, what more do ya want??” the white bear slurred, eyes still closed.
“It bothers you that much, he can share my tent and we’ll move far from you guys,” the turtle yokai proposed.
Mickey snickered, “Really? I wouldn’t mind getting a tent all to myself. You sure you wanna listen to this diesel-powered generator all night?”
“Just move your stuff out of my tent before I change my mind,” River impatiently huffed, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
“Say no more,” the eel quickly moved to grab his things to transfer into the small solo tent, “Sucker!” he smirked while unceremoniously tossing Ice’s things out. The annoyed bear growled as he deftly snatches them off the ground, then caught the last ones midair.
River trudged towards the bear, “Come on Ice, get your stuff and help me move my tent.”
“Uh… ok,” the pudgy bear obeyed, too drowsy at this point to do anything but follow the other’s lead. By the time he was done the turtle managed to roughly pack his things, who handed the folded up tent to him.
“Here, we’ll ask Scoutmaster Todd where we could sleep away from the rest.”
Soon enough, Todd Capybara helped them settle in at a spot overlooking the Hudson river, “You boys scared me for a bit there, but don’t you worry! This ain’t the first time this happens. This is kinda far though so you might wanna wake up earlier to get ready and walk back to the main camp, but this area is still within our jurisdiction so you should be safe here. Good night~” he cheerfully waved as the capybara yokai walked back to his quarters.
“‘M sorry to bother ya like dis,” Ice glumly mumbled, “I’ll wait until yer asleep, River.”
“Don’t worry about it, go to sleep.”
“Yer not bothered by my snorin’?”
The turtle laughed, “Let’s just say I've gone on training camps with my sensei and he snores louder…”
“Wow, I wish my roommates were like you. They kick me out every night at the dorm so I never get any good sleep.”
“What?” the turtle frowned in concern, “No wonder you look tired all the time!”
“Eh, what can ya do?” the big bear shrugged before he crept inside his sleeping bag and promptly fell asleep, snoring resumed.
As he watched him sleep, River’s mind was awake for a while, exploring solutions. He took his phone out and texted, then laid down to let sleep claim him as well.
_______________________________________________
“Would you like to live with me?”
“Who the fuck starts a conversation like dat? I jus’ sat down!” Ice exclaimed before wolfing down the breakfast he brought over in a tray. Todd has finished teaching them how to cook using the campfire, and they are enjoying their burnt hotdogs with questionably-cooked eggs.
“I asked my father to consider letting you stay with us,” he relayed, having received his reply to his late night text just that morning, “You’re not getting much sleep staying in the school dorm,” he dug into his own almost-burnt eggs. He’d rather suffer overcooked than risk salmonella.
“And he agreed jus’ like dat??”
“He said they've heard of your dad so they’re cool with it.”
“Oh, that’s not creepy at all ,” the chubby bear commented sarcastically with a raised brow before he squinted his eyes in suspicion, “What’s the catch?”
“My family wishes you to join me in my training.”
“Trainin’? Whaddayamean ‘training’?”
“Just let me know after you discuss it with your dad,” already grabbing Ice’s phone, “He can contact my father through this,” he continued, typing in his father’s numbers.
“You didn’t answer my question.”
River looked at him and opened his mouth to start answering, only to be interrupted by Todd’s whistle, signaling everyone to finish up with breakfast to get ready for Day Two of the Todd Scouts Hidden City High camping trip.
_______________________________________________
“I still can’t believe our parents are cool with it,” Ice picked up his bag as they all got ready to leave the bus parked in Hidden City High.
“Father invited you and your dad to join us for dinner tonight.”
“Yeah, dad told me your dad’s pickin’ him up to come ‘ere... I guess we’re goin’,” the bear looked up to see their fathers waiting at the school gate. His father was wearing his snow camouflage cap and pants with gray army boots, black undershirt stretched tight across the broad torso. He was talking to a formally dressed older turtle before they both looked his way. Ice’s face broke into a wide smile and rushed towards the older polar bear’s outstretched arms.
“Oof!” the tall and wide white bear stumbled back at the impact, “Easy, big fella!” he laughed as he gripped his son in a tight bear hug, “Heyyy champ, I see you made a friend here in Hidden City!”
"Yeah, hahaha! So uh... I'm fine with stayin' with 'em if it's ok with ya. I mean... I guess," he amended, trying to sound cool and nonchalant.
"Good to hear," the black turtle replied with a bow, "We're bringing you home so you may see for yourself where you'd live and we'll discuss it at length. My staff are preparing dinner as we speak." The tall, slim turtle wore a designer tailored suit with a matching hat and black turtleneck, his scarf and coat hanging on his shoulders. A pair of sunglasses covered his eyes, where bright yellow markings fanned out across his austere face. Handing his cane to a bodyguard, he turned to Ice's father, holding a business card in black leather-gloved hands, "Apologies, I neglected to properly introduce myself earlier. My name is Shuryou, head of the Hayashi clan."
Ice's father accepted the card with a smile, "No need ta be so formal!" He read through the card before carefully tucking it in his card holder, "Yer the dad of ma boy's pal, dat's good enuf fer me," He grabbed the other man's hand in a solid handshake, "Like I toldja before at the station, ya can call me Richard."
"...Very well," the elder turtle motioned towards the limo that just pulled up, "Let us all get in, shall we?"
_______________________________________________
The gate opened as the car approached, revealing an expansive compound with well-manicured Japanese gardens throughout. They stopped in front of a mansion, where large burly yokai men in suits and shades stood in a line. They all bowed when the driver opened the car door to let Mr. Hayashi out. The clan head handed off his coat and hat to his assistant before he led his son and their Inuuk guests towards the dining hall, where food steaming in plates awaited them. With River's father seated at the head of the table, servants ushered the guests into their seats and quickly left.
As soon as they were out of sight, Richard started, "We're damn grateful for yer offer to let my boy Isaiah live here. I heard enough about ya to know I'd rest easier wherever I'm stationed, knowing he'll be in good hands." He turned to Ice sitting beside him, "If you're sure about this, I'm ok with it. I have been sending him his allowance, but we can jus' agree on somethin' ta cover his board and lodgin' here."
"And he is amenable to the training?" He has finished filling his plate at this point, and River passed the food to Ice's father, who started filling up as well.
"Actually ataata, I'd like to ask about dis trainin'..." the younger bear adjusted his glasses, hiding his hesitance.
"You are my son's age to make training together possible. Everyone else in the clan are much older and too advanced. It will strengthen your body and mind through the discipline of martial arts," the elder turtle explained, his bright yellow spots gleaming against jet black scales. He turned to Ice's father as he continued, "And the clan hopes that someday your family will help ours in the future."
"Heh, I'd love ta see what ya can do! I'd train him myself but I'm hardly around since I get sent out all the time," he reached out and squeezed his son's shoulder, "Sounds like dey gonna make you big an' strong like me and yer uncles. Whaddayathink?"
"I-... I think it sounds good," the younger bear relented. He still felt unsure, but he trusted his father. He was more a video games and sleep kinda guy, so he hoped the change of pace won't be too much of a shock for him.
River turned towards the door where something caught his attention before his face brightened up, "Sensei Leatherhead, glad you could join us!"
The sensei was a towering crocodile man, garbed in a black sleeveless karate jacket with matching pants. He bowed before River's father before smiling towards the polar bears, "Good evening, ser! I'm Leatherhead, da one training River here," he introduced himself to Ice's father with a firm handshake before turning to the younger bear, "So... is dis my future student?" he asked in a thick Southeast Asian accent before settling into a seat beside River.
The dinner went on with the five men getting to know each other better, discussing how the Hayashi clan had people selected for training to someday help with Hidden City government and police as augmented security and peacekeeping service among other things. Ice's father expressed satisfaction that it lined up with his goals as a military officer and was glad to hear Ice is open to it. It turned out that Leatherhead had been teaching trainees in the clan since he retired from active duty, but still served as the head's bodyguard when needed.
"We can have that one wing of da house prepared for da boys to live in by end of da week so Ice here could move over da weekend," the crocodile sensei concluded. "Jus' get the school paperwork done on your end, alrite boy?"
"Alright," the young polar bear answered with a nod as they all finished their dinner.
"Now, how about you boys excuse us while we oldies share a few beers?" Leatherhead asked River, who nodded and stood up.
"Did you actually bring more of those San Miguel things?" River's father asked, his usually cold demeanor breaking into a soft smile he couldn't hide any longer.
"Ohh I've tried dat! Dat's some good stuff you got dere," Ice's father laughed, recognizing the brown bottles the crocodile brought onto the table.
"Fine," the elder Hayashi agreed, "Kamegawa, will you boys be alright?"
"Yes, father. I can show him around the compound."
"Yeah, we can just hang out until it's time to go, ataata," Ice assured his father with quick touch of their snouts in a kunik, before letting River lead them out of the dining hall.
They walked out to one of the wings of the mansion, with River producing a key to let themselves in.
"So where is dis?"
"This is where I live."
"...Away from your family?"
"What do you mean? This is inside the family compound."
"I mean, why's it in a separate wing?"
"Uh... father is mostly away on business trips so I'm often alone anyway. I decided to start learning to live independently. I wanted to do all the house chores, but our servants insisted to bring me food and fresh laundry," he ended with a sheepish grin.
"Alone? Where's yer mom?"
"She's... in the hospital," the turtle answered, suddenly looking sad.
Ice decided to change the subject, "So what ya got in yer room? If ya don't have the latest game console I'm gettin' us one!" he ended with as much cheerfulness as he could muster, which paid off as he succeeded to make the skinny turtle chuckle as they went further inside the south wing.
