STRAY FOX [Kita Shinsuke x Reader]

Chapter 02 - Tailed

Early late-October morning, there were less and less people out on the streets due to the low temperature of early mornings. The cold air doesn't bother Kita on his morning run, but someone was trying to do so.

"Yo! Good morning!" a familiar smile of the "stray fox" whom he just met a week ago greeted him as he passed by the start of the foothill trail. She was wearing the same f/c dress as before, but now she topped it off with an unzipped jacket.

"Good morning," he would simply respond and would just continue his run without any delay.

"H-Hey, can I ask you something?" she shouted as he was getting farther away from her.

"You already asked something when you uttered that question," he just told her, never looking back.

She heard her laugh. "You savage!" she then remarked and that was actually part true. Talking would be a bad idea as it will ruin one's breathing while running, so he had to shut her down.

The next day, he saw her standing at the start of the foothill trail, wearing a tracksuit.

"Yo! Good morning!" she immediately greeted him with a smile as soon as she saw him going her way.

"Good morning," he responded.

"So..." she was running right beside him. "Do you always do your morning run every single day?" she asked.

The captain nodded.

"Even though it's raining or snowing hard, you still do it?" she asked.

This time, he shook his head and the girl laughed.

"I figured," she said and went silent for a couple of seconds. "Anyway... Thanks for the towel," she was talking about last week. "I have it in my pocket. I'll be returning----------"

"Keep it," he interrupted her.

"Now, now, don't worry! I washed it with detergent and fabric softener. It's so clean and it smells so good!" she told him.

The captain just glanced at her for a second. Not long after that, he could hear her starting to pant. It was clear that the girl was not used to doing this.

"You should stop running," he told her.

"Not yet... Just a bit further..." she responded in between pants.

Regardless of her ragged breathing, the girl pushed on. She was trying her best to keep up with him, wanting to run with him for a bit further.

After passing a few more blocks, she released a huge sigh and finally stopped running. "S-See you tomorrow!" she told him as he simply continued on his run.

It went on like that for four days. The girl would join him on his run from the start of the foothill trail and would stop further and further from where she stopped last.

Kita did not understand. Why would she wait for him and join him? Why would she be running when it was obvious that she didn't have the stamina to do so?

He was determined to ask those questions, but he was not able to as he hasn't seen the girl ever since.

Before he even knew it, it was already several days into November. The air was getting colder and colder yet he was still out doing his morning run. It was his routine. He was not going to postpone it unless it was necessary.

"Yo! Good morning!" he suddenly heard a familiar voice as he passed by the start of the foothill trail.

He turned his head at the direction where the voice came from, and saw the girl smiling at him. She was not in her tracksuit. She was wearing pants and a sweater underneath her unzipped jacket. He also noticed the bicycle parked beside her.