1,309"He is my other eyes that can see above the clouds; my other ears that hear above the winds. He is the part of me that can reach out into the sea. He has told me a thousand times over that I am his reason for being; by the way he rests against my leg; by the way he thumps his tail at my smallest smile; by the way he shows his hurt when I leave without taking him. (I think it makes him sick with worry when he is not along to care for me.) When I am wrong, he is delighted to forgive. When I am angry, he clowns to make me smile. When I am happy, he is joy unbounded. When I am a fool, he ignores it. When I succeed, he brags. Without him, I am only another man. With him, I am all-powerful. He is loyalty itself. He has taught me the meaning of devotion. With him, I know a secret comfort and a private peace. He has brought me understanding where before I was ignorant. His head on my knee can heal my human hurts. His presence by my side is protection against my fears of dark and unknown things. He has promised to wait for me... whenever... wherever - in case I need him. And I expect I will - as I always have. He is just my dog."
- Gene Hill
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The Good Dog
Chapter #1
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Yusuke managed to get himself into some pretty weird situations. There was that whole dying and coming back to life gig. Didn't think he'd ever be able top that one. How many people have a blue haired reaper girl retrieve you - riding an oar like it was the most natural thing in the world? To be honest, seeing her pop out of nowhere on that thing still made head spin every now and then. So throw in a couple demon tournaments and a demon ancestor after that and you get one crazy fucked up life.
Yet, somehow, being chased by animal patrol on all fours took the cake.
Yeah . . . it was gonna be pretty hard to live this one down. But really, how was he suppose to know that crazy old bitch had that kind of power? More importantly, why the hell didn't that stupid toddler say anything! A simple, 'By the way Yusuke, this chick can change you into a fucking dog' would have been pretty damn helpful!
Fucking Koenma. Next time he saw the child ruler he was going to beat the shit out of him - whether he was still furry or not! Only his idiot of a boss would send him alone on a mission like this. Yusuke could handle spirit energy, but this . . . this was something else. This shouldn't even be possible.
And now here he was - a dog - with no one but the puppy police looking for for his newly canine self.
He could practically hear the loud, irritating guffaws that Kuwabara liked to call laughter bouncing around in his skull. Underneath the idiot's laughter Kurama would ponder how he managed to get himself into such a situation and Hiei would state that he would never let himself be chased down by a human, canine or not.
His, strangely padded, feet skid to a halt, the snow patched asphalt sliding him forward a few extra feet. But Yusuke was too busy rolling his eyes to care. Why the hell was he running? God help him if any of them found out about this, but him biting someone in the ass would be less shameful than running from a human with a collar on a stick.
Lucky for him, he turned to face his chaser just in time to watch the fat ass dognapper eat it as he came around the corner. It was so perfect he couldn't help but laugh - er, well bark. God damn if he wasn't already missing his vocal chords. As soon as he found the stupid bitch that did this he was going to latch onto her throat.
He planted his feet as best he could, feeling his nails digging into the ice and the strange sensation of the black hairs along his back rising as the growl rumbled in his throat. The animal patrol officer struggled to get up, slipping a second time before finally managing to get onto his feet. Yusuke couldn't help but feel satisfied by the way the man paled, pushing his round glasses up his nose in what the spirit detective could already tell was a nervous gesture.
"Now now there boy, just calm down. We're going to take this nice and easy . . ."
Nice and easy his ass, dognapper was going down.
Taking in a lung full of air he barked, making the man jump. His already unstable footing trembled and Yusuke watched in proud satisfaction as the county employee waved his arms and struggled for balance. Yusuke took the opportunity to rush him, slamming his body into the man's legs and forcing him to fall flat on his face in a puddle of muddy snow. HA! Who says you need fists to kick some ass?
Before the officer had the chance to get up Yusuke bolted, back feet skidding on the ice as he rounded a turn. Ok, time to think. He couldn't go to Kuwabara's, that dumb ass would never be able to look past his now canine exterior. Hiei would be good with that whole mind reading thing but there was no way to find him. Ok, Kurama it was then.
Seeing the entrance to the subway he made a sharp turn, cutting a couple people off in the process. Sorry folks, manners weren't on his priority list this evening. Bolting through the crowds he finally made it to the loading dock. Panting, he checked the routes only to find that several of the color coordinated routes were blending together. He stood there, blinking in confusion before an irritated growl rumbled in his throat. This had to be a joke. Some really bad cosmic joke. Colorblind? Really? Wasn't it bad enough that he was turned into a fucking dog! Bitch had to make things politically correct and give him dog vision too!
Stubbornly he stared closer at it, ignoring the looks he was getting from the people around him. Ok, not so bad. There were slight variations . . . and it looked like the blue route remained unchanged in his new vision. If he could just find Kurama's stop . . .
The sound of her loafers alerted him of her presence first, the (surprisingly strong) smell of vanilla hit him next. He tried to ignore her and keep looking at the map, though when she didn't move his curiosity won out. Glancing over, his eyes traveled from her knees and up.
She had a good figure, though he could probably appreciate it more from a higher eye level - or a shorter skirt. When his eyes reached her face he wasn't too surprised to see her staring at him or even that her face was actually as good looking as her body (a rare find nowadays if you asked him). She was cute, long dark hair, small button nose and all. But what really caught, and kept, his attention were her eyes.
'Whoa, definitely not completely colorblind.' They were a shade of blue that he could only call electric - though that could be helped by the fact that all other colors seemed to be washed out. Regardless, he was mesmerized. How did a japanese girl score eyes like that?
They stared at each other for what felt like an hour before she smiled and crouched down to his eye level, carefully keeping her skirt in place. "Are you lost?" She nodded her head towards the board, "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were trying to read the map with how hard you were staring at it!"
Her words broke his trance and he huffed. If she didn't know better? Did she realize how crazy she must look talking to a dog right now? Though he had no complaints with her playing Dog Whisperer if it meant being talked to like a person again.
She slowly reached forward as he watched her carefully, ready to bolt at any suspicious movement. When her hand caressed his floppy black ear however, concentration was lost. God, no wonder dogs liked to be scratched behind the ears . . . it felt freaking fantastic! He heard a rhythmic thumping behind him and was mortified when he turned around and saw his long tail beating the pavers. The wagging immediately stopped and Yusuke felt the girl's hands lower to his neck.
If she noticed the way he stiffened she ignored it, murmuring under her breath. "Looks like you have a collar . . ."
He did?
She sighed, dropping one hand and using the other to scratch the top of his head. "But no tag." She shook her head, contemplating. "Maybe your owners got you chipped?"
Any other day he may have laughed. But it turns out the idea of being micro chipped like some kind of mutt isn't so funny when you're, well, a mutt.
She giggled, giving his head a final scratch. "Well -" She took a quick peak under his leg - deepening Yusuke's embarrassment even further, "boy, I'm not sure what to do with you."
What else was new? Yusuke didn't know what to do with himself either. This day just kept getting shitier and shitier.
"Yeah, the dog ran right over there!"
Yusuke turned around sharply, shoulders sagging in disbelief when he saw one of the pedestrians pointing right at him. The three dognappers suddenly coming toward him didn't exactly make his day either. A growl escaped his throat before he could stop it and he felt his hair rise on the back of his neck as he focused on the oncoming officers. He almost jumped when he felt the girl's hand lay gently on his head.
She winked at him with a mischievous smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "Don't worry boy, I'll take care of this."
Clasping her hands in front of her chest, Yusuke watched in amazement as her features changed when she turned around to face the officers. Suddenly her eyes were wide and watery, looking up at them like they were some kind of freaking heroes. "Oh, thank you so much for finding my dog! I have been looking for him all day!"
Her dog . . . really?
The animal control looked at each other in confusion, unsure what to do. "Uh ma'am are you sure that's your dog? He's awfully mean spirited . . ." said Dognapper #1, scratching the back of his balding head sheepishly.
The girl shook her head adamantly, "Oh no! He would never hurt anyone!" She looked them up and down and Yusuke saw her eyebrow raise challengingly even as her voice remained sugary sweet. "After all, he didn't bite any of you right?"
Startled, Yusuke looked up at her with a new appreciation. Girl actually had some brains in there.
They all looked each other, shrugging until Dognapper #3 (who Yusuke recognized as the fat ass he tripped earlier) pushed up his glasses. "W-well ma'am. Your dog showed some very aggressive behavior. I'm not sure if a girl like you can handle a big dog like this."
Sweetness gone, her eyes narrowed dangerously. "A girl like me huh? Well I'll have you know -" She leaned forward to look at his name badge, "Yuto. That I can handle myself just fine. And, quite frankly, I'm sure I'd probably show you some "aggressive behavior" if you came chasing after me with a stick too!"
Yusuke couldn't help the doggie smirk that spread across his face as Yuto fumbled with his glasses stuttering incoherently until Dognapper#2 stepped in. He looked between Yusuke and the girl suspiciously. "What did you say your dog's name was?"
"Oh, um," she looked down at Yusuke and he raised his eyebrows back. Was she really going to let his asshole throw her off with a name? Just pick one for crying out -
"Blackie!"
. . . She had to be joking.
She gave him what he thought looked like an apologizing look from the corner of her eye, but retained her bright smile. "His name is Blackie!"
She wasn't joking. God, fucking, damn it! Would a little originality kill her?
Dognapper#2 raised his eyebrows, obviously not buying it. "And how exactly did . . . Blackie escape?"
If she was nervous she didn't show it. "Well you see I let a friend take care of him while I took care of some errands and they accidentally left their door open." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "I never should have left my precious Blackie with her, she's just too irresponsible!"
"And you just happened to find him here . . . at the train station."
She nodded happily. "Yup, I was just about to give up looking and go home when my sweet Blackie found me!" She put a hand over her heart, eyes wide again. "But I thank you all so much for all the hard work you did!"
Baldy and Fat Ass blushed, mumbling 'you welcome's under their breath. Dognapper #2, which Yusuke was now renaming Douchebag, just rolled his eyes and tossed a cheap leash at her. "Whatever. Just put him on a leash and make sure he doesn't get out again!"
She gave a mock salute, "Yes sir, you can count on me!"
Douchebag just waved her off, ordering his coworkers to get moving. When they finally disappeared into the crowd the girl's shoulders sagged with a sigh. "Well, I guess that means you're going home with me tonight." She clicked the leash onto his collar before Yusuke had the chance to protest. "Mama's not going to like this . . ."
She started walking but Yusuke sat down and refused to move causing the leash to go taut and her to stumble back a step. No way in hell was he going to follow this girl around like some lost puppy. She glared down at him, her hands on her hips. "Now you listen here, I just went through a lot of trouble to save you from those jerks! The least you can do is be cooperative so I can help you find your real owners tomorrow."
Yusuke glared back at her defiantly before giving up with a sigh. Girl did have a point, if it weren't for her he might still be running from those pricks. She smiled when he sat up and closed the distance between them. "Thank you!" He rolled his eyes and walked with her in silence onto the waiting subway train, ignoring her surprised look when he actually hopped up on the seat next to her. Just because he looked like a dog didn't mean he was going to sacrifice his human rights god damn it.
They sat in silence, ignoring the looks from the other oncoming passengers, and remained that way for a few minutes after the train doors closed and the train accelerated. With the leash connecting them swaying between them, and the sound of wheels turning on the track underneath, the girl stared straight ahead as if lost in thought. That is, until she turned those piercing blue eyes on him again.
"My name is Kagome by the way."
Gee, that was just great. He was so worried about what to call her being that everything he tried to say came out as a bark.
She tilted her head, eyes lingering on his face thoughtfully. "I don't know what your real name is . . ."
He huffed, turning away from her in annoyance . So the stupid bitch that turned him into a dog didn't have the decency to put his name on his collar. Shocker.
Kagome let out a little laugh, shaking her head. "But I'm definitely not going to go around calling you Blackie of all things."
So the girl wasn't so cruel after all. If there was room for it, Yusuke would have collapsed in relief.
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I should start off with saying that I've had this story on my mind for the past seven years but could never really get it started. Every opening scene I started writing didn't seem to sit well and I just grew frustrated. Then we got Benni - my hundred pound, dopey black lab that I simply love to pieces. Lets just say nothing can inspire a story about a dog, quite like a dog.
This story will be a little more on the drabble side compared to my other stories - and definitely less dramatic than Every Rose Has Its Thorn and Every Night Has Its Dawn. I'm looking forward to writing something lighter and more fun, and excited to see where this story takes me. It could end up being ten chapters, it could end up being thirty. We're just going to see it where it takes us. =)
Thank you to everyone reading! And to any of those coming over from EVND, I hope you enjoy this new adventure!
