Chapter Text
Giyuu’s breath comes out in even clouds as he rapidly runs through the snow that blankets the landscape despite how much his toes are freezing. The coniferous trees pass with each footprint he leaves behind. He normally does not run through this part of the woods, especially this time of year, but his normal route was closed due to fallen branches so much to his inconvenience, he ran on this trail instead. Giyuu mentally prepares himself for the incline he is being met with and conserves some of his energy. However, he falters when he hears a soft whine on the wind. He continues running, unsure if he misheard until it happens again, a shrill cry coming from the top of the hill. It is a rather spooky thing to hear when one is alone in the woods so against his better judgment, Giyuu quickens his pace to find out where the sound is coming from. Whatever it is, it is definitely in distress. As he nears the peak, the sound becomes clearer and it sounds like the cries of a puppy. Giyuu’s eyes land on two huddled shapes in the snow. He does not miss the trail of blood behind them or the carnage of what appears to be a tattered dog surrounding four mangled puppies. He does not let his imagination wander as to how or why these dogs were killed so brutally and instead focuses on the two that are alive.
Giyuu bends down to get a better look at the two puppies in front of him. One of them is conscious with a gash on its forehead and is the one that was crying. The other is unconscious and bleeding from its back, head, and front leg. He leans over with the intention to pick up the injured puppy but the noisy one gets in the way and growls at him.
“I’m not going to hurt it,” Giyuu huffs. He bores his deep blue eyes into the puppy’s round, wet eyes. It seems to understand Giyuu means no harm and whimpers, nudging its littermate towards him. He gingerly picked up the unconscious puppy and cradles it against his body. He pulls out his phone to check for the closest veterinarian but there is no service where he is. The noisy one barks indignantly and tries to climb up Giyuu’s pant leg but with the snow so deep, all it does is hop up then fall back into the snow.
“Fine, I’ll carry you too. You’ll just slow me down if you try chasing me,” Giyuu murmurs, tucking his phone back into his pocket. He bends down and takes the fussy puppy in his other arm, then decides to hold them together. This seems to please the conscious puppy as it nuzzles the other and whimpers softly. Satisfied that the puppies are secure, he casts one last glance at the dead dog and its babies before dashing down the mountain to the trailhead where there is phone service.
It takes Giyuu twenty minutes to reach the entrance to the park. By this time, he has service to check the closest vet office. He curses to himself with how far away it is and opts for another option. He calls an acquaintance of his, Shinobu Kochou, who, if he recalls, is a doctor. He hopes she knows something about animal care too. She picks up after the fourth ring.
“Ah, Tomioka-san! Why are you calling me so late in the night?” Shinobu asks, irritation lacing her cheery tone. Giyuu can hear her false smile over the line.
“Kochou-san, I found orphaned puppies and I think one is dying,” Giyuu states matter-of-factly. There is silence on the other line for a second.
“Why are you calling me when you could be going to the vet?” she demands. Giyuu adjusts the puppies in his arms and the noisy one whines loudly. “I think one of the puppies wants you to go to the vet!”
“Oh? Who has puppies?” a voice asks in the background. It is Shinobu’s sister, Kanae, Giyuu’s mind supplies. “Ask them to bring them over!” she adds. Giyuu can practically see Shinobu’s eye twitching.
“It’s just Tomioka-san. He found two puppies,” Shinobu explains, her voice tight.
“Poor things! Please come over, Tomioka-san!” Kanae insists. Giyuu does not get a chance to reply before Shinobu hangs up, not that he would have said much more. He checks the unconscious puppy and it is thankfully still alive. The other one looks up at Giyuu with those round eyes and whimpers a little before nestling deeper into his arms. The trip to the Kochou sisters’ apartment is short and uneventful except for the puppy’s constant crying. Giyuu silences the pup a few times with a stern glare.
Ringing the doorbell, Giyuu is greeted by Kanae’s genuine smiling face with Shinobu behind her with a smile filled with ire. Kanae ushers Giyuu inside, cooing over the puppies. He takes off his shoes and is led into the threshold between the Kochou sisters.
“How lucky that you found them, Tomioka-san! We’ll take a look at them for you!” Kanae says cheerily. Giyuu nods and lets her take the puppies. The noisy one immediately starts crying once out of his arms and squirms in Kanae’s hands. “Oh my, this one certainly sounds relatively healthy! Oh, but it has a cut on its head. Here, Tomioka-san, could you hold this one while I check this one?” Giyuu obliges and resumes holding the whiney pup, which goes quiet once securely in his hands. Now that he is in better light, he can see what color their fur is. They both share burgundy fur but the one in his arms has short, scruffy fur while the one on the table has longer fur.
“Aw, someone likes you, Tomioka-san!” Shinobu teases. Giyuu blinks in confusion before looking down at the puppy in his hands. It peers up at him and wags its tail. Before he can ask what Shinobu meant, Kanae hums with concern.
“I’m glad you came when you did. She’s very hurt. We’ll do what we can but I’m not sure if she’ll survive,” Kanae says gravely. As if understanding what she said, the puppy in his arms starts wiggling and crying. Giyuu slowly walks it over to where its sister is and sets it down. It waddles over and licks its sister, crying softly. Kanae sighs and pets the noisy pup, gently picking it up to check for more injuries.
“You’re a very good brother. I’ll do what I can for your sister,” Kanae says softly to the puppy. He wags his tail and licks her cheek in appreciation. “Tomioka-san, could you wash off the cut on his head in another room? I’m going to treat his sister and I don’t want him to worry. Could you also do what you can to warm him up?” she asks. Giyuu nods and takes the pup from her. “I forgot to mention, we have a puppy of our own here so I hope he’ll get along with her!” Kanae adds before going to get medical supplies. Giyuu looks around the room for said dog but only meets Shinobu’s smile.
“Let’s go into the other room shall we, Tomioka-san?” Shinobu essentially demands. She ushers him into her and Kanae’s shared room where a puppy is sitting perfectly atop one of the two beds. “This is Kanao. My sister named her,” Shinobu introduces, gesturing to the dog. She has long, black fur and rather large, purple eyes that seem to look past Giyuu. He bows slightly at the dog before making his way into the bathroom attached to the bedroom.
Giyuu places the dog into the sink and turns the faucet on. The water rushes from the spout and the puppy surprisingly does not make a sound, instead shivering with his tail tucked between his legs.
“Really Tomioka-san, have you never bathed an animal?” Shinobu asks condescendingly. Giyuu side-eyes her and adjusts the water temperature to be hotter and less powerful. This seems to comfort the puppy as his tail is no longer between his legs but he is still shaking. Shinobu rolls her eyes and pushes Giyuu aside. He relents and steps back, letting her take charge of cleaning the puppy. As soon as Giyuu was no longer in the puppy’s immediate vicinity, it starts crying for him. “What do you like about him…” Shinobu asks under her breath as she takes some soap and rubs it over the cut, taking care not to get the soap in the pup’s eyes or ears. The puppy gives one big whine and she gives him a hard stare, which quiets him. He tucks his tail between his legs again but keeps looking at her.
“All right, he’s cleaned up. Tomioka-san, could you hand me one of those hand towels please? We need to dry him off and warm him up quickly,” Shinobu asks. Giyuu turns to look for a towel and hands her one. She takes it and wraps the puppy in it and rubs his fur vigorously to get as much water off him as possible. “You take him, Tomioka-san, you dry him off and warm him up since he’s so taken with you,” Shinobu says before shoving the bundle into Giyuu’s arms. He fumbles with it before holding the wrapped puppy securely and taking him over to the bedroom. He dries the puppy with the towel a bit before setting him down on the bed next to Kanao.
“What are you going to name the puppy?” Shinobu asks genuinely. Giyuu looks up at her, surprised that she is not teasing him. The puppy in question turns to face Giyuu with his round eyes, which he notices are a deep red, which remind him of hot coals with how they bore into him. Giyuu falters, not used to needing to name something.
“Perhaps Urokodaki-sensei or Sabito will come up with something,” Giyuu suggests lamely. Shinobu giggles behind her hand at him, clearly pitying his lack of creativity.
While Shinobu was quizzing Giyuu, the orphaned puppy crawled out of his towel bundle and approached Kanao, sniffing her face with a wagging tail. He yips playfully with her, his front legs splayed and rump up, in a clear ‘play’ position. Kanao only stares at him with her purple eyes, unblinking but seemingly interested. He seems to give up playing and instead sits down next to Kanao with his tail wagging and head cocked to the side.
“It looks like your son is trying to be friends with Kanao,” Shinobu points out. Giyuu scowls.
“That’s a dog, not a child,” Giyuu states firmly. Shinobu giggles and sits down on the bed with the puppies. She pats her lap and Kanao moves from her spot and lies down atop Shinobu’s thighs. The burgundy pup yips and follows after the other dog and tries to cuddle with her. Shinobu silently pets both dogs as they settle on her lap. Giyuu is left standing near the middle of the room, unsure with what to do.
“Come and sit with me, Tomioka-san,” Shinobu says, not leaving room for argument. He quietly goes over and takes a seat on the bed opposite her, not sure he is comfortable with sitting directly next to her. “Oh really, Tomioka-san, you’re being ridiculous” she says in exasperation. Giyuu makes no move to change his seat. She sighs and quietly orders Kanao ‘off’ and the puppy obeys before Shinobu rises to her feet and walks the burgundy puppy over to Giyuu. She then sets him down onto Giyuu’s lap without warning so he flounders a bit as the puppy tries to cuddle close.
“Kochou-san…” Giyuu protests belatedly, eyes following the dog as it is placed on his lap. The puppy makes a small noise of content as it curls up and yawns before closing his eyes to sleep. Giyuu cannot help but bring his hand over the ball of fluff and slowly run his fingers through the short, burgundy fur. He feels the puppy shivering again. He hums in thought as he leaves his hand over the chilled pup. Giyuu hears Shinobu hum too as she leans over him.
“I never though you could look so soft. If you were this way all the time, I’m sure you would have friends,” Shinobu says cheerily. Giyuu looks up at her and purses his lips to form a thin line as his eyebrows crease.
“I’m not sure what you mean, Kochou-san,” Giyuu counters. She tilts her head with that smile before sitting next to him.
“People don’t like you, Tomioka-san,” Shinobu states flatly. Giyuu deadpans and looks back down at the puppy nestled in his lap. “Oh, did you not know? I’m sorry for bringing it up! I thought you knew,” Shinobu half apologizes, amusement clearly in her voice. Giyuu is quiet as he removes his hand from where it rested over the puppy. No longer being covered by the warmth of Giyuu’s hand, the puppy wakes up and looks between the two before trying to get closer to Giyuu as if sensing his woes. The puppy cries a few times to get Giyuu’s attention and when his deep blue eyes meet those smoldering red eyes, the puppy gives a short whuff with a wagging tail. Giyuu brings his hands back to the puppy and it sniffs them before licking them comfortingly. His chest warms from the amount of kindness this puppy just showed him despite having just met him and being on the verge of freezing to death. Most dogs he has come in contact with growl, snarl, or try to bite him so having this one wag his tail and lick him is new and appreciated.
“Tomioka-san! You can come back out here! I’m finished treating the other puppy!” Kanae’s voice calls from the living room. Giyuu is shaken from his reverie and slowly gets off the bed, still holding the noisy puppy as he makes his way to Kanae. His eyes land on the longer haired puppy now wrapped in bandages and slowly waking up. Giyuu sets the scruffier puppy down next to his sister and he whimpers and runs over, snuffling and licking her desperately.
“He must have been worried! It looks like she’ll pull through if she doesn’t open her stitches. You’ll have to wash her wounds gently and change her bandages every day for a few days,” Kanae instructs. She picks up the male puppy and inspects the cut on his forehead, humming in thought. “I’ll put a bandage on his head but he’s going to need a cone so he doesn’t try to take it off. You can borrow ours from when Kanao was spayed. Shinobu, could you get that please?”
“Yep! Tomioka-san, you better give it back afterward!” Shinobu calls as she goes to get the cone. Kanae puts a bandage on the puppy’s head with some antibiotic before setting him down to be with his sister. Surprisingly enough, he does not immediately try to take the bandage off. Instead, he licks his sister and tries to cuddle close to her to share his body heat. Shinobu wordlessly hands the cone to Kanae.
“I’m going to lend it to you but I don’t want to put it on him now since he’s being awfully good. When either of them starts to chew on their bandages, put this on them. You are keeping them, right?” Kanae asks, tilting her head as she sets the cone onto the table. Giyuu averts his eyes from Kanae’s as he mulls it over. “I think they would be good for you, Tomioka-san,” Kanae says honestly, smiling softly.
“We’ll see,” Giyuu replies noncommittally. Part of him wants to simply give them to the pet shelter but he does not want these puppies brought up poorly, especially since the one puppy had showed him such kindness unlike all of the other dogs he has met. “I might ask Urokodaki-sensei to take care of them while I’m at work,” Giyuu settles on. Kanae’s smile brightens.
“I’m glad you’re keeping them!” she cheers. “Get them home and warm, Tomioka-san!” Giyuu nods, understanding that it was his time to leave. He gathers the puppies in his arms, takes the cone from the table, and walks out. He slips his shoes on then turns around and bows to Kanae and Shinobu before taking his leave. Giyuu partially unzips his jacket and nestles the puppies inside to keep them warm as he uses his arm to prop them up. He walks briskly in the direction of his shared apartment with Urokodaki-sensei and Sabito wondering how he was going to explain coming home with two injured puppies. Sabito will probably laugh at him.