Work Text:
What Makes You Think I'm a Dog Person?
April 2021. Rohan Kishibe and Josuke Higashikata broke up after a fifteen-year relationship.
Whatever the reason was, the end was very bitter and Rohan kept himself locked in his house for a week. Every day when Josuke visited to pick up his things, they were already there waiting for him--in a cardboard box outside on the porch. Whenever Rohan and Josuke crossed each other's paths around town, the two share silent looks before moving on. They won't even hang out together whenever Koichi invited them for lunch.
Rohan thought he got over the heartbreak easily and quickly, but sometimes at the night, he would stare and touch the empty spot in his bed where Josuke come over and sleep until morning. Whenever he thinks of missing Josuke, it felt like something huge had lodged itself in his throat. This loneliness was exacerbated as the Covid pandemic continued. But Rohan was too proud and stubborn to admit his feelings, so he kept himself busy with his manga and let those feelings sit in the pit of his heart for the next several weeks.
July 2021. Three months after the breakup, Rohan received a surprising package. The delivery man, who wears a cap with a paw print pattern, dropped off a dog carrier with a red ribbon. He placed the carrier in his living room and he opened it. A small Labrador Retriever puppy, around 8-weeks-old, crawled and curiously sniffed his new surroundings. He was bigger and rounder than a potato and he has small, sad eyes.
"Who sent this?!" Rohan demanded, but the delivery man was already gone.
He found a card attached to the carrier and he recognized the handwriting. It was a gift from Josuke, who said in his card that he noticed the story in his Pink Dark Boy manga has become suddenly dark and gloomy for the past few months so he wanted to cheer him up. He said that his neighbor's dog had puppies, and he felt like Rohan could use a little fluffy friend to keep him company. Josuke added, with a loving tone, that he doesn't hate Rohan after what happened between them.
"Typical Josuke," Rohan grumbled. "He sends me something as inconvenient as a new pet without warning me, especially when I haven't even puppy-proofed my house yet."
That's when Rohan noticed the little puppy is gone. Assuming it hadn't gone very far, Rohan quickly checked around the area. He spotted something brown near his sofa and he recoiled in horror when he saw it was upon closer look.
Rohan ran straight to the bathroom to grab some tissues to clean up the mess. The bathroom door was already open and inside, he found the puppy had playfully unrolled all the toilet paper.
"Bad boy!" Rohan scolded him after scooping up the little dog. "You've only been inside my house for two minutes and you've made two messes!"
He found the puppy's collar with his name on it.
"Bakin…? Named after a 19th-century novelist?" Rohan's frown slowly was replaced by a bitter smile. "Of course, Josuke would name this little dog… after knowing where my parents gave me my own name… Well, I'm sorry, 'Bakin', but you've overstayed your welcome. Tomorrow, I'm taking you back to your old family."
Rohan placed Bakin inside of his carrier. After cleaning up Bakin's messes, he looked for something he could feed the dog. He found some leftovers from his last-night dinner and chopped them up before serving them on a small paper plate. He found an old plastic bowl that he hardly use and it became a temporary water dish. He placed the plate and bowl inside the carrier and watched Bakin eat up.
He was about to go upstairs to work in his studio when he heard the puppy start to whimper. It didn't want to be left alone inside of the cramped carrier.
"Oh, for god's sake."
Rohan took the dog carrier with him. He placed the carrier in the corner but he didn't take the puppy out. He began to work on manga, which he titled "Hot Summer Martha". However, he couldn't help but keep looking back at the carrier. Letting the dog out would definitely distract him, but keeping it inside of the carrier isn't a good thing either.
He chose the first option and Bakin quietly explored the studio, sniffing at anything he came across.
"You better not pee on my furniture, okay?!" Rohan warned.
He bitterly thought of Josuke, wondering why he thought it was a good idea to give him a dog, especially one that hasn't been properly potty-trained. At least it's not a cat.
Rohan worked long and hard, and he eventually forgot about Bakin in the studio. As the hours passed, he could feel his eyes getting tired. Perhaps a short nap wouldn't hurt. Rohan placed down his pen and rest his chin on his palm, and quickly dozed off.
In his dream, a group of Yakuza gangsters broke into his house and beat him up. To his horror, one of them caught Bakin and killed the little dog in front of Rohan's eyes. Rohan was furious that he pulled out a gun and killed every gangster… And when did Rohan Kishibe himself get a beard?
Rohan woke up with a start. Still remembering the dream, he looked around for the dog and his heart stopped. Bakin is gone. He rushed out of his studio, believing he must've gone into another room. He checked his bedroom and it was empty. He peeked under the bed and found the little thing sleeping on what looked like a jacket.
"Bakin, you bad boy!" Rohan scolded him again. "Running off and scaring me! And is that my old jacket?"
Rohan summoned [Heaven's Door] to retrieve Bakin, as well as the mysterious jacket. He wiped the dust from Bakin's soft fur, and he couldn't believe his eyes when he recognized the jacket. It was Josuke's favorite jacket, which had a customized "JoJo" with a diamond logo on the back, and it even hast his heart pins on the collar. Rohan's fondest memory of the jacket is when Josuke used it to shield Rohan from a terrible rainstorm years ago. He remembered Josuke complaining that his jacket went missing last year and how he was never been able to find it. Today, this puppy was able to find it.
Bakin looked up to Rohan with a look that says, "Will you keep me?"
Despite it being old, dusty, and having a terrible smell, Rohan held the jacket close to his heart. Then he smiled and petted Bakin's back. Tomorrow, he has a lot of shopping to do.
"Good boy, good boy…"
That night, Rohan allowed Bakin to sleep in his bed with him. Bakin kept licking his face but Rohan didn't tell him to stop. He felt a new warm fondness for this little puppy. He was reminded of his early childhood when he used to play with his old babysitter Reimi and her dog Arnold, and he sleepily reminds himself to thank Josuke for the gift the next time he calls him.