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It took Kiryuu forever to convince his butler that he didn't need a ride to school, despite the many days he's spent walking to school, clearly showing he was capable of doing so. His butler was even worse than his parents, with his special skills to use anyone’s words against them, Kiryuu sighed to himself. He didn't see a reason to take out the car for such a short distance, nor did he like the attention it usually brought with it. Attending Furin meant his face was pretty well known in the area, so if he arrived in a fancy car…he shuddered thinking about the consequences…
“Good thing it's all behind me~” He hummed to himself. After living with the butler for most of his life, he already knew how to deal with him. It just…took a while, and it meant he had to frantically work on his morning bonuses while he was at class, unfortunately. If only he could get to work on them leisurely, haa…every day was a race to get everything day. Not to mention how he found yet another gacha game he liked, something something surfer boys, he really didn’t care about the details. The most important part was that the characters were hot, with one of them being just his type, obviously he had to whale for him.
Speaking of, he had to grab his phone and look at the events scheduled for the next week. His favorite character will have a wedding version – !
Arf!
Huh? Kiryuu looked around in confusion. He was sure he heard a quiet noise, but he couldn’t pinpoint its location.
Awoo…
It sounded too desperate for his liking, so he put the phone back in his pocket and searched for the source of the noise more seriously.
Ruff ruff!
“Oh, was that you?” Kiryuu managed to spot it – a dirty mutt hiding behind a trash can. As Kiryuu kneeled down, the dog became more trustful and came closer to sniff his hand. “Well, aren’t you a cutie? Hehe.” Kiryuu petted his head slowly, feeling a small pang in his chest when he realized how dirty it was. “Aww, you poor thing.”
The dog didn’t seem to mind his dirty state, instead he was wagging his tail at the attention he was receiving. It was too cute to ignore, so Kiryuu took a bottle of water out of his bag and let the dog drink some of it. The dog was absolutely malnourished and thirsty, as he finished most of the water in the bottle too quickly.
Kiryuu used the reminder of the water to clean the mutt’s head, exposing the bright ginger fur underneath all the dirt. So adorable! And, hey, with a second glance, that dog really looked like…Tsugeura?
Kiryuu tilted his head as he thoroughly scanned the dog’s face, but there was no doubt – the shape of those eyes was almost identical to Tsugeura’s! It didn’t help that its fur was also in a shade similar to Tsgueura’s hair color as well, making Kiryuu stifle a giggle.
“Tsuge-chan…” He said with his mouth covered. This was it for him, he couldn’t hold it in anymore, he had to let the laughter out. The dog’s response was positive, wagging its tail once again and circling around Kiryuu in excitement. “You’re really like him!”
Seeing the similarities to his friend, Kiryuu took pity on the dog. He had plenty of food in his lunch box, courtesy of the private chefs of the main house, so he looked for something the dog could eat. Most of it was either seasoned or covered by sauces, but Kiryuu figured it would be fine if it was a small amount – the dog was starving after all! He gave it some of his beef, a premium cut nonetheless, and it basically inhaled the meat without even chewing it.
“That’s it for now, doggy~” Kiryuu stood up and turned to leave. He was starting to cut it close with the time he wasted it, obviously referring to the daily bonuses he still had to get. He had thirty five missions to complete for that, so he had to hurry back to class!
Though, when he started walking, Tsuge the Dog followed him. Kiryuu turned his head to see the dog standing right by his side, wagging his tail so hard that its lower half was shaking from side to side.
“Hey, you can’t come with me…”
The dog’s sparkling eyes were undeterred and it kept on following Kiryuu all the way to the end of the street.
“Oh boy, just as stubborn as him?”
RUFF!
“And just about as loud, I see…although, I don’t mind this quality. Makes you – him – adorable, you know?”
As if the dog could understand him, it let out another bark and stuck out his tongue. That immediately made Kiryuu imagine Tsugeura making the same expression which was – augh – unfairly cute. How could he leave the dog behind when it looked just like Tsugeura? Not that he had much choice, the dog refused to leave his side. Sure, it might have to do with the food it was given, but Kiryuu would like to think the dog actually liked him.
And well…it would be bad to leave such a cute dog on its own outside, right? Bofurin’s range of responsibilities was ridiculously wide, he assumed helping a stray dog would be encouraged. If he took it to his class, he could pester Sakura to find a solution for this adorable dog, as his parents would never allow him to keep it. They’d say that if he wanted to have a dog, they'd buy him one – a purebred dog, and that wasn’t the point.
“Alright, come with me!”
The dog trotted by his side, moving its legs in such an adorable way that Kiryuu never saw before. Kiryuu was never a dog person, but this dog? This dog could make him change his mind single-handedly.
Kiryuu entered Furin with a dog walking behind him and one batted an eye. He knew the school was full of weirdos, but he figured at least one person would ask him what was the deal with the dog. To his surprise, the only acknowledgement he got was some students bending down to pet the dog, but they didn’t ask too many questions.
Well, I guess it’s fine, he shrugged as he climbed up the stairs. The door to his homeroom was already opened and he could see a couple of students standing by it, playing around.
“Oh, Kiryuu! What’s up!” One of them waved at him.
“All good, is Sakura-chan here already?” He waved back,
“Yes yes, he’s throwing a fit because Sugishita ate his sandwich, pfft.”
“Oh my, I have a bad feeling about that…” He made his way into the class, only to see Sakura glaring at Sugishita. If he kept his neck so stretched, it was bound to hurt later, but Kiryuu digressed, it was more important to deescalate the situation first. With neither Nirei nor Suou nowhere near in sight, it was up to him to make sure they didn’t attempt to kill each other.
Sugishita was growling while Sakura grinded his teeth, just preparing himself to swing at the other. Not touching Sakura’s food was one of the unspoken rules of their class, since he was extremely sensitive about it. Kiryuu inserted himself between the two of them, making sure to get some distance so they wouldn’t immediately start punching each other. It was somewhat useless because Sugishita’s reach was long due to his height, and Sakura was always more of a kicker, but it at least got their attention.
“What do we have here – “
He couldn’t finish his sentence before he was interrupted.
“Grr…!” “He ate my sandwich!!!”
“I get that Sakura-chan.” He put his hand on Sakura’s shoulder and pushed him slightly backwards, more distance was always good. “Sugi-chan, you know that’s not nice to eat other people's food, right?”
Sugishita sternly turned his head to show his defiance, which made Sakura even angrier.
“You motherfucker, come here and I’ll show you!” Sakura shoved Kiryuu aside, taking big strides towards Sugishita. Although, before he was able to reach him, he was taken aback by the growling, this time not coming from Sugishita. “Wha?” The dog was growling and barking, making Sakura take a few steps backwards. “What the fuck is that!”
“A dog…” Someone answered.
“Yeah, no shit! I’m not blind!” Sakura retorted. “Who the fuck brought this dog?!”
“Oh, I did.” Kiryuu giggled. “Technically, it’s a stray that followed me here. It’s in bad shape, so I figured we could help it find a suitable home?”
Sakura stared quizzically as the dog stared right back. It calmed down after Sakura lowered his voice, so now they were just having a staring contest. Somehow, it was good enough to distract both Sakura and Sugishita from their initial argument, with the rest of the classroom who also turned their attention to the dog.
“Isn’t it…”
“Oh, it’s a male, but…”
“It looks like…” Anzai was the one who said what they all wanted to say. “Looks like Tsugeura!”
“I know, right?” Kiryuu nodded enthusiastically. “I couldn’t leave it after seeing that. It really is a mini Tsuge-chan, hehe.”
“Tsugeura…the Second…?” Someone tried to crack a joke, but it didn’t quite land.
“Tsugeura the Second!” Sakura said in excitement. Oh, well, apparently that was the dog’s name now. “It fits him…” He seemed to be transfixed by the dog’s existence, moving closer with caution to pet it. “Uwah, fluffy…”
This scene was bad for everyone’s heart.
“Any-way! We need to find him a home, Sakura-chan…”
“But then…” Oh no, he was sulking. “He’d be with a new family, right? And we can’t see him?” God, he grew attached to the dog too quickly. “He lets me pet him, that never happened before…”
“Um, maybe someone here can adopt him, then you can always see him?” Takanashi sensibly suggested. “Anyone here up to it?”
The students whispered between themselves, trying to find a solution, as most of them weren’t able to adopt a dog so suddenly. Kiryuu felt bad because he was the one who brought the dog and he was almost tempted to offer his house. He could convince his parents, surely?
Fortunately, he didn’t have to do so, as Nirei and Suou finally decided to show up.
“Oh, a dog?” Nirei was confused, but smiled slightly when he noticed Sakura next to the dog, giving it a few ruffles while calling it fluffy and cute.
“A…dog?” Suou was a bit more cautious. “Did something happen?” He immediately looked at Kiryuu for an answer.
“Just found a stray on the way and it insisted on following me to school. I guess Sakura-chan really likes him? We’re trying to find someone from 1-1 who’d adopt him so Sakura can still see him.”
“Ah, so that’s what happened!” Nirei beamed. “I guess I can take care of him, then! We used to have a dog around, but it passed away a couple of years ago. I’m sure my parents would be fine with it.”
“Ah, that’s great, Nire-kun. Sounds like we got an easy solution, right, Sakura-kun?” Suou smiled as he clasped his hands together.
“Yes! Nirei would take good care of you, Tsugeura the Second!” Sakura told the dog. The reaction that it got out of Suou and Nirei was hilarious.
“T-tsugeura the Second?” Suou actually stuttered.
“Ah, I guess he does resemble Tsugeura-san, now that I look at him…” Nirei snorted. “So that’s his name?” As if on cue, Tsugeura the Second barked. “I guess it is. A bit weird, but nice to meet you, Tsugeura the Second?”
Tsugeura the Second barked again, but this time, they got another answer.
“I mean, yes? Though we’ve already met?” Tsugeura only showed up now, after the entire mess. Jeez, no wonder the classroom was quieter than usual when Kiryuu arrived, besides the small argument of course. Kiryuu thought he was spending the time on the rooftop, using the equipment Umemiya recently brought to exercise. He did so because Suou lied to him and told him he could break the window’s frame with his exercises, which wasn’t possible if that window’s frame survived generations of Furin’s students, but it was very much needed. Tsugeura was risking himself, so in that case – the lies were appreciated.
“Oh, we were talking about the dog – “
“Ah, a dog?!” Tsugeura hurried to enter the class. “Whoa, it’s really cute! Where did you find him?”
“He followed Kiryuu to school. I’m actually going to adopt him.” Nirei explained. “And his name is…uh, Tsugeura the Second…because…he looks like you?”
“Really?” Tsugeura and Tsugeura the Second looked at each other. “Do you think so? Such a high compliment!”
At least he’s taking it well… and honestly? Kiryuu couldn’t help but find it endearing.
Tsugeura the Second became their class mascot. Oftentimes, Nirei brought it to their patrols, where it got many treats and a handful of petting from everyone around. Even Tsugeura himself joked about the situation, taking the time to pose next to the dog when he was asked to be photographed with it.
But there were a few downsides, naturally, with the biggest one being…well…the situation they were in at the current moment…
Kiryuu was sitting in his regular spot at the back of the class, using the few minutes before class started to get the last missions done. He was playing his favorite game – the one with the cookies, and he was usually using his best built characters to get the missions finished quickly. But lately…he found himself gravitating towards a new released character, one that reminded me of a certain classmate, thus immediately getting his fondness. It wasn’t a particularly good unit, but Kiryuu spent enough money on it that it did average damage.
While he was engrossed in his game, he heard a few of his classmates talking loudly.
“Let’s hang out with Tsugeura today!”
Huh? If they were talking about Tsugeura the Second, then it was bound to cause misunderstanding…Kiryuu’s heart sank when he noticed Tsugeura jumping on his feet.
“We can go to my favorite restaurant!” He said quickly.
“Oh…Tsugeura…we were actually talking about the dog, oops.”
“Ah.” Tsugeura blinked slowly. He looked lost for a moment, until he returned to his usual self. “That’s completely fine!” He returned to his seat, slumping in it in a way that didn’t fit him. Augh, Kiryuu couldn’t see that…
He stood up with a sigh and went to Tsugeura before he could regret it. “Hey, Tsuge-chan?”
“Yes?”
“I would love to go with you. Oh, but can we go somewhere else?”
“Ah – of course! Let’s do that, Kiryuu-kun!”
Kiryuu knew he would soon regret that promise, but…it was better than letting Tsugeura down. If it was a one time thing, he could manage.
(It wasn’t a one time thing at all.)
Bonus, because it’s a must:
