Chapter Text
Out in the country lived three siblings. Although they were not related by blood, they had grown up with one another and had lived together once they were orphans left to fend off in the world on their own. The siblings consisted of two boys and one girl. The oldest was Toma. He was a blonde boy with orange-yellow eyes who worked as a handyman. He would go into town to fix pipes, roofs, and other things. The youngest was Shin. He had brunnette hair with red eyes who was sent to school while also making money as a tutor for his fellow classmates. At least, he was a tutor for those who could stand his rather stubborn attitude. And then there was the middle sibling and only girl, Chiemi. She had light brown hair and green eyes. She would go to town with Toma to work as a delivery girl to a rather well-known bakery. In exchange for her services, she was allowed to bring home a select number of pastries and bread back to her home. There was one other member of this family. It was their friendly, black dog, Kuro. Kuro had been with the siblings ever since he was a pup. He was an extraordinary dog who had a keen sense of smell, knew when to bark against those with ill intentions, and he was well-liked by those who knew the siblings.
The three of them lived under a small, humble home. Each sibling had their own room and there was one bathroom as well as a kitchen that was connected to the living room. The best part of their home was that they were surrounded by well-kept, green grass and there was a small lake that wasn't very far. On warm days, they would go swimming in that lake. On cold winter days, they would play in the snow. They weren't rich, but they were happy.
As the years had passed, they grew older. And while the fun never truly stopped, they found it harder to maintain their home. Not very many of Shin's schoolmates needed his help in their studies. Toma's services were decreasing as most of the townsfolk had already used his help. And while the bakery kept Chiemi employed, they had been faced with limited resources for their goods, thus cutting back on how much Chiemi was allowed to take back home. They had barely scraped by. Before long, they had very little food in the kitchen. It was one late afternoon when everyone was seated at the table. Their table had only half a loaf of bread, two apples, and pitch of water. They all sighed.
"This isn't going to be enough," Shin remarked. He looked away from his brother and sister. "If I were a better tutor, we wouldn't be starving."
"Don't blame yourself, Shin," Toma said. "It's not your fault we don't have enough food. At least you're getting an education. Maybe if you finish school sooner, then you could work as a teacher or something more credible than a handyman." Toma opened and closed his rough, scarred hands. "I know I could have done something if I stayed in school."
Kuro rested his head on Toma's lap. Toma scratched Kuro's ear. Chiemi tapped the pencil in her hand on the table. The top of a piece of paper read SUGGESTIONS. She wrote down ANOTHER JOB, SEWING, and EXCHANGE. After writing that last one, she put the pencil against her lips. Shin took the paper from her.
"Hand me that, too," he pointed to the pencil. She obliged. "There is no way sewing is gonna cut it. Mine's family consists of the best seamstresses in town. They'd kill us if we went against them." Shin crossed out SEWING. Then he scribbled down LEAVE SCHOOL TO FIND JOB. It was Toma's turn to take the paper and pencil away from him.
"Oh, no. Absolutely not. You are not skipping school for a low-paying job," Toma scratched out Shin's suggestion. "Although, Chiemi and I could start looking for other jobs." He underlined that suggestion. "But, I'm not sure if anyone in town is hiring. We'd have to spend all day looking to see if there's any help wanted. And there's no guarantee that we'll be getting a job near here."
They all pondered at the paper. There was that last suggestion that remained. However, as they stared at that word, they couldn't come up with anything to exchange. None of them possessed any valuable jewelry, their clothes were rather simple, and they had nothing of worth that could be enough to buy food and other necessary supplies for the next week. Kuro let out a bark as he ran to the door. The three of them got up from their seats and followed Kuro to the door. When they looked outside, they saw a travelling caravan a few feet away. There were papers flying out of the vehicle that had gone away quickly. They rushed over to where the papers were to see that they were flyers. The flyers said the following:
RESIDENTS IN CITY B LOOKING FOR GUARD DOGS
DOGS MUST BE FRIENDLY, RELIABLE, AND HAVE A KEEN SENSE OF SMELLING AND HEARING
ANY BREED WELCOMED
They all looked down at Kuro. Chiemi shook her head.
"No, we can't," she pleaded. "Kuro's a part of this family."
"She's right," Shin knelt beside the dog. "If we can't sell ourselves like that, Kuro can't either."
Toma bit on a fist. He closed his eyes for a moment. Shin and Chiemi glanced at each other before turning their attention back to him. Toma opened his eyes which had turned sad.
"We...," he paused for a second before continuing. "Kuro deserves better. I know it's hard. And if there was another option, I wouldn't do this. But we don't even have any meat for him. At least if we sell him, he'll be fed." Toma held his hand out and Kuro nuzzled against it. "I'm sorry, guys. And I'm sorry, Kuro."
Shin and Chiemi huddled around them. Their heads leaned in against each other. Kuro licking their faces which caused them to laugh. They eventually let go of one another.
"I guess now that means someone has to go take him to City B," Toma pointed out.
Shin looked back at Kuro. Chiemi raised her hand.
"I'll do it."
They both eyed her.
"The bakery is going to be closed for a few days. That should be enough time for me to go to the city and come back. Toma can search for jobs tomorrow and I can come back with enough money to last us a little while."
Her brothers wordlessly agreed to let her go.
"Very well," Toma approved. "After breakfast, head for City B. Don't accept anything that will be worth less than a week's worth of food and utilities. I'll hand you an estimated price range before you leave."
Chiemi nodded. Before they headed back inside, Shin spoke up.
"Hey, I was wondering," he said in a low yet audible voice, "could...Kuro sleep with me tonight?"
Toma chuckled.
"Yeah, he can."
And for that night, Kuro curled up with Shin on his bed. Shin kept petting Kuro until he fell asleep. Toma didn't sleep as he stayed in the kitchen, preparing Chiemi's breakfast for the next morning. As for Chiemi, she looked outside her bedroom window and reminisced about all the times her siblings had spent time with Kuro. She held up a picture of when Kuro was only a puppy and when they were still kids. She put the picture underneath her pillow and got tried to get as much rest as she could.