Chapter Text
The cold breeze washed over. It was nearing the end of Christmas break, just about a week left before school starts up again.
Outside, Kiyotaka was taking his morning run, inhaling the cold breeze as it swept over him, while also feeling warmth and a bit of heat on his face from the conclusion of his jog. Nothing's more productive than daily exercise! It's great for your health!
Suddenly, from the left side of his ear, he heard muffled noises coming from an alleyway. Multiple voices, for that matter. He also heard, whimpering?! It was a high-pitched squeaking sound, like that of a young girl, perhaps. This could be an urgency.
Coming to a halt, Kiyotaka started jogging in place, pondering; Should I take a look? Someone may be in trouble. Even outside school hours, I should always carry out my duties to help others! Taka thinks to himself.
With a bit of hesitation, he jogged closer to the source of the noises, trying not to grab attention, but enough to peek and check the commotion. What he sees puzzles him.
“Ay cmon out here, we ain't gonna hurt ya!” one masked figure said.
“Dude, I don't think that’s how you get its attention,” another one answered.
“Can we go? It’s getting fucking cold out here man!” one other complained.
“Are you crazy? The boss said if we don’t capture this thing, we're dead!”
“Fuck man, it's too early for this!”
A small crowd of about… 5 people were surrounding something. Are they plotting something? It looks like they are all wearing…Tokkō-fuku? Studying it, it looked oddly familiar, but Kiyotaka couldn't see it clearly within the practically dark alley with only a few reflections of light spilling inside.
What he could very well see is their hairstyles, well, the shape of them, actually. Some of them were rocking a certain haircut. Huh. It was pretty similar to a particular gang leader he knows— Awoo!
A subtle little howl was heard… Wait howl?
His attention and mind were now laser-focused on the source of the noise. Taka gazed down, the group doing the same. Noticing a small, furry figure on four legs… Has a tail?? But tremendously shaking.
It was…a puppy?
The small creature was backed up against the wall, looking fearful when the spill of light reflected on it.
“Cmon.. We won’t hurt ya…” One of the fellows said with an ominous voice, inching closer.
Taka shuddered a bit. Should he really try to save a stray dog? Seeing those men, they look like thugs. Could he handle them? The animal could probably fend for itself… Yes, dogs are strong creatures, more powerful than some men!
With that odd conclusion, Kiyotaka turned around and started walking away.
SMASH
Taka stopped in his tracks. His heart raced a tad faster.
“The fuck man?! You tryna kill it?”
“Okay–Hey, I was only tryna knock it out so we could get him more easily!”
Just like that, Kiyotaka was back to peering by the alleyway. The puppy was near shards of glass, whimpering more than before. While looking, he noticed something on its neck. It was a collar with a small, shaped bone attached to it.
It has an owner.
Taka isn’t a pet lover, never had one in his life, but imagining the helplessness of the owners…
He himself has once read about how pets can bring some comfort or even fun into people's lives. Losing one can be like losing a loved one.
He should have taken action before. Another Ishimaru mistake.
Taking a deep breath, he waited for an opening.
The men are closely watching the dog with no plan of stopping or leaving. The cruelty of hurting such a fine being! Do they not have any honour?
Taka’s patience was running dry, and he had had enough. He stepped into the alleyway mere seconds before they were about to throw another bottle, shielding the pup. The man in question freezes mid-throw with a puzzled expression flashing across his face.
“The hell?”
Clearing his throat, Taka speaks up, “Excuse me, but I cannot allow you to attempt to hurt this young dog any longer,” while holding one arm out to stop the guy in action.
“Uh, who the hell are you?” one said from the back.
“Looks like a wannabe hero,” another said in a joking manner.
“Look kid,” the one holding the bottle spoke up, “If yer don’t scram out of here and mind your own dang business? You will regret seeing us,” he said while edging closer and boring into Taka’s eyes.
They all started getting offensive, 5 against 1? Taka might not be able to take them down… He did do Kendo for a while, but this might not help him in this case.
Looking at the group in front of him and then at the puppy in the corner of his eye, he made his decision.
Taka turns on his heels, scoops up the puppy, and books it.
“Wait– HUH?!” A bewildered gag came out of the man with the flask.
“My apologies! I cannot handle all of you at this very moment!” Taka yelled out of the alley.
The cold air washed over his face harder like a fan. The gang followed suit quickly after him. He had to get rid of them. He cut corners, avoided crosswalks, and made sure to find a crowded area.
The little creature clutched tightly in his arms awkwardly while howling some more, its tiny body trembling against his chest. “It’s alright,” he huffed between breaths. “I will find your owner and take you home safely,” he added.
Hastily, Taka found a packed area with people all around. Emerging into the crowd, he ran in between two buildings, cramming into the small space.
“Fuck!” one of the men yelled.
“We lost him? That motherfucker…” Another added to the insult
Such vile language.
“He migh’ of gone this way!”
The voices became quieter and quieter until they mixed in with the crowds.
Kiyotaka drew a sigh of relief, looking down in his arms, the puppy lay there clumsily. Taka doesn’t know how to hold a dog, so this was quite new for him.
The dog shifted in his arms, making Taka tense up. “...Hello,” Taka said sternly. The pup stared blankly at him, curious eyes washing over him. Adjusting his grip on the dog, he steps out from between the buildings into the crowded streets. He does not, in fact, recognize this place.
Ah, I seem to have strayed off, he thought.
While contemplating the situation, Taka feels a cold liquid brushing over his hand. Quickly looking down, he lays eyes on a cut wound on the paw of the puppy. “Oh my– this is—this is terrible!” he internally shouts to himself.
The glass.. Of course. It needs medical help at this instant!
Looking around, Taka spotted an animal clinic. This would be the most ideal option, but… In his current predicament, it would cost too much; he isn't even sure he can even afford such a thing! Contemplating, he thinks hard on what to do, brows furrowed.
...
Ah,
With a look of realization on his face, he comes to a solution.
He has plenty of first aid kits at home…
So this led him to one option,
taking it home.
***
After a cautious trip home. Taka checks the time on his worn-out, rusty watch, which he got a while back. 12:30 PM. Well, he got back later than usual.
Trying to open the front door with a dog in his hand was difficult, but he pulled through! The puppy in question was fast asleep, shocking actually, after the journey it had gone through within the past hour and a half.
Taka took off his shoes, placing them neatly by the door, with the addition of his coat and scarf, which were a hassle to take off, but he managed to do so without awakening the canine and made his way up the stairs to his room, not bothering to check for his father, who always comes in late after all.
Entering his bedroom, it was clean with no hint of messiness. A wooden desk was sitting against the back wall with papers stacked and organized. Followed by his single bed at the corner of the room, it was neatly made up, with no wrinkles showing.
There was no decor nor poster in sight— except for one thing. A single picture framed on his bedside.
With haste, Taka placed the small creature gently down on his bed and headed to the bathroom to get the med kit.
Returning moments later with treatment in hand, Taka kneels beside his bed and puts the materials on the side. He carefully grabs the injured paw and lifts it up to put a towel underneath to not dirty his bed.
With that set, he takes out gloves and swiftly puts them on. He grabs a clean cloth and gently puts pressure on the paw to clean away the blood. The puppy gets startled and moves its paws— Taka freezes, as he watches it fidget in place.
“I— it– it's okay..,” he says, trying to speak nicely, “I’m– Well–” he paused, taking in a small breath. “I won’t hurt you.. This will be done shortly, I assure you!” He reassures the puppy, trying not to bring his volume up like he subconsciously does. It's strange, though, speaking to a dog of all things.
The dog looks at him, then at its paw, then slowly leans to said paw, he brings out his tongue to lick it—
“Ack—!” Taka spits out.
“No! No! Don’t do that!” He said quickly, hastily moving the paw away from its mouth and furrows. “That is highly unsanitary!”
The dog just looks at him with inquisitive eyes. Taka looks back. Huh, it's not trembling as much.
Going back on track, he takes the ointment and slowly dabs it on the paw. Having never done this to an animal before, he found it quite awkward holding the paw and applying the treatment. Doing it to yourself is one thing, but doing it to a dog is another! Nonetheless, he got it done.
Lastly, Taka grabs bandages and starts wrapping the dog's leg, trying his best not to make it too tight!
Throughout the process, the puppy squirmed around a bit, knocking Taka off balance, but eventually it calmed down and let Taka do his job.
With everything done, Taka still felt weird with the dog. Still, it was quite an adorable creature. Watching it scratch its ear and yawn. Looking at it, he recalls the collar.
Right, it has an owner.
He grabs the shaped bone and reads out the writing ‘Charli’.
Okay, there’s a name, but what about the address? Or any contact information? Taka takes a look around the dog's neck, nothing. Huh, usually it would at least have something, he read it once in a book.
He inflates with a defeated look as he glances at his watch, 1 PM, oh my, he should be studying by now! All right then, there must be a way to find his owner in another way…
An idea perks his way into his head, turning to look at the critter with a hopeful look, “Shall we go to the library?” The dog in question tilts his head to the side, like the way you would when you didn’t understand something. Right, I'm talking to a dog asking it to go to the library.
With Taka’s mindset, he heads to his closet to get a book bag (in case he may find a book he likes!), then turns back to look at the dog. “I’m not sure if dogs are allowed… But I can’t just leave you here by yourself!” Again, Charli just looks at him.
With a sigh, Taka walks closer to the dog, extending his arms to carry it, him? Her? Regardless, he again awkwardly carries him up like how you would pick up a child. The dog didn’t look too fond of this position, so Taka adjusted it a bit, but still, it was awkward as ever.
Taka didn’t want the dog— Charli, to walk on his wounded paw, so walking was not an answer. At the end, he decides to put it into his book bag; he will have to clean it later.
***
The nearest library isn't the closest to his house, about a 20-minute walk to be exact. But it's all worth it in his eyes if he can get some reading done in addition to some exercise in the process!
Reaching his destination, Taka distinctly hid Charli in his bag (truly bad on his part! Breaking rules is never acceptable!), but.. It would be a quick visit; he would make up for this unlawfulness when the time comes.
Taka greets the worker at the front, who had seen him come in many times before, but she still questions him on this particular day.
“Ah, Kiyotaka, what brings you here so early if you don't mind me asking? You would usually be here by 3 PM; 1 is unusual for you.”
“Oh–Well, something had emerged, so I am seeking out the library computers for their help.”
“Oh, you’re here for the computers? Well, I won't keep you here too long, hope you find what you're looking for!”
“Why, thank you! May you have a nice day yourself.”
With that conversation out of the way, Taka heads towards the library computers to do his research. The place is practically empty except for a few people sitting by the window, either reading a book or studying.
Taka goes to the first computer he sees and places the bag(with Charli) on his lap as he turns on the computer (all thanks to Chihiro for teaching him how to do so!).
‘How to find a lost dog's owner,’ he typed in the search bar.
Many things showed up, so he clicked on the first article that popped up.
‘1. Usually, the contact information is indicated on the dog's name tag, the collar, or inside the collar.’
Taka looks down, inside his bag, where Charli is. The pup hasn't barked since they got in (he really needs to check the gender of this dog). He checks inside the collar, and lo and behold, no information.
‘2. Search up the dog's name on the internet, the owners could have put up a lost dog notice.’
And Taka did just that, searching up Charli’s name on the internet, and something actually showed up!
‘Charli, a small Maltese dog with a mixture of black, brown, and white fur, if you see him, please contact: XXX XXX XXXX’
“This is splendid news, Charli!” Taka shouted out a whisper, “Alas, I don’t have my cellphone with me, so I might need to go to a payphone instead…”
Charli just wagged their tail in excitement and whelped out a bark. Quickly, Taka acted out to stop the dog from barking any further with shushing sounds and pleas. There were a few glances their way, but no one intervened, thank goodness.
Taka quickly wrote down the phone number and made his way out of the building with Charli by his side.
The nearest telephone was another 10 minutes away, but Taka got the job done, although carrying Charli on his shoulders was really weighing him down, so by the time they got to the telephone booth, he placed him down, carefully, of course.
Taka takes out the crumpled-up paper from his pocket and dials the number.
RING RING
A few rings go on, but no one answers.
RING
Hm, they may be busy?
RING RIN—
“Hello?” A deep, grumpy voice rang out from the other end of the phone.
“Oh! Why hello! I'm sorry to bother you, but I have some great news! I found your missing dog, Charli, some time ago and would like to return it.”
“Shit, really?! Yo Mon, someone found ’em!” Muffled sounds came from the man on the other end of the phone. Was he talking to someone else?
“Uh, okay. Um– we could meet up if yer don’ mind. Like at, uh, how ‘bout the park at XXXX drive sound? In ‘bout. 10 minutes?”
Taka recognizes that place; he usually passes that area when doing his morning jogs, “That would be great! I will see you then.”
“Ya-uh– catch ya later, thanks again.” The man hangs up.
Taka hangs up the phone and looks back at Charli. With a soft smile on his face, he bends down and hesitantly pets Charli, “You see, I knew we could find your owner!”
Charli, now looking at it, is a boy, wags his tail happily, looking directly at Taka.
***
The cold breeze returns, prickling down Taka’s spine. He is now waiting for the said owner at the location they plan on meeting at, the park. He securely holds Charli in his bag as he waits, trying not to let him get too cold himself.
The sound of a motor roared to a stop in the distance, but Taka paid no mind. It only mattered when he saw the silhouette of a pompadour-tall man heading his way. He decided to turn a blind eye to him, still waiting for the owner.
Some time passed, but there was no sight of the owner. Looking around, Taka spots the same tall figure searching for something or even someone. Maybe they were the owner? I mean, glancing around, it was just the two of them in the park, so there's no shame in asking.
Taka makes his way to the figure; the closer he got, the more they seemed familiar. The pampoudar-headed man turns around, and Taka sees… “Owada?”
Of course it’s him. The haircut should have been a clear indication.
By the looks of it, Mondo wasn’t too pleased to see him either. “Ah.. fuck..” Mondo mutters under his breath.
“Oh! Owada-kun, I never thought I would be seeing you here.” Taka says in a straight voice, his mood turning a tad sour.
Mondo groans at the interaction, “Well, it ain’ nun ya business what I am doin’ here–” Mondo was cut off by a small but also loud whiny bark.
The sudden sound made Taka jump. He looked down at his bags and saw Charli sticking out of it, his two front legs hanging out, and his tail wagging.
Mondo proceeds to look at Taka, then at Charli with an unreadable expression, like he's about to break.
“Charl–” before Taka could react, Mondo did first.
He abruptly grabs Taka by his scarf, with his fist balled up beside him in anger.
“The fuck you doin’ with my dog? It was you who kidnapped him ain’ it?”
“Excuse me? Me? Kidnap? That’s an absurd assumption to make!” Taka shot back. Him out of the people, kidnapping a dog? Don’t make him laugh.
“Funny you say that, my crew gave a pretty good description of the said kidnapper, and looking at ya now, you're fucking identical has em!”
His crew? Taka narrows his eyes, looking at what Mondo has on… The familiar hairstyle and outfits…
The realization clicks in his head; the people harming the dog were a part of the crazy the Crazy Diamonds, that’s why they had Tokkō-fuku so similar to Owada’s.
Therefore, the reason why Owada is here is because he is the dog's owner.
Just great.
Taka grips the hand holding him up, “I see you have misunderstood Owada, your 'crew’ were the people harming your companion, I- I just rescued him.”
“You think I would fucking believe that? You’re always at my throat at school, targeting me with ya stupid rules and shit. Plus, my crew ain’t gonna lie to me, I know for a damn fact!” Mondo adds on while getting closer, making it so the tip of his pompadour contacts Taka’s forehead.
“Well, certainly those hooligans of yours are liars! Regardless, those rules I enforce are school policy, and they should be respected at all times.” Taka lashes out. Now they're getting off topic…
Mondo hissed under his breath, his hands balled up even more, making his knuckles turn pale, “You’re so fucking annoying yer know that?”
Then another loud whimpering bark sounded out, cutting off the tense air around them.
Looking at the cause of the sound, Charli is almost spilling out of Taka's bag. Immediately, Mondo lets go of Taka’s scarf, making him tip over a bit, but in the end, he and Taka went into action to stop the fall from happening.
“Ah shit, Charli!” Mondo takes the upper hand, grabbing Charli swiftly. In doing so, he notices the bandaged paw.
Taka takes a second to compose himself, smoothing out the wrinkles on his shirt and re-adjusting his scarf that was rudely manhandled.
He also seemed to notice Mondo’s gaze at Charli’s injured paw and decided to answer his question without him even demanding it, “Oh, if you're wondering what happened to his paw, well, that group of yours threw glass at Charli, the shards ended up grazing him.”
Mondo looked on with wide eyes in disbelief at what he was hearing. “I– uh.” Mondo spits out awkwardly. Clearing his throat as he proceeds, “I–, I didn’t know that,” he said, averting his eyes.
With a pout, Taka folds his arms over his chest: “Well, you should have, knowing me, you should know I would never go to that extent to hurt an animal.”
Charli, in the arms of Mondo, starts to scurry around him with much.. Love actually, giving him licks and going all over him with the swaying of his tail.
“Ya, Charli, I’m here… sorry for worrying ya,” Mondo said in a soft tone.
This surprises Taka. He has never seen him so... Soft before. It felt illegal to witness it.
They stayed like this for a couple of seconds before Taka intervened, after a way too long observation on Mondo, clearing his throat, “I-I see you are very much the owner of this dog.. I do advise you to put more information on his collar to reduce the difficulty of finding the owner.”
After a split second, Mondo looks up responding abruptly, “Uh- ya— um, I, well–we kinda forgot about that and, whatever..”
...
“I see then.. Very well, looks like I may be on my way now.”
Before he had the chance to go, Charli unexpectedly tilted forward, making Mondo lean in front of him suddenly to catch him.
The dog put its two front paws on Taka’s chest, making Taka go rigid once more before leaning in for a lick on the chin, swaying its tail.
Mondo froze for a split second, trying to process what had just happened.
On the other hand, Taka winced from the contact, clearly not expecting it, “Ah—! D-don’t do that!” he said while trying to swat the dog gently away to no avail.
“...The hell?” Mondo muttered under his breath.
Taka stiffened, face warming up in embarrassment. “I–! I think this is highly unsanitary!” he blurts out.
A snort escaped Mondo before he had the chance to stop it. Taka just looked on in awe at the reaction. “Jeez, that's the first thing that came to yer’ mind?” He said, holding back another laugh.
“...Well, naturally, you need to be careful of bacteria...” Taka said in confusion, not exactly sure as to what was funny.
Adjusting Charli in his arms and stepping a few steps back, Mondo rubbed the back of the pup’s ears with love, eyeing the bandaged paw.
He looked back up at Taka, opening his mouth to say something but then shutting it closed seconds later.
Another few seconds pass by, with only the sound of the cold wind passing between them.
“I, um. Imma go now.” Turning on his heel, he started marching away, only glancing back once to say something else, but turning back moments after.
Taka stood there watching him go for a couple of seconds before deciding to leave himself, turning around and striding back home in the cold.
“Hmp! He didn’t even say thank you…”
***
Taka reached his house at about 4 PM, 3 hours off his schedule. He took off his light coat and scarf, placed his shoes neatly by the door, and made his way up to his room.
The fatigue had reached Taka, and he plummeted onto his bed.
“I still have studies to do…” grumbling under his breath. While looking up at his ceiling, he recalls the day's events: saving a dog from some gang (now knowing it was the Crazy Diamonds), taking the dog home, caring for it, then finding out the dog's owner was Mondo Owada.
At least Taka won’t have to encounter him again this break.
Or so he thought…