[Fic] Azure (14/?)
Characters: Matsu, Naoki, Takanori, Naoto, Tetsuya
Rating: G
A/N: Just a general update - been caught up with personal stuff as of late, so fic updates will be slower than usual. As if it weren't already slow enough. I'll definitely write when I can though, so bear with me on this!
=========================After a thorough examination, Matsu concluded that the dog had indeed been very lucky.
“There are shallow scrapes all over this boy’s muzzle and limbs, but those look superficial. Might have been on the losing end of a fight. I have no idea who or what his opponent was, but it’s very strong. The more worrying bit is that he’s got five fractured ribs, two of which have just missed his vital organs.” Matsu pulled his surgical mask down and regarded Naoki with a measuring stare, “He is extremely fortunate that you chanced upon him when you did. I’ll show you the X-ray, if you would like to view it.”
Naoki stared blankly at the small screen as the veterinarian pointed out the dog’s lungs, showing him their proximity to the broken bones. Head buzzing with the aftereffects of adrenaline and shock, he barely heard the analysis that was being explained to him in detail.
“Matsu-san. Please. Help him.”
=========================
“Where is he?”
The group of hooded figures were scouring the alley, looking for the dog that had been there just twenty minutes ago.
“I don’t know! We last saw him here, I swear on my clan-”
“We’re all from the same clan you fool!”
“… Oh. Right. My bad.”
A ball python slithered out from under the pile of trash bags stacked at the end of the alleyway, slowly elongating into the form of a thin man.
“The only sources of heat here are you lot,” the newcomer hissed, pulling on a pair of boxers that one of the group gingerly handed to him, “He has either gone off somewhere, or has been taken away by someone else.”
“Does this situation seem like déjà vu to anyone else?” The shortest member shot a withering look at the rest of his group.
”Well, there was this orange cat…”
“Shut up, Takeda. It was a rhetorical question,” the squat man scowled, before sweeping a glare over all gathered.
“The same thing applies this time. That dog must be found!”
=========================
Matsu looked up from the monitor at the counter, smiling when he saw Naoki enter the clinic.
“Good evening, you’re just in time. This boy here has been pining all day.”
A smile spread across the tall man’s face as he heard rapid thumps against the cupboard, mixed with eager panting and the occasional whine. The moment the vet opened the swing door that connected to the waiting area, the golden retriever loped out to meet Naoki, its tongue lolling out and tail a blur. It looked a fair sight, with bald patches on its legs and chest, topped off with a plastic cone firmly attached to its new blue collar.
“Thank you for your help. Sorry to bother you again this late,” Naoki bent down to give the dog a good scratch behind his ears, “How’s Gun-chan doing?”
“He has improved very well for his age. All that’s left is for the cracks in his bones to mend. If he keeps this up, he can go home tomorrow,” Matsu leaned on the counter, a fond smile on his lips, “If you don’t mind me asking, why that name? It has been bugging me.”
“It is an odd name for such a cheery fellow, isn’t it,” Naoki mused aloud, a gentle smile gracing his face as he watched the dog sniff enthusiastically at the chair seats, “Before I found him, I was having a discussion on firearms and TV dramas with a colleague. It was the first thing I thought of.”
“Ah, I see,” Matsu’s eyes twinkled impishly, reaching over to give the dog a light slap on his behind.
Gun-chan’s head jerked around in alarm, cone striking loudly against the chair legs. Unable to find the threat, Gun-chan momentarily looked rather lost. It then promptly got distracted by its own slowly-wagging tail, and would have chased it if not for Naoki’s spontaneous bear hug.
“You’re a good boy, aren’t you? You’ve been very brave,” Naoki murmured into Gun-chan’s fur, “Just behave for a while more, and you can run around all you like after you’ve fully recovered.”
“So you are taking this one in as well?” A strange look flitted across the veterinarian’s face.
“Yes. No matter what happens to me. As long as I can still work, I’ll never let him go hungry.”
“Be careful, or your cat might get jealous,” Matsu laughed.
=========================
It was a slow walk from the clinic back home, but Naoki was nothing if not patient, stopping every now and then to check on the dog by his side. He was greeted by a large doggie grin, coupled by excited tail wagging, every time without fail.
Upon reaching his garden, Gun-chan seemed extremely curious about everything there was to be found there. After closing and securing his front gate, Naoki unclipped the leash, allowing the golden retriever freedom to explore. After all, that boy had been cooped up in the clinic for almost a week.
On a whim, Naoki peered in through the front window. The scene unfolding before him was well worth the awkwardness of looking through his own window.
His two housemates had seemingly been minding their own business, albeit in animal form. Which was rather strange in itself, given Naoto’s aversion to shapeshifting in front of Tetsuya.
With valid reason, Naoki mused, for Tecchan was a very playful feline.
It had all started out innocuously enough, with Tecchan lounging on the countertop and Naoto-chan preening its wings while sitting in a patch of sunlight. Tecchan had stretched lazily, giving its front paw a few licks before pawing at its ears.
Tecchan’s twitching tail should have been a sign, but Naoto-chan seemed preoccupied with its right wing, taking extra care with arranging the feathers just so.
Mischief sparked in Tecchan’s golden eyes a split second before the feline leaped off the counter, turning into an orange blur that streaked towards the sparrow at the other end of the room. Unable to take off from the ground, Naoto-chan did all it could to avoid the cat, leading it on a merry chase under the sofa, the coffee table, and even the barstools at the counter.
Tecchan eventually tired of playing with its prey, cornering the bird in the bottom shelf of the television cabinet and picking it up in its jaws. Heedless of the alarm calls that Naoto-chan was emitting, the tomcat ambled lazily to the couch. Tecchan lay on its back, dropping the damp bird onto its chest and promptly folded its paws over it, preventing the sparrow’s escape.
Naoki was startled out of his observations by a wet nose on his thigh, meeting Gun-chan’s expectant look with a smile.
“Let’s go meet the others, shall we?”
Rating: G
A/N: Just a general update - been caught up with personal stuff as of late, so fic updates will be slower than usual. As if it weren't already slow enough. I'll definitely write when I can though, so bear with me on this!
=========================After a thorough examination, Matsu concluded that the dog had indeed been very lucky.
“There are shallow scrapes all over this boy’s muzzle and limbs, but those look superficial. Might have been on the losing end of a fight. I have no idea who or what his opponent was, but it’s very strong. The more worrying bit is that he’s got five fractured ribs, two of which have just missed his vital organs.” Matsu pulled his surgical mask down and regarded Naoki with a measuring stare, “He is extremely fortunate that you chanced upon him when you did. I’ll show you the X-ray, if you would like to view it.”
Naoki stared blankly at the small screen as the veterinarian pointed out the dog’s lungs, showing him their proximity to the broken bones. Head buzzing with the aftereffects of adrenaline and shock, he barely heard the analysis that was being explained to him in detail.
“Matsu-san. Please. Help him.”
=========================
“Where is he?”
The group of hooded figures were scouring the alley, looking for the dog that had been there just twenty minutes ago.
“I don’t know! We last saw him here, I swear on my clan-”
“We’re all from the same clan you fool!”
“… Oh. Right. My bad.”
A ball python slithered out from under the pile of trash bags stacked at the end of the alleyway, slowly elongating into the form of a thin man.
“The only sources of heat here are you lot,” the newcomer hissed, pulling on a pair of boxers that one of the group gingerly handed to him, “He has either gone off somewhere, or has been taken away by someone else.”
“Does this situation seem like déjà vu to anyone else?” The shortest member shot a withering look at the rest of his group.
”Well, there was this orange cat…”
“Shut up, Takeda. It was a rhetorical question,” the squat man scowled, before sweeping a glare over all gathered.
“The same thing applies this time. That dog must be found!”
=========================
Matsu looked up from the monitor at the counter, smiling when he saw Naoki enter the clinic.
“Good evening, you’re just in time. This boy here has been pining all day.”
A smile spread across the tall man’s face as he heard rapid thumps against the cupboard, mixed with eager panting and the occasional whine. The moment the vet opened the swing door that connected to the waiting area, the golden retriever loped out to meet Naoki, its tongue lolling out and tail a blur. It looked a fair sight, with bald patches on its legs and chest, topped off with a plastic cone firmly attached to its new blue collar.
“Thank you for your help. Sorry to bother you again this late,” Naoki bent down to give the dog a good scratch behind his ears, “How’s Gun-chan doing?”
“He has improved very well for his age. All that’s left is for the cracks in his bones to mend. If he keeps this up, he can go home tomorrow,” Matsu leaned on the counter, a fond smile on his lips, “If you don’t mind me asking, why that name? It has been bugging me.”
“It is an odd name for such a cheery fellow, isn’t it,” Naoki mused aloud, a gentle smile gracing his face as he watched the dog sniff enthusiastically at the chair seats, “Before I found him, I was having a discussion on firearms and TV dramas with a colleague. It was the first thing I thought of.”
“Ah, I see,” Matsu’s eyes twinkled impishly, reaching over to give the dog a light slap on his behind.
Gun-chan’s head jerked around in alarm, cone striking loudly against the chair legs. Unable to find the threat, Gun-chan momentarily looked rather lost. It then promptly got distracted by its own slowly-wagging tail, and would have chased it if not for Naoki’s spontaneous bear hug.
“You’re a good boy, aren’t you? You’ve been very brave,” Naoki murmured into Gun-chan’s fur, “Just behave for a while more, and you can run around all you like after you’ve fully recovered.”
“So you are taking this one in as well?” A strange look flitted across the veterinarian’s face.
“Yes. No matter what happens to me. As long as I can still work, I’ll never let him go hungry.”
“Be careful, or your cat might get jealous,” Matsu laughed.
=========================
It was a slow walk from the clinic back home, but Naoki was nothing if not patient, stopping every now and then to check on the dog by his side. He was greeted by a large doggie grin, coupled by excited tail wagging, every time without fail.
Upon reaching his garden, Gun-chan seemed extremely curious about everything there was to be found there. After closing and securing his front gate, Naoki unclipped the leash, allowing the golden retriever freedom to explore. After all, that boy had been cooped up in the clinic for almost a week.
On a whim, Naoki peered in through the front window. The scene unfolding before him was well worth the awkwardness of looking through his own window.
His two housemates had seemingly been minding their own business, albeit in animal form. Which was rather strange in itself, given Naoto’s aversion to shapeshifting in front of Tetsuya.
With valid reason, Naoki mused, for Tecchan was a very playful feline.
It had all started out innocuously enough, with Tecchan lounging on the countertop and Naoto-chan preening its wings while sitting in a patch of sunlight. Tecchan had stretched lazily, giving its front paw a few licks before pawing at its ears.
Tecchan’s twitching tail should have been a sign, but Naoto-chan seemed preoccupied with its right wing, taking extra care with arranging the feathers just so.
Mischief sparked in Tecchan’s golden eyes a split second before the feline leaped off the counter, turning into an orange blur that streaked towards the sparrow at the other end of the room. Unable to take off from the ground, Naoto-chan did all it could to avoid the cat, leading it on a merry chase under the sofa, the coffee table, and even the barstools at the counter.
Tecchan eventually tired of playing with its prey, cornering the bird in the bottom shelf of the television cabinet and picking it up in its jaws. Heedless of the alarm calls that Naoto-chan was emitting, the tomcat ambled lazily to the couch. Tecchan lay on its back, dropping the damp bird onto its chest and promptly folded its paws over it, preventing the sparrow’s escape.
Naoki was startled out of his observations by a wet nose on his thigh, meeting Gun-chan’s expectant look with a smile.
“Let’s go meet the others, shall we?”