The Puppy

By Alicia Maxwell

"I don't know what the heck it is, Kurama," Hiei said. "But it loves Alicia and it looks like it wants to kill me."

"It's just a dog Hiei."

"It bit me! And it growls at me all the time!"

"They say dogs take subconscious cues from their masters. Do you think Alicia secretly hates you?" Kurama teased.

"I don't even think it's a dog. No dog could be that evil."

"Maybe it's possessed."

"What idiot of a demon would possess a dog?" Hiei retorted.

"What breed is the dog? Maybe it's in the breeding."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Maybe it's in the dog's genetic code to be very competitive for affection."

"It isn't competitive for affection. It's competitive for death."

"I'm sure you're just overreacting, Hiei," Kurama chuckled.

"We'll see about that."

"Goodbye Hiei," Kurama hung up the phone.

Hiei felt the eyes fall upon him and he looked up. There it was again, staring at him. It never stopped staring and growling at him. Hiei could tell it wanted to hurt him.

"Hi guys!" Alicia walked in with a wide smile on her face and the puppy jumped instantly into her arms. "Aw, good little 6-2-6!"

"Good!? Alicia! That thing hasn't stopped growling at me since you brought it into this house!" Hiei yelled.

"Well of course not. He is programmed for destruction. Since I am his master and you're the only other one in this house, 6-2-6 wants to act out his destructive programming on you. Eventually, 6-2-6 will find someone else to bother."

"What is it, anyway?"

"It's an experiment in demolition. He can lift weight three thousand times his size, level entire cities within moments, and back up sewers and steal everyone's left shoe," Alicia smiled, petting the fluffy little devil. "I got him from an alien named Jumba."

"An alien," Hiei stared at her crossly. "You got it from an alien?"

"Yes, an alien named Jumba- he was really big with four eyes and three hairs," she nodded.

"You expect me to believe that? Please, I may believe you when you say that thing is an experiment in destruction but do you really think I'm stupid enough to believe you bought it off an alien?"

"You don't believe me, huh? Maybe I should take you with me when I pick up the new experiment today," Alicia said.

"You're going to bring another destructive Hiei-hating creature into this house!?"

"No, today I am receiving 0-1-0. 0-1-0 is designed to be a cleaning machine. He's cute, he's sweet, and he'll keep me from getting a cold every other week during the winter."

"Sounds good. It would save me a lot of time."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, between getting you tissues, your medication, chicken noodle soup, and water, and saying 'God bless you' every five seconds, I waste about ninety percent of my winter months taking care of your ill self."

"Heh heh," Alicia laughed as sweat trickled down her face, "I suppose that's true."

6-2-6 crawled up Alicia's shoulder onto her head. He then sat down and started growling again. Hiei avoided eye-contact with the eerie creature.

"Ah, 6-2-6! It's time for your dinner!" Alicia smiled as she went to the refrigerator to get the experiment's food.

"What does that thing eat?" Hiei asked.

"He's not a thing; he's a genetic experiment in destruction and his name is 6-2-6," Alicia insisted as she leaned over to pick up the container with 6-2-6's food in it. "He eats raw meat."

"It's not live raw meat though, is it?" Hiei asked hopefully.

"No, Hiei. Besides, I assure you that 6-2-6 won't eat you or kill you. He realizes my fondness for you so he only acts the way he does to keep you in line. He doesn't particularly want to hurt you," Alicia dropped a raw piece of chicken to the floor and 6-2-6 crawled down her back and gobbled it up.

"Then why did it bite me!?" Hiei demanded. As if on cue, 6-2-6 bit him again. "Dammit!"

"Hiei, calm down," Alicia knelt down and forced 6-2-6's jaw open, freeing Hiei. "He's biting you because you're raising your voice at me. Come on, sit down and I'll take care of that bite for you. 6-2-6, fetch the first aid kit."

6-2-6 rushed off to acquire the said kit from the closet upstairs. Hiei sat down and Alicia pulled up his pant leg to increase the visibility of the wound. His shoe appeared to be in the way too so Alicia removed that too.

6-2-6 returned with the first aid kit and dropped it at Alicia's knees. Then he picked up Hiei's shoe and ate it, for it was a left shoe.

"6-2-6! I told you not to eat Hiei's shoes!" Alicia scolded. "Then again, I also told you not to bite Hiei, so I should be more upset about that."

"When you get this 0-1-0 from this 'alien,' are you giving back this foul creature?" Hiei asked, shooting death glares at the monstrosity, which remained unflinching.

"No, 6-2-6 is here to stay. Well, he's going to stay here for a few months, at least," Alicia said as she dressed his wound.

"Damn it all."