It was rare, if at all, for Kazuya to receive any wrapped presents. By the time he reached the age of ten, his presents had gotten so big they couldn't be wrapped, or, if he was being given money, there was little point in wrapping it to begin with. Ripping the paper off of an object was something he missed dearly, which was why it filled him with the joy of a nine-year-old when the black suits carried in a large item wrapped in gold paper with a red ribbon tied around it.
"Happy birthday, Kazuya," his father chuckled, "Well, go on! Have at it."
Kazuya dashed over to the gift and started tearing away at it. When the first layer of wrapping paper was removed, another one of a silver color was revealed, and when that one was removed, another one with a dotted pattern was revealed, and so on, with a new, unique color or pattern for each layer. Kazuya giggled gleefully—what a fun present this was already! In the past, once the wrapping paper was removed, the surprise and excitement quickly flickered out, but here the suspense just kept building! What could it be? What could be hidden beneath all these layers of wrapping paper?
"If you haven't noticed, all those layers represent a year of your life," said his father.
Ha! Clever old bastard! Kazuya thought to himself as he ripped away at the seventeenth layer of wrapping paper. When he reached the eighteenth layer, he had to stop for a moment to let the prior rush of excitement to getting to the final layer subside, and allow a new, even more exciting feeling to blossom: the thrill of unwrapping of the actual gift. Just then, he heard a noise being made underneath the paper that made him rub his hands together and immediately set off to tearing the final layer. It was something alive! Could it be…?
A cream-colored hard plastic with a handle on top and a cage door. His father laughed at Kazuya's widening eyes and said, "I thought you could do with a friend that wouldn't be after your money…"
Kazuya opened the cage door and peeked inside to see something that made his grin spread further across his face and saliva dribble down his mouth. It was the naked, trembling body of Itou Kaiji huddled down at the corner of the crate. The golden tag of the red dog collar around his neck shimmered in the darkness. Kazuya cackled loudly, making his gift shiver and squirm even more.
"Ahh, I see you've taken a liking to your new friend already, good, good!" his father cackled along with him, "Just remember Kazuya, taking care of a dog is a big responsibility…!"