Riko Sakurauchi wasn't a dog person. Dogs were, well, terrifying. Dogs were slobbery and loud. They'd jump up on you and flash you those razors in their mouth, the stench of death carried on their usually atrocious breath. No dogs weren't Riko's cup of tea. But this wasn't the case of all furry friends. Cats were everything the young girl loved and more.
Cats were quiet and small. Sometimes they'd hiss, or threaten you with claws unsheathed. But Riko chalked that up to the fault of its owner. Of course, people had told her the same of dogs. It wasn't necessarily that she didn't believe them, she just didn't want to get close enough to one of those long tongued beasts to test the theory for herself.
On the other hand, she was all too comfortable snuggling with her cat. In one hand she'd hold a book and the other would gently pet up and down his silky white fur. The soft purr he'd emit when her fingers danced underneath his chin and behind his ears would send her heart a flutter. His name was Haru, and she'd gotten him when she was small. He was quite an old cat, but in her own personal opinion, that only made him more adorable. The aged face of a wise old man suited Haru well, and the way he'd wattle around the house, no longer able to prance about, made Riko smile each and every time she saw it.
Oh how she loved Haru. She couldn't remember when the golden eyed feline was brought into her life. He had always simply been there. Either on her lap, or napping in the background. For as long as the idol could remember he'd always been there.
So now, as the bitter stinging realization hit her that no longer could she cuddle him against her chest, or kiss his fuzzy little head, the painful salty streams that flowed from her eyes only hurt even more.
Two hands, one from both of the high school aged girls in the room with the distraught redhead, rested gently on Riko's back. They both soothed her, offering quiet assurances. "It's okay." and a soft "Shhhh Shhhh" floated through the air. But they hit deaf ears. Riko wasn't able to hear anything outside the sounds of shaking breath and the little pitiful hiccups which forced their way from Riko's quivering lips.
Riko had asked her two close friends, Chika and You to accompany her to the vets office that mournful day. She simply wanted someone to hug while she slowly accepted the fact that she could no longer do the same to Haru. Both of the two girls were extremely understanding and more than willing to comfort their troubled friend. The first of the two to speak since they'd set foot in the building was You. Her baby blue eyes glossed over with sympathy, and her voice soaked with tenderness. "Hey, Riko-chan…" Riko looked up, tear streaks stained her fair skin. "It's gonna be alright. I'm sure Haru would appreciate your doing this for him."
Riko bit her lip in an attempt to hold back another, fresher river of tears. Moments of silence passed, and she nodded her head timidly. "Y-yeah… I know. H-he.. he must've been living in such pain these last few months." She inhaled a sharp breath, trying so hard to barricade in her tears. A couple escaped, and she quickly wiped them from her cheeks.
Careful with her choice of words, Chika decided to chime in. "Don't think too much about that. What matters is that he's feeling better now, okay? He won't be around anymore but I'm sure the life he lived with you was a long and happy one."
Riko's throat burned from crying, but even so a remark as simple as that was enough for the tears to ignore the burn and push violently against Riko's barricades. The dam she'd attempted to build cracked. Only a small crack or two, but she could very much feel the pressure behind her eyes. You straightened her back and scooted a little closer to Riko's body. "Here" she spoke, pulling back her ashen grey hair. "You wanna rest your head a bit? The doctors aren't back yet and I'm sure we still have a few minutes." You patted her shoulder, signaling it was okay for Riko to indulge a little bit. Of course, she had asked her friends to join her for comfort, but she didn't want to push any unwanted physicality onto them. But it seems it'd be more than alright, at least for a small while.
A small hum, "Mmhm" was the only sound Riko made before lowering her head down onto the shoulder of her friend. The kindness of her dear friends.. Another few cracks in the dam. She closed her eyes, and focused on nothing but the rise and fall of You's shoulders as she breathed. It wasn't much, but anything to keep her mind off of what had likely just happened in the room across the hall. As she lay her head, Chika and You both shot each other a small but sad smile. They both knew how distressed their darling piano player was, and they were both as willing as they could be about being there for her. They also both hated seeing Riko upset. Eventually, like with all sad things, this unfortunate event would be put behind them, laid to rest as but a melancholy memory. It was simply a matter of when.
Riko had closed her eyes, and while not in a deep sleep, she had begun to drift off. Her mind was exhausted. The past few days had been a stressful few as Riko readied herself to part with one of her oldest friends. The kind comfort of Chika and You was probably the first taste of something sweet she'd had in the past seventy two hours. Since every other waking moment had been crammed full of studying for a rapidly approaching exam, struggling to compose a new song, and thinking about Haru. Mostly the last one.
Not too long ago the family had noticed the concerning behavior of the poor thing. He wasn't moving around all that much, less than he usually would. He wasn't eating, and to top it off his meows and mewls had gotten so strained and weak. Riko was the first to suggest the veterinarian. Though deep down, in the most selfish regions of her soul, she almost wished she hadn't. Because as much as she denied it, she knew exactly what was going to happen. She just had this heavy sinking feeling in her gut. Upon checkup, poor old Haru wasn't looking too good. Just as she'd predicted. Only days later was he scheduled to be put down, and those days passed them by far faster than Riko would've ever cared for. Cause now sat she and her friends in the waiting room of the veterinary clinic, a light nap she was in, but she awaited the arrival of the doctors all the same.
Heavy doors swung open, and the intimidating footsteps of two veterinarians approached. The steps seemed to echo throughout the halls of the animal hospital, sending shivers down the spines of both the ashen grey and orange haired girls. Less so because they knew what it meant had already happened, and more so because they knew they'd soon be nudging Riko wide awake with news of Haru.
Chika and You exchanged looks, before slowly nodding to each other. Chika swallowed down her desire to let Riko rest peacefully a little while longer. Better now than later after all. She leaned over a bit and shook Riko gently awake. "Riko-chan, rise and shine sleepy head."
Riko's eyes fluttered open, and for a brief moment she'd forgotten all that was happening around her. She lifted her head up off You's shoulder, and rubbed her eyes. After releasing a yawn her gaze landed on the two older beings stood in front of them. One was a man, maybe in his mid forties. He wore a vets coat and his name tag which read 'Aki Ichirō.' The other was a shorter elderly woman, her expression was soft upon her wrinkled old face. Her name tag read 'Furude Miori.'
Riko's eyes widened, and her mouth opened. But no words came out. She wanted to ask so badly.. But she couldn't. You turned her attention towards the adults and gave them a polite smile. "Thank you very much for helping us, Aki-hakase, Furude-hakase."
"We only did our job." Smiled Ichirō, down at the girls sat in front of him. Though his smile soon faded into a stern and business like look. "Ahem" he cleared his throat. "Now then… Sakurauchi-san is it? I understand that this must be hard for you, but please know you did the right thing."
The dam broke.
Riko didn't speak a word, she just turned to Chika and buried her face in her shoulder, clinging to the cloth of her shirt as new cries surfaced. It still didn't feel quite real. Her fluffy little buddy, who'd been there with her longer than her memory served her.. was gone. Chika ran her fingers through Riko's hair to calm her, she just about took on a motherly role as she soothed the nerves of her dear friend.
The old lady spoke up, "Your parents already took care of all the expenses, so feel free to do as you will. We'll make sure Haru is taken good care of, alright sweetheart?"
Riko remained wordless.
You nodded to the doctors, and gave them both her signature 'yousoro' salute. Thanked once again, the doctors graciously took their leave. Chika paused her comforting efforts to stand up, pulling Riko up with her. "Here we go, come on. We can take a bus back home, alrighty?" She turned her attention to You. "You want to spend some time at my house today? It's been awhile since the three of us hung out alone together." Blue eyes lit up at the thought of chilling with her friends, but she knew that they wouldn't just be 'chilling.' They'd be there for Riko, which was also absolutely fine by her. You grinned, and got up to follow her fellow second years out the door.
In the back of the bus the three of them sat, Riko had stopped crying and was now lying over the laps of the other two girls. She slept, days of worry finally catching up with her tired body and mind. She was fast asleep. The day was a sad one, and nothing was going to change that. But soon enough, the thought of Haru would bring a smile to the lips of the redhead rather than tears to her eyes. Chika and You both stared quietly out the window, letting Riko take her well deserved nap.
Riko dreamt of Haru. She dreamt of his warm fuzzy body on top of hers, purring that cute old purr she'd heard so many times before. She smiled softly in her slumber. While thoughts of Haru's large golden eyes danced through her mind, a single serene tear slipped from a golden eye of her own.