Izumi looked up to the sky as rain started to pour down. There was no one other than him at the park, since it was late at night. He turned his gaze to the railroad, and sighed. How long had it been since that day? His thoughts were suddenly interuppted by a series of whines coming from behind the playground. Izumi frowned, confused. He was a little anxious as to what might be happening but his curiosity overcame his fear and he walked behind the playground. There was a little yellow labrador puppy sitting on the grass, and next to him was a haggard looking man. "Shut up! Stop whining! I've lost all my money, and all you can do is complain? All you do is bother me! Why can't you just go away?" The man slapped the puppy, and he whined. Izumi couldn't take it anymore and decided to make himself visible so as to properly punish the man. "Where did you come from?" the man asked him, surprised. Izumi said nothing, and walked closer to the man. He looked down at the shivering, wet puppy, "Is this your puppy?" he asked. The man was completely confused as to why this stranger was asking about his dog, but he answered. "Unfortunatly, yes. He's done nothing but trouble me. It would be better if he just died." As soon as the words came out of the man's mouth, Izumi slapped him. Hard. "Every living thing deserves a chance to live. Life is something often taken for granted and often thrown away without a second thought. It is not yours to decide the length of this puppy's life, and it is not yours to decide the length of anyone's life." Izumi knelt down and took the shaking puppy into his arms, "Let's go now, Mi-ki." He had already decided that was going to be the name of his new puppy. Izumi left the park abruptly and began to walk home, carrying his new puppy in his arms. He looked down at her, noticing scars and bloody patches on her and he sighed. Why would someone do this? If the man intended to kill the puppy, he might as well have some compassion and kill it quickly. To Izumi, death was enough of a suffering. So why make it last longer by inflicting wounds and scars? He couldn't understand why people cut themselves, when they could simply jump in front of a car or jump off a building and get it over with quickly. He knew people who used self-mutilation mostly used it for self-punishment, which was somewhat understandable. But Izumi had not killed himself as self-punishment, he was simply running away. Running away from life and leaving all of the stress and pain far behind him. But in the process, he was also running away from all of the joys and happiness life could give. He knew that killing oneself is a terrible crime, but it was the decision of the victim. Killing another, it is not the victim's decision, but that of only the killer. To kill yourself is wasting your life, but to be killed by another is to have your life stolen, which he knew was much worse. Therefor, he would not allow this puppy's life to be taken away. Izumi sat on the grass near Mitsuki's apartment, exhausted. It had been a long walk, and he was very tired since he had carried Mi-ki the whole way. "How are you doing, little Mi-ki?" Izumi asked the puppy. Mi-ki wagged her tail and got closer to him, and soon they both fell asleep.
Izumi woke up the next morning in Mitsuki's apartment. "Are you awake now Izumi-kun?" Mitsuki asked, sitting on Izumi's bed (or at least, his temporary bed). Izumi nodded sleepily and Mi-ki crawled out of the covers. "I see you've found a puppy." Mitsuki said, "What is her name?" Izumi blushed, embarresed. How could he tell her that he named the puppy after her? "Mi-… Mi-ki." He said, not looking at her. "Yes?" Mitsuki asked. Izumi laughed, "No not you, that's the puppy's name!" Mitsuki looked confused for a moment, but then she brightened up. "Oh I get it! Did you… did you name her… after me?" she asked, her ears turning red. "Sort o-…" "Oh Takuto-kun!" his answer was interrupted, but Mitsuki knew what he meant to say, and she blushed. Meroko danced into the room with a happy look on her face, "Where is Takuto-kun?" she asked. Mitsuki got up off of Izumi's bed to greet Meroko. "Oh hello, Meroko! Takuto-kun isn't here right now, he left to go get us breakfast a little while ago." Meroko looked down at the floor, a little disappointed.
Author's note: Okay, the pairing is a little weird, but it's my favorite pairing in the series (for some odd reason). Anyways, please tell me what you think.