Dog Cupid, Atobe
Chapter 1: Cupid's first victim, the black Giant Schnauzer
What would Atobe do if he were a cupid, and was very very bored? He'd go around making couples by turning people into dogs of course!
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Most people didn't know… Cupids did, in fact, exist. And one of them was the all too magnificent Atobe Keigo.
Nobody ever suspected anything. After all, he seemed like just your average ridiculously rich middle school boy, living in a ridiculously huge mansion, with a ridiculous number of servants waiting on him hand and foot… Okay… Maybe not so average, but what could he say? Having a celestial job was just that lucrative.
However, Valentine's Day was coming up. It was supposed to be one of the busiest days in a Cupid's life, but God had just sent him a letter, stating that although he would still get paid, he would just be a reserve cupid this year. Furthermore, the rest of the Hyotei tennis regulars had gone off to Hawaii for a fun "training camp", which was really just a vacation. He had given that a miss, expecting to be extremely busy at this time of year, and now his plans were all ruined.
Just what on Earth was there to do!? A little seed started to sprout in a frustrated Atobe's mind, and a devious smile was slowly creeping its way onto his lips.
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Inui and Kaidoh were in the middle of their daily evening training session. They were on the last kilometer of their jog when a shiny black car suddenly swerved right in front of them, bringing them to a screeching halt.
A door suddenly opened, and out popped out Atobe, donning a black dress shirt, black pants, and a purple suit jacket.
"You bastard!" Kaidoh started hissing furiously as he advanced towards Atobe.
Inui stopped Kaidoh with his arm. "Wait Kaidoh! We don't know what he plans on doing yet…"
"As expected of the dataman Inui! Always ready to collect more data before acting!" Atobe noted out loud. "Well, the great me has an amazing gift for you two! Be awed at the sight of my prowess!"
With that, Atobe whipped out a crossbow, and shot Inui with a sparkling pink arrow. Inui promptly crumpled onto the floor.
"Inui senpai! No~!"
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Inui and Kaidoh were confused. Inui had certainly been shot right in the heart with an arrow by Atobe, yet there was no sign of the arrow, much less a wound entry point. After getting shot, Inui had regained consciousness a minute later, and of course, Atobe was already nowhere to be found.
And so, Inui and Kaidoh were walking home together side-by-side, both feeling dazed… Not knowing what to think of the strange encounter with Atobe…
"Na… Senpai… We weren't dreaming right?"
"Based on the incident alone, the probability that we were dreaming is 99%. But taking to account all the other factors, the probability goes down to a mere 21%. So, no, we probably were not dreaming."
"That shitty bastard… The next time I see him, I'll kill him!"
"Don't be so hasty Kaidoh… We still don't know what his plan was ye- ow ow ow!" Inui suddenly felt a wave of dizziness overcome him, and tripped on his own pants.
Inui looked up to see Kaidoh looking down at him, horrified.
"What's wrong Kaidoh? What's with that look? And… Why do you suddenly look so much bigger?"
"Inui senpai… … … You… You… You're… A dog…"
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Luckily, Inui's parents had gone off on a trip to visit his grandparents, leaving him alone in the house. Inui hadn't followed along as he still had school to attend.
Inui and Kaidoh both agreed that heading over to Kaidoh's house would be the best idea. His family was used to pet-sitting for other people, and loved dogs anyway.
When they reached home, Hazue was the first one to spot Inui. "Wai! A big black doggie! Where did he come from?"
"This is Inui senpai's dog. I promised to help him look after his dog while he settles some renovation problems at home." Kaidoh was feeling glad that he had rehearsed those lines in his head along the way.
"So cute! Is it a giant Schnauzer?"
"Umm… I guess…" Kaidoh, who had spent hours browsing through dog pictures in his free time, already knew this, but he didn't want to admit it. Admiring puppy photos just did not seem like a very manly hobby.
"Wow! Cool! I've never seen one in real life! What's its name?"
Kaidoh and Inui froze. Of all things, they had not discussed about a name beforehand. Panicked, Kaidoh instinctively said, "He's Inu~…" catching himself before the "i". After all, it would be weird to give your pet the very same name that you had.
"Hahaha! Really? It's kind of funny to name your dog 'dog'!" Hazue burst out in laughter. "But I guess Inui-nii really wanted to name his dog after himself!"
The newly-named Inu shot Kaidoh a wry look.
"But it's strange na… I've never seen a dog wearing glasses before. Ne! Is Inu short-sighted?"
"Y-yeah…" Kaidoh gulped. It had seemed so natural for his senpai to be wearing glasses that the thought of it being strange never crossed his mind.
"That's awesome! This dog is really so cool! And we get to look after him! Lucky!" Hazue was grinning widely, and both Kaidoh and Inui sighed in relief.
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Aside from the fact that Inui would not be able to go to school or club practice, make juice, or collect data in this state, things were looking good. Kaidoh's parents had said that they didn't mind looking after his senpai's dog one bit, and in fact, the whole family had pampered him with tons of food and affection that evening. They had even accepted the fact that he was a dog that wore glasses. Ah… His days as a dog might just turn out to be really comfortable after all!
It was after dinner, and Inui and Kaidoh were on the floor in Kaidoh's room, in front of a laptop. Inui had suggested that they do some research online, before hunting for Atobe the next day.
As they searched, Kaidoh was idly petting the head of his senpai, who was panting in happiness. However, trying to find out about what had happened to Inui was proving to be a fruitless task. They were getting hits of fictional dog transformation stories, and myths about shape-shifters, but nothing about being turned into a dog after getting struck by an arrow.
Suddenly, a new site showing more promise popped out as the number one hit in a search using keywords Kaidoh was sure they had tried before. The name of the site was "A.K. – Dog Transformations Master", and it had a picture of a sparkly pink arrow as the logo.
"Hmm… This site does seem like it might contain useful data Kaidoh." Inui said, still enjoying the hand caressing the top of his head, yet urging Kaidoh to clink on the link.
"I was thinking that too senpai."
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All that was on the site was one quiz with a short description. Take this quiz, and turn back into a human.
The site seemed extremely suspicious to Kaidoh, but with no other leads to go on, he decided that they should attempt the quiz at least. The site stated that there was basically going to be a yes-no quiz, with one question per page, and no going back to change your previous answers. At the end of the quiz, the site would generate a list of steps that needed to be followed. Hopefully the site wouldn't give his computer some strange virus though.
Are you ready to answer this quiz in all honesty?
"Yes." Inui replied, when Kaidoh glanced his way.
Are you sure you will answer this quiz truthfully? Ore-sama will not forgive you otherwise…
Inui raised a furry eyebrow. "Yes?..."
Now, let's get to the heart of the problem. Did you get hit by a sparkly pink arrow, shot by a beautiful man?
"What? … Um… I guess so?"
Do you want to live as a dog for the rest of your life?
"No. Of course not." As much as Inui found life as a dog in Kaidoh's house not too bad, there were just too many things dogs couldn't do that humans could. Writing, chopping and juicing vegetables, talking in public, going to the toilet by himself… All his independence was lost. As much as he liked the attention he was receiving from his favorite kouhai as a dog, having that same kouhai watch you do number one and number two was just plain embarrassing. *Doki Doki* Whoa… There had to be something wrong with his heart. He started thinking up recipes for heart-healthy juices.
Does your favorite kouhai think you're cute? Of course I mean, as a dog.
Inui looked at Kaidoh, who was staring at him, with red, red cheeks. "Fsshh!" Kaidoh hissed, looking away. "Y-yes…" came the soft reply, before a quick click of the mouse. Inui wasn't pleased that the rubbing of his head ceased upon the appearance of this question, yet he couldn't help but grin with pride under his thick beard.
Is there someone you like romantically?
"Hmm… No?"
Is there someone your favorite kouhai likes romantically? Don't forget you need to be truthful!
Kaidoh was blushing even more furiously than before. "Y-yes…"
Inui was shocked! Kaidoh had never even hinted at such a thing before! Just who was it? He felt his chest tighten considerably.
Now… Are you still sure that there is no one you like romantically?
"The probability of me falling in love between that previous question and now is 0%, so yes."
I'll give you one last chance. Do you have someone you like romantically? Why don't you take a look around you before answering that.
As Inui looked around, he finally realized the point the question was trying to make as he saw Kaidoh's gaze burning a hole through the picture of a young Inui and Renji, wedged in the notebook he had been carrying around while jogging earlier. Inui chuckled. "Actually, I think there is someone." Kaidoh whipped his head around.
"You're serious senpai?"
"Yes."
Kaidoh turned back towards the laptop crestfallen, and clicked the option 'Yes'.
"It's so strange how the quiz seems to be able to read my mind though… Must be an algorithm based on psychology… Interesting…"
Are you grateful to Ore-sama for creating this quiz?
"Hmm… So far only 22% of the questions seemed to pertain to my transformation. But I guess it was still useful in other ways, so, yes."
Kaidoh dejectedly clicked on the appropriate option.
Congratulations! You have successfully completed Ore-sama's wonderful quiz! Below is a printable booklet of steps that my generous self has prepared. Don't peek ahead! Your mind needs to be completely focused on each step. Note though, that you should only carry out the steps with someone you are truly in love with, or else, be prepared for the consequences!
Kaidoh stood up abruptly. "I'm going for a short jog senpai! You can print out the booklet, and invite Yanagi-sa-... Ah… I mean your love interest over to your house. I'll bring you over there afterwards." he said with downcast eyes, before dashing out the door.
Inui stared at the door with his mouth hanging open, and then stared at his right paw. Even if that were what I wanted to do, I'm not sure I could do all those things Kaidoh…
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Twenty minutes later, Kaidoh had calmed himself down by jogging three rounds round the nearby park and decided to head back home.
"Are you ready to leave yet senpai?" Kaidoh asked as he walked through his bedroom door.
"Oi, Kaidoh. Do you know how hard it was for me to print this booklet out?" Inui complained from the top of Kaidoh's bed, one paw on a thin stack of paper. "Here. It needs to be stapled."
"So… You ready for me to drop you off yet senpai?" Kaidoh asked with a solemn look on his face.
"Umm… About that, Kaidoh, do you think you could ask your parents if you could stay over at my house tonight? There's a 50% chance that things will go wrong, and having someone else who knows what's going on might come in handy."
"Fssh… Fine…" Kaidoh replied reluctantly. Kaidoh didn't really want to have to witness Inui's and Yanagi's proclamations of love, but his concerns for his senpai's safety far outweighed his emotional turmoil.
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"Tadaima."
"Ojamashimasu."
Inui and Kaidoh entered the house that was in complete darkness.
"So where do you want me to wait senpai?" Kaidoh asked as he flipped the light switch, already knowing where it was from previous visits.
"Let's go up to my room first. We can just leave my jogging clothes there." Inui led the way, competently walking up the stairs on four legs, making full use of the practice he had gotten on the stairs in Kaidoh's house.
Once up in Inui's room, Kaidoh placed Inui's clothes on his desk.
"Have a seat Kaidoh." Inui motioned for his kouhai to sit on the chair by his desk. Kaidoh sat down obediently, and Inui leapt onto the table.
"So when is the person going to be coming over?" Kaidoh asked, turning to stare at his senpai with a serious expression.
"When do you think I asked them to come Kaidoh?"
"I don't know! That's why I asked!" Kaidoh felt his frustration building up.
"Well… Actually…"
"Actually?" Once again, Kaidoh was tense.
"He's actually right here."
Inui quickly leaned forward, and pressed his wet nose onto Kaidoh's lips. Suddenly, there was a naked Inui senpai crouching on the table.
"W-why? S-senpai? An-and you're cured?" Kaidoh was stammering in shock.
Inui climbed off his desk, and started putting on some clothes.
"There is a 100% chance of you being confused Kaidoh, and a 99.6% probability that your confusion is from the fact that you think I like Renji."
"You don't?" Kaidoh had an expression of disbelief.
"I must say that I'm thankful we came across that quiz. I never made the connection before, because being beside you just seemed so natural. Although I only realized it today, I like you Kaidoh, and probably have for quite a long while now."
Kaidoh's jaw was hanging open. He had to be dreaming. Somebody needed to come slap him right now. Could it be? All the months he had spent agonizing over his feelings for his senpai were over? Just like this? "Are you serious senpai?"
"I am Kaidoh. I can assure you that I would not risk staying a dog forever just to play a prank on a kouhai."
A rosy tint started to build up in Kaidoh's cheeks as this new piece of information sank in.
"Wait, Kaidoh. Before we get all happy, we need to finish breaking this dog transformation spell first." Inui held out the booklet.
"Huh? You're still not cured senpai?"
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Apparently, Inui had looked at the first page of instructions before leaving Kaidoh's house. The booklet had said that the cursed individual was to place their nose on their partner's lips, which would temporarily turn them human, facilitating the cure process.
"I obediently followed the instructions, and didn't look at the rest yet." Inui said proudly with a smile, as he flipped to the next page.
"Hug your partner for five minutes… Hmm… These instructions seem to make no sense… Though the first one did work. Should we get started Kaidoh?" Inui inquired.
"W-wait… I'll set the timer…" Kaidoh went to get the digital alarm clock next to Inui's bed, his face burning.
"Okay. Here we go." Inui sat next to Kaidoh on his bed, and promptly wrapped him in a bear hug before hitting the timer.
Kaidoh could feel his face turning even redder. His heart was pounding out of his chest, and he could feel his senpai's doing the same, even though Inui had had an unfazed expression when he initiated the hug.
As Inui's breaths tickled Kaidoh's nape, he shivered, and buried his face in Inui's left shoulder to hide his embarrassment.
A few heart-pounding minutes later, the alarm clock beeped, and they pulled away from each other.
"Okay. Let's go onto the next step." Inui reached for the booklet once again. Kaidoh could just see the slightest hint of a blush on his face.
"You and your partner have to lie directly on top of one another on a bed for ten minutes. If you work hard at this step, you will be almost done." Inui had coughed in between sentences. "Ha ha… Ten minutes is a long time, isn't it Kaidoh?" He tried to hide the mixture of excitement and embarrassment he was feeling.
"I-I-I'll get the timer again." This time, Kaidoh's face was flaming hot. The poker face he had been trying to maintain in front of Inui was completely gone.
"Let me be on the bottom Kaidoh, since I'm taller and heavier." Inui lay down on his bed, positioned like a dead tuna. "Okay! I'm ready Kaidoh!"
"H-hai senpai…" Kaidoh slowly made his way to the bed, climbed on top of Inui, and started the timer. He was happy that he and his senpai were getting closer, but he had not expected for things to progress so fast. It seemed as if every part of his body in contact with Inui was on fire. He felt as if he was so embarrassed he could die.
Suddenly, Kaidoh felt Inui's arms around him, embracing him in another hug. Shocked by the sudden contact, his head snapped back to look at Inui, accidentally brushing his lips against his senpai's.
The couple stared at one another for a few moments before Inui pulled Kaidoh closer, startling Kaidoh with another kiss.
The kiss had started out gentle. But the moment Kaidoh's lips parted, Inui's tongue forced its way in through the small opening.
Their kiss got deeper and deeper, with Inui leading the way, and both could feel their self-control slipping.
The point of no return came when the pair started grinding their hips against each other, and Kaidoh started moaning as Inui explored his mouth further.
*Beep beep beep beep* Inui turned the alarm off, and left the bed to read the last set of instructions on the booklet.
Say "All hail the beautiful A.K." three times, and you're done.
"All hail the beautiful A.K. All hail the beautiful A.K. All hail the beautiful A.K." Inui repeated as fast as he could, before returning to the bed with a very aroused Kaidoh on the sheets.
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Back in Atobe's mansion, Atobe was sitting on his throne, watching what appeared to be an AV on a projector. The only difference was that Inui and Kaidoh were the stars.
"I'm really just too amazed with my prowess sometimes." Atobe chuckled to himself.