A single candle lit the room, casting shadows over the three figures in it. Two of them lay on tatami and the other sat next to them, speaking in a soft voice. A quiet yawn was heard and the sound of rustling blankets followed. The soft voice stopped for a moment before it's owner leaned over and fixed the blanket.
"Papa?" A childish voice mumbled.
The father hummed and stroked the boy's fair hair. "Go back to sleep, Katsu."
Katsu mumbled incoherently as his lids slowly shut. Harry smiled and turned his attention towards the other figure, who blinked at him drowsily.
"Tou-san," the boy whispered.
In response, Harry moved to sit next to the boy who rolled over to face him. A small hand crept out and pulled at his sleeve.
"Tell me more," the boy demanded, his blue eyes intent. Harry obliged and began his story.
"Well, after his first year at school, Daisuke went home to his family…"
Harry blew out the candle and walked out of the darkened room. He slid the door shut and walked down the hallway with the intent of getting some fresh air. The night was quiet; its only interruption was the sound of crickets chirping and the soft breeze that made the trees chatter quietly. The stars and the moon shone brightly, their light cast shadows on the land and coloured the sky.
He sat down on the porch facing the garden. A smaller figure joined him moments later. Both of them sat in a comfortable silence, both of them content to wander in their thoughts.
Harry was always the first to break the silence. Today wasn't any different.
"It's getting late," he said.
"So it is," an aged, feminine voice replied. "Did you buy any watermelons?"
"Yeah."
They lapsed into silence. His companion was old and frail looking. Her grey hair was tied up in a bun on top of her head. Her wrinkled hands were folded in her lap and a pair of glasses sat on the bridge of her nose.
"There's a boar in your room, Kaito," she said casually.
"What?" Harry blinked. "Why?"
"It was cute." She replied with a wide grin.
He walked into his room and glanced around. Everything seemed fine. Nothing was out of place – his bookcase was still a bookcase and his table was still a table. He walked over and lit the lantern on the table. It took a few seconds before he was adjusted to the brightness, but when he was, he groaned.
The boar had somehow managed to drag out a futon from the closet and was now sleeping on it.
Harry took quick strides and stared at the boar. It was sleeping on its side and snoring loudly. He felt his eyebrow twitch and moved to push the boar off his futon.
The boar hadn't moved an inch.
Undeterred, Harry rolled up the sleeves of his yukata and pushed with all his might. He continued to push until he gave up and gave the boar a hard slap on the belly.
"God damn it! Wake up Bonnie!"
Bonnie merely opened her eyes and stared at him before she moved off the futon and lay on the floor. She promptly fell asleep with her head between her two front legs.
Harry huffed and grabbed a pillow from the closet. After closing the closet, he gathered his blanket and dropped both of them on the futon. He glared at the boar and moved his futon away from it. As he made his bed, he glanced at the boar wearily. He hoped the thing wouldn't suffocate him while he slept.
He left the room to bid Granny goodnight. When he returned, the boar lay next to the futon. Harry sighed and blew out the lantern before going to sleep.
The sun rose from the east like it did every other day. In some parts of Rukongai, people went to sleep after a long night of drinking. In others, the working class woke up to get ready for their tasks. The luckier citizens slept in, unaware of the movement that the sun had caused.
However, Harry was part of the working class that had to wake up early. Luckily, he hadn't been killed during his sleep. He looked at the boar sleeping next to him and quirked his lips. I'm going to have to agree with Granny on this one, he thought.
He got up and dressed in his customary dark blue yukata. He packed away his bed and left his room, sparing a small pat for the boar.
Harry opened the door to his children's rooms and walked in. As usual, Katsu had thrown his blanket off him and curled around it with his backside exposed. Takeshi slept with half of his body on the floor and the other half on his bed. Harry kissed their foreheads after he tucked them in.
Knowing that Granny wasn't a reckless sleeper, he walked to the kitchen and grabbed an apple to eat while he moved around his home, collecting his keys, his money pouch and a drawstring bag.
He checked his room and found that the boar was awake. The boar got up and trotted up to him, wagging her tail like a dog. Harry moved aside so the boar could stand in the hallway. He glanced at her and closed his door.
"I suppose you're hungry…" he began
The boar snorted and swished its tail. Harry walked back into the kitchen and gave it a bunch of grapes. While the boar chewed on it, he walked to the entryway and slipped on his sandals. He was in the middle of tying them when he heard footsteps approaching.
Harry stood up and turned around, "You know, you can't come to work with me…"
Bonnie snorted and pushed her snout against his leg. He automatically stroked the boar.
"Shouldn't you be with your owner?" He rubbed his neck and shrugged. It'd be better if he stayed with the boar. He didn't want the kids to be distracted while Granny taught them.
He stopped petting the boar and made his way to the door. He opened it and let Bonnie walk out first before locking it. He made his way to the business district with the large boar. She would occasionally wander about and sniff things, but she'd always come back.
When they reached his shop, he unlocked it and began setting it up. The shop had an inviting look. The walls were dark green and the polished shelves were made from cedar. Health Care Pharmacy was a respectable shop that stood next to Novelty Fabrics and Nishimura's Tea House. The reason why everyone opened early was because of the shinigami. The shinigami came down to buy cheaper products and spend some time relaxing before their duties called for them.
Today wasn't any different – other than the fact that he had a boar wandering in and out of his shop.
Not long after he'd opened, a pair of female shinigami wandered into his shop and headed towards the beauty section. His shop never used to stock up on cosmetics, but since he moved to Hokutan, he found that he'd had to change his stock to fit his customers. District 64 of North Rukongai appreciated having bandages and painkillers.
When the two shinigami approached him, he greeted them with a polite smile and name the price of the nail filer and cosmetics bag that they were holding. Money was exchanged and the two shinigami left the shop in giggles.
It was around midday when things got exciting.
The shinigami had all but left and the citizens of Upper Western Rukongai had taken over. Like the day before, people buzzed cheerfully as they did their chores and shopped for pleasure. Like the day before, Ganju made his presence known to all.
"Bonnie-chan!" He called out.
Ganju had spent most of his time looking for Bonnie. Last night, he'd been sure that she would return to him before he woke up like she always did. His sister hadn't been concerned when he told her that the boar was missing, but he was. Bonnie and Ganju had spent over 50 years together since his brother had died.
But their bond was nothing compared to the one Bonnie shared with Kaien. Her mother had abandoned her when she was a piglet after she'd been wounded. Kaien had been the one to find her in the bushes where she had hidden herself. He was the one who carried the piglet home and saved her.
The only reason Bonnie would leave would be because of the man who looked like Kaien.
Ganju didn't know if he wanted to see him again.
Ganju caught sight of Bonnie's swishing tail and sped up to keep it in sight. His change of pace caused him to bump into people. He grunted out apologies without looking away from his target.
He saw the boar trot into a shop and groaned internally. Please don't destroy that shop.
As he approached he glanced at the sign, which read Health Care Pharmacy. He winced and entered the store. He immediately searched for the boar and found him standing next to two men.
One was unfamiliar and the other was painfully so.
Ganju snapped out of his daze when the two men finished their conversation and walked to the cash register. Bonnie followed and stood with the look-alike brother behind the counter. Soon after, the customer left with a small bag.
The man looked up as Ganju approached him. Ganju rubbed his neck nervously as he stood by the counter.
"Aren't you that guy from yesterday?" The man asked with a politely.
"Ah yeah…" His ears felt hot. "Do you happen to have my boar?"
"Yeah. She stayed at my place for the night." He said as he led the boar towards Ganju. She snorted and bumped her snout against his legs.
"Sorry for the inconvenience," Ganju replied little stiffly.
"It's alright," he said as he held his hand out. "The name's Kaito."
Ganju gripped his hand. "Ganju," he grunted.
"And this must be Bonnie, right?" Kaito said as he rubbed the boar's ears.
"How did you know her name?" He asked, startled.
Kaito adopted a thoughtful expression, "Didn't you tell me? Or maybe it was one of my customers…"
Ganju brushed it off, "I have to get going now. It was nice meeting you, Kaito-san."
"Same here, Ganju-san."
The farewell would have gone smoothly if Bonnie had co-operated.
Kaito chuckled and shoved Bonnie in Ganju's general direction. "Go home, you fat pig. I'm sure Ganju has missed you."
Bonnie snorted and walked up to Ganju with an agitated swish of her tail. Ganju gave a polite smile as he walked out of the shop with Bonnie at his side.
"I'm going to eat you if you run off again," he muttered.
The boar flicked her ear and snorted.
Disclaimer: I don't own J.K. Rowling or Kubo Tite. Damn.
A/N: Thanks to the people who reviewed. You get a virtual hug.