Tsubaki laid down on her bed, exhausted, in the space of an hour, Dotew had gotten lost twice and smelled her entire living room. Now that he was sleeping in the living room, she could finally get some much-needed rest. Or, at least, that's what she thought, until she heard an unholy scream come from her living room. She jumped up and checked to find that Dotew was shivering and holding himself, like a traumatized child. She went over to put her hand on his shoulder, but he retracted, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pull away"
He remained still as she patted his head, "Are you okay? What happened?"
"I had a nightmare… I…"
"Can you tell me about this nightmare?"
"If a Shiragi werewolf tastes blood, they go into a violent rage that doesn't stop until they're… put down. That's why their masters need to be stronger than them, so the masters can… do what they have to do if the time comes. My family had blood put in their mouths when they were sleeping, that's why I…"
"That's horrible, I'm sorry you had to relive that"
"That wasn't my nightmare, I never saw my parent's faces and since my echolocation wasn't sharp enough to make out faces back then, I can't dream about seeing them die. No, what I saw was… much scarier"
"What was it?"
Dotew looked away from her, "You… Master Tsubaki… I… dreamed that I bit you. It was horrible… I could see everything so clearly… I've never been so scared in my life"
Taubaki pulled him in and hugged him, "You wouldn't do that, I know you wouldn't"
Dotew let a tear fall, "Master Tsubaki… thank you"
"Anytime"
"Um… can I sleep with you tonight?"
"What?"
"Whenever I get nightmares, I sleep by my master's bed, and they go away"
"Oh, okay"
"I'm sorry I woke you up…"
"That's fine, you didn't mean to"
"I know, but I got lost, too… I'll make it up to you tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay, Dotew, let's get some sleep, okay?"
"Okay!", and with that, Dotew went to sleep next to Tsubaki's bed, and Tsubaki collapsed in peace.
When Tsubaki opened her eyes, she found that swashed her arms around Dotew, who was laying down in front of her, facing her with his eyes closed. Being the calm person she was, Tsubaki went to get out of bed in her pajamas, when all of the sudden she felt something grab her foot. She turned to see that it was Dotew, who, while still sleeping, was pulling her foot towards him.
Her growled a little, "No… come back here, you tasty bone…"
Tsubaki wasn't sure what to do, but all of her calmness went away when he felt his tongue between her toes, "Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Dotew, still unconscious, didn't stop there, he made his way up to the back of her knee before she pulled away from him, "So salty… want more…"
Tsubaki was about to make a run for it when he wrapped his arms around her waist, "Dotew! What are you doing?!"
Dotew was still out cold, so he couldn't hear her start screaming as his long tongue slid up her stomach, "Mmmmmmmmmmmmm…"
Tsubaki slapped him, "Stop that!"
Dotew's tongue shot back into his mouth as his eyes opened. He looked up and realized what he'd been doing, "Master Tsubaki, I'm so sorry!", he got on his knees, "I didn't mean it, I swear, it was an accident! Please, I'm sorry, I won't do it again, not unless you tell me to, I promise!"
Tsubaki took a deep breath in, "I need to get ready for school, can you wait in the living room while I do that?"
Dotew nodded and went into the living room, "Yes, ma'am!", he shut the door and sat patiently. What was wrong with him?! Well, in his defense, Tsubaki was very beautiful, not that he was thinking about that when he'd done it. He wondered if she was mad at him, so he began cooking breakfast in the little kitchen she had. He made pancakes, eggs, bacon, and chopped some fresh fruit he found in the refrigerator.
When Tsubaki came out of her room, she was dressed for school and had her hair up in a ponytail, "Dotew, I'm not mad at you for that, but please, warn me if you know you'll do something like that…", her voice trailed off as she looked at the table, "You made breakfast?"
Dotew nodded, "Yep! I figured that you would want some, so I made some for you"
"Thank you"
"No problem! I learned to cook when I was little, so I've had a lot of practice"
"Who taught you?"
"My… first master"
Tsubaki tried a bite, "Well, he did a good job"
"Yeah, so, who's class do you have first?"
"It's supposed to be a new teacher"
"Oh, that's right, for the witches, right?"
"Yes, they want a teacher that will make them feel a little more at ease, so they didn't tell anyone who it is"
"I'm sure it'll be someone who's very smart"
"That reminds me, you said you memorized the entire library, do you go to school?"
"Dogs don't go to school, besides, I'm really bad at math… I can only count to seventy five, I don't know why, but I can't count higher…"
"So, are you going to look for Lord Death today?"
"I can't find my way around the city… can I go to school with you?"
"What if someone sees your ears?"
"Here!", Dotew fixed his hair and tucked his ears out of sight, "Ta-da!"
"Wow, I can't see them!"
"Master Lord Death helped me learn how to keep them down, so I could go on assignments without blowing my cover"
"What kind of assignments?"
"Hunting down special Kishin"
"Special how?"
Dotew paused, "… Just, special. We should get going, or we'll be late"
Tsubaki took the last bite of her breakfast and got up, "Am I forgetting something…?"
Dotew sniffed the air, "You left your panties on the bathroom floor"
Tsubaki's face turned red, "How do you know what my panties smell like?!"
"I have a really strong nose, I could find your panties from a mile away"
"That's not something to brag about…"
"But I'm really proud of my nose, I could pick your panties out of a big pile of panties, even if you hadn't worn them for days!"
Tsubaki prayed that nobody could hear him, "Please stop saying things like that…"
Tsubaki tried to ignore people's stares as she sat down, even Blackstar was looking directly towards her, as Dotew sat down right behind her without saying a word. It had been like this ever since Dotew waved at Stein and Stein ran off, the number of rumors about the two of them had skyrocketed. Tsunami was just grateful nobody had talked to Dotew, and that Dotew hadn't said anything yet.
Soul broke that gratefulness as he leaned over, "Hey, Dotew, why are you in my class? I don't train with you until later"
Dotew smiled, "Master Tsubaki's in this class, and I wanted to come with her"
Tsubaki felt the rumors swirl as the conversation caried on, "Master?"
"Yeah, Master Tsubaki is my master, I would anything for her"
"How did she become your master?"
"Sorry, but I can't tell you that, only my master is allowed to tell other people about how she became my master"
"Tsubaki?"
She was trying hard to ignore them, but she looked to Soul, "Yes?"
"You do know that he belongs to Lord Death, right?"
"Yeah"
Dotew interrupted, "Master Lord Death is my master too, but Master Tsubaki is my master also"
Soul tilted his head, "How does that work?"
"It works fine, I should have more than one master, anyway. That way, if one of my masters gets tired, I can go to the other one"
Soul knew what he meant by that, but seeing as the rest of the class didn't, Soul understood why Tsubaki was trying hard not to snap, "Hey, Tsubaki, do you want me to go with you to see Lord Death?"
Tsunaki couldn't answer, even though she knew what her answer would be. The classroom's attention shifted from Dotew's mouth to the doors as they flung open, revealing a woman in a purple suit with a tail and cat ears, "Okay, class, my name is Ms. Blair, and I'll be your teacher today!"
Dotew jumped from his seat and landed right next to Blair, "Ms. Blair! I missed you so much yesterday!"
He didn't hesitate as he began licking her face, and she let him, "Hey, Dotew! Down, boy! I missed you, too!"
Dotew stopped licking her for a moment, " Ms. Blair, you're all sweaty! How are you supposed to teach like that?", with that, he continued to lick her neck.
Blair tried to stop him, "Dotew! No! Stop! Heel!"
Tsubaki stood up, "Dotew! Cut that out!"
Dotew stopped and turned around, his head hung low, "I'm sorry, Master Tsubaki… I didn't mean to make you mad…"
The class grew silent again as the other door opened, letting a very cartoon-like reaper into the classroom, "There you are, Dotew, I was starting to get worried about you"
Dotew hugged the reaper tightly, "Master Lord Death, I'm so sorry I let strangers see my ears! I was afraid you'd abandon me, so I stayed with Master Tsubaki last night, but I kept her up last night, and I fale really bad about it!"
Lord Death smiled as he petted Dotew's head, "Tsubaki? If you could come speak with me in the hallway, I would like to speak with you for a moment, the rest of you, carry on with class, and pay attention to what Ms. Blair says!"
Tsubaki walked into the hallway, finding that it was empty of people, aside from herself, Dotew and Lord Death, "So, what's this about, Lord Death?"
The reaper smiled, "It seems that Dotew here has taking quite a liking to you"
"Yeah, I guess you could say that"
"Listen, I know this is sudden, but if it isn't too much trouble, could I ask that you take Dotew for me?"
Dotew frowned and whimpered, "Master Lord Death, are you leaving me?"
"No, no, it's just that it would be better if you lived with someone who will be able to see you every day, and someone you can play with. I try my best, but it would be better if you lived with more people your own age"
Tsubaki tried to wrap her mind around it, "You want him to live with me?"
"I know that he can be quite a handful, but he's really a good person, he's just a bit excitable. I can't tell you how many times he's tried to chew on my face in my sleep, but it's also true that he's the only person in the world I can proudly call 'family' that isn't related to me"
"Wait, why can't he live with Kid?"
"Kid doesn't know he exists. Dotew once promised me that he would be the greatest assassin ever, so since then, unless asked to do so, he hasn't been seen by anyone other than myself and Ms. Blair. That's why he has the nickname 'Death's Shadow', I'm almost never without him, but in the same breath, nobody ever sees him"
"So, I'm the only person he knows from the school?"
"The only student, yes, and it would seem that he deems you worthy of being his master, a true honor he's only ever given by choice alone to you"
"I don't know if I'm ready for this"
Dotew looked at her, his eyes very serious, "Master Lord Death, I haven't told her about the…"
"The what?"
"The assignments I do, nearly all of them are dark weapons, the weapons that turned away from the path of good and devour human souls. So, before you make a choice, you have to understand that if you ever stray from the right path, I'll have to kill you, and that goes double for me. If I ever lose myself to my instincts, you and Master Lord Death are responsible for… putting me down. If you don't want to, I won't hold it against you"
Tsubaki laughed, "You're a terrible liar, aren't you? You'd be upset if I rejected you"
Dotew nodded, "You're right, if you did, I'd go cry again. My heart would hurt like crazy, and I wouldn't be able to get you off of my mind, because I'd never be able to convince myself that someone as kind as you just turned me away because of any other reason than my own crazy made-up reason for hating myself"
Tsubaki smiled at him, "That's okay, I'll be your master"
Dotew gave her a bow of thanks, "Thank you, Master Tsubaki! I'll do my best to be the best dog ever!"
Lord Death smiled, "Well, then Tsubaki, I wish you the best of luck in taking care of Dotew. But Dotew, don't forget, you can go back to my house any time you like, even if I'm not there"
Dotew gave him a solute, "Yes, sir! Master Lord Death, sir! I'll visit, and Ms. Blair can help me get there! Wait, Mawter Lord Death, where does Ms. Blair live?"
"She lives with Soul and Maka, actually"
"Okay, I'll visit them, too"
"That reminds me, Dotew, since you'll be at the school more often, it would be good for you to introduce yourself at the next school dance"
"The one next month?"
"Actually, it's been moved up to next week"
Dotew's eyes got wide, "No, not then! I can't go! I'll just introduce myself some other time!"
"Nonsense, there isn't really another event that everybody comes to at the school, so it's the perfect time to introduce yourself"
Dotew sighed, "I don't think it's a good idea…"
"Nonsense, you'll finally be able to get your mind off of the date and have a good time"
"Alright, Master Lord Death"
"Good, now that that's all settled, the two of you should return to class, in the meantime, try to keep your ears hidden, and be on your best behavior, Dotew"
"I will, Master Lord Death!"
"Good luck to you Taubaki, I do hope that he isn't too big a burden"
She waved it off, "Compared to Blackstar, he's nothing"
"Well, have a good day at school then, bye!", with a peace sign and a turn, Lord Death walked away.
Tsubaki and Dotew returned to the classroom, where Blair had already started teaching a lesson, "And as you can see, class, incantations are one of the focal points of magic"
Dotew raised his hand, "Actually, there's a lot of magic that doesn't use incantations at all"
"That's true, but incantations are a good place to start, and can be used for all sorts of spells. Actually, since you know more about magic that doesn't use incantations than I do, would you like to give the class a demonstration?"
Dotew smiled, "Sure!", after a quick step into the hallway, he returned with a wooden guitar, "There's a special kind of magic, it's called 'instrumental magic'it which is done by using an object to channel your magic to fit with whatever your using. Here"
Dotew began playing the guitar lightly, slowly getting a little more advanced as he carried on a light-hearted song. Through the entire room, nobody said anything, they just swayed with the tune, being entranced by its charm. Even the air seemed a little lighter as Dotew continued to bend the sound out of the strings.
When he finished, there was a little bit of sadness among the students, but over all, they had all enjoyed the tune, "That was meant to be a feel-good spell for the guitar, if anybody here was sick or tired, or maybe they had a rash, or something like that, you'll find that you've been cured or at least the condition has improved. Are there any questions?"
A student raised his hand, "Can people that don't do magic normally do instrumental magic?"
"Depending on the instrument, yes. Actually, there are a few incantation spells that can be learned, but the chances of them working without some other form of magic to back them up, like, say, a charm or something like that, are slim to none"
A girl raised her hand, "What's the most powerful spell that you know?"
"The most powerful? I can't say, but I do know a couple songs that can induce special feelings, like anger, terror, happiness, love, the works. I've written quite a few spells for the guitar, but I don't know any that are real spells"
Another boy raised his hand, "Where did you learn how to play the guitar?"
"I taught myself"
"Could we hear you play something else?"
Dotew held his hands up, "Sorry, this isn't my class to teach, Ms. Blair?"
Blair shrugged her shoulders, "There's only a few minutes left, I don't see why not"
"Um… okay, then. Master Tsubaki, what do you think I should play?"
Tsubaki shrugged in her seat, "I don't know, another feel-good song?"
"I know! I found this song a while ago, it was on a beat-up piece of paper, but it's a really good song, it's called Give a Little Bit by some guy called Supertramp."
Blair clapped her hands, "Oh, I love this song!"
"Alright, before I can start, is there anybody here that feels a little sad? Or like they need a little love? If so, then this song is for you", as he started to play, he didn't even realized he had almost every girl in the room's heart in his hand. When he reach the line 'I'll give a little bit of my love to you', half of the girls fainted, the other half were clawing each other's eyes out, trying to decide who he was talking to.
Once the song ended, the entire class gave him a standing ovation, even Soul was impressed by his skills. Blair clapped, "I think you've done a good job of lifting everyone's spirits, so let's end class with that"
The students sighed and groaned, "Aw… I wanted to hear him play more…", with things like that running through the crowd, Dotew knew he wouldn't be able to leave it there.
So he smiled and held his hand up, "Hey, if you guys want to play, there's a café just a few blocks from the school. It's got this coffee that makes people smile, but the sign says 'do the rumba', anyway, if you ever want to listen to some music or just have a nice cup of coffee, it's called Uncle Bob's, and I really like it there"
Many of the girls started scribbling the name down violently as the bell rang. Tsubaki waited for everyone else to leave, because she knew if all those girls saw her with him clinging to her like that, she knew she might be in hot water. When they had all left, Dotew picked up her books,"Hey, Master Tsubaki! Did you like my spells?"
Tsubaki smiled, "I liked them, but did you just charm those girls into falling in love with you?"
"Huh? No, that spell's purely a feel-good one, why, did my magic hurt them?"
"No, no, I was just wondering. If it's okay, could I just go to class by myself?"
"Yeah, Master Lord Death said I'm really loud, and that could mess you up when you're studying, so I'll just go hang out in the library until school's over, okay?"
"You don't have to stay in there all day…"
"I'll help Ms. Blair with her classes, and hang out in the library when she doesn't have class. But what should I do for lunch?"
"You could eat lunch with me"
"No, if I did, I'd make a mess, and then it'd be embarrassing for Master Tsubaki, so I'll just leave you some lunch in the cafeteria, I'll leave a note by it, so don't worry about someone else eating it! Um, are you allergic to anything? Or is there anything you don't like to eat?"
"No, it's fine, just don't make it too over the top, okay?"
"Okay, Ill keep it simple"
Tsubaki's eye twitched as she stared at it; all of the tables in the cafeteria had been aligned in a single row, a huge metal, tray covering all of them. She only wished that there wasn't a big 'For Master Tsubaki' written across the side, where everyone could see it. Maka spoke up first, "Hey, Tsubaki, what's under the tray?"
Tsubaki sighed, "I don't know, but it can't be good…", she flipped the tray over, and just as she had suspected. Beautiful, candle-lit meals on perfectly set tables, each dish even better-looking than the last, and all of them almost too beautiful to eat, "I was afraid of this…"
Blackstar marveled at the food, "Whoa! Tsubaki, can I have some?"
Tsubaki turned around, "Alright, anybody that wants to have a seat and eat is welcome to go ahead!"
After everyone got situated and sat down, Maka looked at Tubaki from across the table, "What's wrong, Tsubaki? You seem down"
Tsubaki looked down at her curry, "It's nothing"
Soul spoke up, "C'mon, even I noticed it, something's got you down"
"… It's Dotew, I don't know what to do with him"
"Why not just accept it? The guy made you a feast, and according to the school chefs, he didn't use a single one of their supplies or any magic at all"
"Then how'd he make this stuff?"
"They said he used a big fire and some metal pans he cleaned off. The weird part is, they said he was humming something about 'Cooking for his master', and that he was smiling the whole time"
"Why does he keep doing things like this?"
Maka looked to Soul, "Didn't you say that he was a werewolf? Aren't there werewolves that need masters? I remember reading about something like that…"
"Shiragi werewolves, they're supposed to have masters stronger than they are, but they can willingly let someone be their master"
"How'd he pick you?"
"He was crying in the library, and I talked to him for a little bit, then he started calling me master"
Soul smirked, "It's probably because you're a good person, dogs can sense evil"
"But why is he so determined to be so over the top with everything?"
"Well, he's like a puppy, he wants to do his best to make his new owner happy"
"Please don't call me his owner, it feels weird"
At that moment, Spirit burst into the cafeteria, "Is that what I think it is?!", he dashed over and stared at Tsubaki's plate, "It is! Do you know what this is?!"
"Um… no?"
Spirit pointed with his eyes wide open, "This is the single greatest curry on the planet! The last time I saw this with my own eyes, Lord Death was rewarding me for not missing a day of work all year! It was only a bite, but it was the best thing I've ever eaten in my whole life! Where did you get this?!"
"Um… a friend made it for me"
Spirit got down on his knees, "You can have everything I own if I can have a bite"
Tsubaki went to hand him a spoonful, but she was stopped by a hand that held hers in place. She looked to find that it was Dotew who was holding her hand, "Please, Master Tsubaki, you eat the first bite, I made this especially for you"
Tsubaki sighed, "Okay, I'll try a bite"
Dotew smiled as she put it in her mouth, "How is it?"
Tsubaki didn't move, she was gripped so hard by the flavor that she couldn't be disturbed by anything around her, she just let it dance across her tongue as she shed a single tear. This wasn't food, this was a piece of edible heaven, that's what she thought as she dropped the spoon onto her plate, "It's… really good…"
Dotew frowned, "Are you sure? If it makes you cry because it's bad, that's okay…"
Tsubaki shook her head, "No, it's just do good that I can't believe it"
Soul grabbed a spoonful, "It can't be that good", he put the spoon in his mouth. Soul began to cry, "So… good…"
The two of them stared off into the distance with tears in their eyes as Maka looked at the plate, "Dotew, how did you make that curry?"
Dotew smiled, "I just thought about Master Tsubaki and tried to make her the best curry I could. I didn't use magic, if that's what you meant"
"Can I try it?"
Dotew nodded, "Sure, there's enough for you to have a bite"
Maka grabbed a bite, "…", for a very long moment, Maka just stared at the wall, "This is… perfect…"
Spirit started begging again, "Please! One bite, I beg of you!"
Dotew shrugged, "Well, only because Master Tsubaki said it was okay"
Spirit smiled, "Yes! Thank you so much!", he took a bite and began to cry, "So delicious… have mercy on my taste buds…", and then he passed out, his face still drawn into a smile.
Kid looked down at Spirit, "Why is a death scythe passed out on the floor of the cafeteria?"
Dotew pointed at the plate, "He tried a bite of my curry"
"Who are you? And did you just poison a death scythe?"
"Not a chance! I made this curry for Master Tsubaki! I would never do that to her food! Ask Master Lord Death, I don't do thinks like that!"
"Why are you referring to my father as your 'master'?"
"Oh, you must be Kid! Master Lord Death said that you might not like me, but that's okay if you don't. I'm Dotew, it's nice to meet you, Master Lord Death's son!"
Kid looked him over, "Aside from two stray hairs and some stains on your cloths, you appear symmetrical, I suppose you aren't too dirty. Dotew, was it? What's so special about this curry that it took out a death scythe?"
"He said it was so good that it made him pass out. There's enough for you to have a bite, if you want one"
Kid contemplated it, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try a bite"
Dotew turned to see Liz staring at a spoonful of the curry, "The best curry in the world, huh?"
Dotew smiled, "Try it!"
Liz tried the bite before crying and then passing out, "So… good…"
Kid looked at the plate again, "This cannot be a natural dish"
Dotew shook his head, "It doesn't grow on trees, I have to make it myself, and I don't make it very often"
Kid shrugged his shoulders, "Why not?", as he bit down on it, he fell over, "What is this…? This taste…? It tastes symmetrical…"
Dotew felt himself begin to sweat as he noticed that most of the people in the cafeteria had fainted from his cooking, "Maybe I did a little too good a job…"
He turned to see Patty, who was going at the curry like it was the only food there, finishing it in no time, "More please!"
Dotew threw his arms out, "Patty!"
Patty threw her arms out and hugged him, "Puppy dog!"
"It's been so long! Did you ever find that giraffe?"
"No, but I got to eat your food again, and it still tastes awesome!"
"Thanks for eating it! I'm really happy you still like it!"
"Hey, do you wanna lick my sister while she's asleep?"
Dotew tried not to answer, but something about Patty drew it out of him, "…Yes"
Patty grabbed a jar of peanut butter out of the school's kitchen and rubbed some on Liz's right cheek, "Okay, Puppy dog, you can go ahead now!"
Dotew tried to hold himself back, "… Patty, why did you put peanut butter on her face?"
Patty giggled, "Cause I know how much you like peanut butter!"
Resistance was pointless, within seconds, Dotew had licked her face clean, leaving a huge amount of drool all over Liz's face. Dotew frowned, "Hey, should we wake them up?"
Patty frowned, "Yeah… I'll wake her up", Patty got right next to Liz's ear, "OH MY GOD, A MONSTER JUST LICKED LIZ'S FACE!"
Liz got up and screamed so loud that it woke up all the students that had fainted, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
The scream was so loud that for a moment, Dotew couldn't hear anything, the last thing he did before passing out was run straight into a wall.
