Chapter Four: Dog at Home
"I'm home." Tatsuki shook the rain from her umbrella as she turned on the lights in the living room. The lightning and thunder had begun when she reached her stop, and she was relieved to be out of the storm. Umbrella on hook. Shoes in cubbyhole. She walked into her bedroom in sticky stocking feet – keys on desk – and dumped her duffel unceremoniously beside her chair.
"YIPE!"
She gasped, scrambling back to the now wriggling bag. "Sorry, sorry, sorry!" She set the puppy loose, wincing when it shied away from her. "Look, I'm sorry, okay?" It glared a little doggy glare at her before dashing under her bed. "Well, fine, be that way..." She turned to leave. A fantastic jolt of thunder shook the building, and she found herself nearly stumbling over the puppy as it scrambled to get in front of her.
Tatsuki sighed. "Silly... uh," she scooped it up to check, "boy. I won't be out long. I need to set you up a bed and something to eat. And figure out how to housetrain you without the landlady catching me. No pressure, right?" She took the puppy into the bathroom. "Now stay."
Komamura hadn't been hurt when the girl dropped the bag, just a bit surprised. And a bit embarrassed: he hadn't made a noise like that since he lost his first milk tooth. He padded back into the room he'd first seen, taking stock of the situation.
One teenager. Mother not home. No sign of a father in the house. Small traces of reiatsu in the household. Associated with Kurosaki and his friends, judging from the pictures around the room.
Komamura shook himself and clambered onto the girl's desk, grimacing as he caught the scent of the duffel bag. A mismatched collection of mugs surrounded a single desk lamp. One held pens; another, a sheaf of small bills with numbers on them; another, some makeup – whoops, there. That had to be currency. He'd pay the girl back once he'd gotten a new gigai and beaten the afterlife out of Urahara. He nosed the brown mug onto its side to count how much money there was. Unfortunately, the sounds of change rattling out of the mug made the girl come running.
"Oh damn…" Tatsuki rubbed her nose in frustration. Muddy puppy-prints encircled the room, little speckles of mud dotted the walls, and her snack money swam in a brownish puddle on her desk.
Komamura let loose an unapologetic, tongue-lolling grin.
Tatsuki carried the puppy into the kitchen after they'd each had a bath. "Sit." She was half-surprised when he obeyed. Well, you certainly belong to someone, she thought as the microwave dinged. She set down a saucer of leftover fettucine alfredo and another of water. The puppy eyed the white sauce warily. "Look, I don't exactly have any proper dog food, so deal with it for now, will ya?" She watched as he nosed a piece of chicken off the noodles.
The girl seemed to enjoy watching him eat. Komamura never let anyone watch him eat. Not that he wolfed down his food or anything, but… well, when one looks like a really big dog, anything one does gets attention whether one wants it or not. Only one person before had smiled like that, happy that he was enjoying his food rather than frightened or disgusted at the way he ate. He huffed at the thought of Tousen – and regretted it a second later as a glop of sauce got him coughing. Which got the girl giggling.
Tatsuki patted his back, then tasted the rest of the fettucine she'd left on the counter. "It's not that hot. Then again," she amended, "this stuff probably isn't right for you. Hang on while I find something else…" she paused when she felt a tug on her slipper. She looked down to see the puppy slurp up a noodle and swallow, as if to reassure her about the food. "Huh." Those golden eyes were unnervingly canny for a puppy... She decided to get her mind off things by starting on the laundry.
The image upon the monitor bounced and shook, as if the one holding the camera were running. Lightning flashed on the screen. A streetlamp sputtered overhead. A match sparked, and the tip of a cigarette flushed briefly scarlet. The glow of the living world filtered through sheets of black rain.
The lone chair before the screen cast a long black shadow that crept up Tousen Kaname's legs as he entered.
"Agent Five, setting Three."
At his words, the screen went dark. Tousen felt the rain patter on his skin, heard the lightbulb zap and crackle above him, smelled smoke from somewhere nearby. He traced his finger on a nearby touchpad, and the sounds shifted slowly. The rain continued its rhythm on a flat surface overhead. The smoke was stronger here, and was accompanied by the smell of alcohol. Tousen looked up as something four-footed approached, smelling of wet fur.
He heard a booted foot impact flesh, and a dog yelped in the darkness. It scrambled to get away from its attacker, its nails clattering on the pavement as it ran. Tousen felt it brush past his chair as the sound faded. There was a faint snap and a fizzing noise, and the smell of alcohol got even stronger.
Tousen felt a tug from somewhere in the direction the dog had gone. He frowned. It was familiar, he was sure of that, but it wasn't what he was looking for. He followed it anyway, until he found the tug was strongest near the smells of damp earth and cement and rust.
That would be enough for tonight. He steered back toward the cigarette-smoking drunk. It was time to give his agent its dinner.
Hello again to Kitsuru, darkangel1910, and Viashino wizard!
Disclaimer: Recognize it? Still not mine.