Author Note: I have to warn you, the end of this chapter is pretty sad but this fanfic does have a good ending where they are both human. I hope you enjoy it even if it is sad.
Chapter Seven – The Second Group
Kuon woke as someone pet him behind the ear. He didn't want to wake up, waking up would only be confirming his now canine existence. He yawned and stretched forward a paw knowing he was on someone's lap. This had to be his mother's. He felt the person pet him again and scratch his head affectionately. He finally opened his eyes and looked up.
This wasn't his mother. He blinked confused but then felt a comfort at still remaining to stay on the person's lap. He hoped that he would never feel uncomfortable with Kuu Hizuri. He guessed his mother had become upset with the situation and called his father.
Noticing the husky puppy looking up at him with large eyes, Kuu smiled down at him. "Hey, Kuon. Rarcees avoe da youwa trill my rpon and I trill love you," he said trying to help the puppy feel better. Kuon looked around and jumped off of his dad's lap, he was still a bit wobbly on his paws. He had spent so much of his life as a long legged biped that being a small quadraped was quite a change.
Kuon looked around and noticed that someone had gone shopping. He saw food bowls, a collar and leash, some toys, a comfy pillow, along with some other items. For some reason he just wanted to go over and play with them. He saw a soft tennis ball that peaked his interest completely and dashed over to it.
He looked back at his father who was watching him sadly before picking up the ball in his mouth out of instinct. He felt his tail wag as he went back over to his father and set the ball by his feet. Kuu leaned down to him and let his fingers roam the puppy's fur on the top of his head before he picked up the soft ball.
"You want to play fetch?" Kuu asked.
"Yes!" Kuon barked surprised at his own excitement about the activity, "I do! I really do!" he said as he saw the sad look increase on his dad's face but he looked at the ball and tossed it gently to the other side of the room. His father stared nervously after him as Kuon grabbed the ball in his mouth and brought it over to him, setting it down on the floor in front of him.
Kuu repeated the action several times, his body getting stiffer but Kuon could sense that his excitement as a puppy was making it a bit easier on his dad. After Kuon had started getting tired, he refused to get the ball and stood on his hind legs, placing his front paws on his dad's knees.
He was glad when Kuu picked him up and pressed him against his own body just as Julie had.
His parents had had to go years without seeing him, Kuon was just glad that they weren't abandoning his canine form.
….
….
Kyoko did not expect two things as she woke up. First, she didn't expect to be in a bed at the hospital and second, she did not expect to reach out what she was expecting to be a paw and instead saw a human hand. Her body shook as she looked to the mirror and took in her appearance. She wasn't a dog anymore, she was her old self. Maybe that would mean that Kuon was his old self too.
She looked across and saw Julie asleep in the chair beside her. Maybe she shouldn't wake her.
She looked up as she saw a doctor enter the room and paled, what on earth was happening here? She hadn't wanted to be restored to her human form, not unless she knew that Kuon wasn't a dog.
"Ms. Mogami," the doctor said as Kyoko felt a chill down her spine.
"Mrs. Hizuri," she corrected him as she thought about the white husky she had seen. She really really hoped that she would go home and see a human blond but maybe that was too much to ask. "Why am I…here?"
"We managed to process the paperwork that your husband managed to find as well as test the drug. We asked your mother in law and she said that Mr. Hizuri wouldn't want you to take a drug that wasn't safe. So, we monitored you closely and are happy to say that you haven't encountered any additional health problems and are now a human. We're going to mass manufacture the drug and send it out to all of those who were affected. We owe your husband a lot of gratitude," the doctor explained.
Kyoko felt herself tense at that. Kuon had actually managed to solve the issue, but how long would it be until they had stronger drugs? How long until the people at that fake hotel would find out how to bypass the situation and have a person transform without the eating of a cookie.
"Do you know if Kuon…" she said before seeing Julie wake up.
"Kuon is still a puppy, the hospital could only administer one dosage of the drug. I am so sorry that I said they could use it on you, but I know my son, I know he would never want any harm to befall you," Julie tried to reason with her daughter.
Kyoko nodded and looked at the doctor, "You'll be sending out one of the dosages to him, right? He risked his life getting the information. He deserves to turn back into a person more than anyone, especially more than me," she said with self doubt.
She saw a troubled look cross the doctor's face and she felt her breath catch in her lungs. Why was he getting so tense about all of this?
"Mr. Hizuri was the only person involved in stage two of their plan, there are a few things that you should know," he said as Kyoko nodded nervously, she was ready to listen but she was terrified of what he would say. "He wasn't transformed by a cookie, or at least we don't think so. We haven't actually tested his body so what I'm saying now please treat as a precaution. With stage one of their plan, the victim would retain the mental capacities that they had as a human unless they ate multiple cookies at once. This requires a simple drug injection to turn the person back from animal to human. The second stage can be turned back, but we haven't researched enough about the drug to know what a stronger dosage would do and that will take some time. However, when a victim has been given stage two treatment not only does their physical form change but their mind slowly is taken over by their animal form as well. We predict that in a short time, Mr. Hizuri will not remember his life as a human and instead will believe he is and always has been a puppy."
Kyoko's eyes widened and she felt tears wash down her face, "That isn't fair," she argued.
"Kyoko," Julie said as she reached forward for her daughter. "I know this is hard on you, it's hard on us too," she said referring to herself and her husband. "I don't want to cause you any pain so we can look after Kuon if you want," she said though her own body was trembling. Soon not only would Kuon forget his life, his accomplishments, but he would forget about his loved ones as well.
Even if he was just a puppy, Julie wanted to make sure that he was taken care of.
"I….I want to be with him," Kyoko said as her voice came out shakily. "Even if he can't remember anything. He's always going to be my Kuon. I don't care what form he's in," she said as she desperately tried to find words that would convince everyone to let her stay with her husband.
Julie felt the tears in her own eyes and she looked to the doctor nervously, "Could you give us a few moments to let this information sink in?" she asked as the doctor nodded and left the room. A dark cloud hovered above the two women as they thought of a man that they both loved unconditionally.
….
….
Twelve Hours Later
Kyoko had insisted that she and Julie return home as soon as she was discharged. She needed to make sure that Kuon was alright. Maybe he did eat a cookie and his mind was fine, he would be able to take the drug and change back like everyone else. There was nothing special about him, nothing that made it possible that he was in stage two of their plan.
Getting into her home, Kyoko saw Kuu's desperate face and looked at him. She saw the panic in his face as he looked over at Kuon who was now sleeping on his pillow. She froze as she saw that he had ripped it open and some of the insert had been pulled out.
"Father?" she asked as her eyes never left the little dog, "What's going on?" she asked. "Why do you look like that?"
"I don't know what happened," Kuu said as he started to pace a little. "One moment he was fine, he was in my lap and I was able to talk to him. I could see he didn't understand everything but he was still conscious, he still was able to answer my questions to him if I kept them short and simple. Then he just seemed to collapse. Once he woke up it was as if his entire personality had altered."
Kyoko took a deep breath in. She didn't want to think that it was true, that it was possible that her husband had been taken away from her entirely. Then again, the fact that he had ripped apart the pillow that Kuu had bought for him seemed more than substantial evidence.
Anxiously walking over to the puppy who was asleep, she crouched down opposite him and placed what she hoped was a calming hand on his head. The puppy shifted a little in his sleep and then looked up at her. Kyoko gasped at what she saw in those emerald eyes. He was looking at her as if she were a stranger.
She gasped and placed a hand on her chest as the small dog backed away from her before running behind the curtain and hiding from her. She looked desperately up at her parents in law as Julie went to hug Kuu and fell apart in his arms.
"It's okay," Kyoko said though she wasn't even sure herself if anything was okay or would ever be okay again. "I'll take care of him, it'll just be a bit of an adjustment for a while," she admitted. She rose to her feet and then picked up one of the squeaky bones that Kuu had bought. She lightly squeezed it so a small squeak could be heard.
She was relieved when the puppy poked his head out and peeked at her from where he was behind the curtain. He nervously went up to her, his eyes still showing that the real Kuon wasn't there anymore and that she might have just lost her husband forever.
"Do you want to play?" she asked as she saw the puppy sniff the air and stand in front of her. She squeaked the toy again and placed it down in front of him. She couldn't break down now. Crying and wanting to scream would only scare the dog. She needed him to be calm, this dog was or at least used to be her husband. She would do anything she could to keep him safe, happy, and healthy.
She blinked as the husky tried to attack the toy, playing with it in the same way a young dog would. Kyoko wrapped an arm tightly around her chest and felt the sobs fill up her whole body. She gently pet the puppy's head and felt a few tears drop onto the floor. "I still love you, Kuon," she said although the puppy was more interested in the fake bone than those words.
She couldn't even figure out if he understood her voice anymore.
