AN: This fic was hard for me to write the full length of chapter this time. I hope I won't have the same difficulty next chapter 😊
Chapter Thirteen – Audience Reception
Kyoko sighed as she went through all of the comments online and all the emails that were sent to her. Not only was there a lot of email that was intended for Kuon talking about ways that various producers and photographers could market him but there were feeds that were talking about bestiality, witchcraft, animal abuse. She took slow breaths not wanting to worry Kuon over these though he was sure to know that it was happening.
"Do you think it was a good idea?" she asked Kuon as he sat on the floor beside the bed. He cocked his head to the side as he watched her.
"You mean, when I announced on the interview that I was a dog or a man in a dog's body?" he asked and Kyoko bit her lip. She had promised everyone that she wouldn't be getting sexually involved with Kuon, it was wrong. The physical part of their relationship was on pause for the time being but she had to admit that she was still romantically connected with him. She just couldn't act on the physical side.
"Yeah, about that…" Kyoko continued to tell him. Kuon sighed and put his head down on his paws. He sighed and rolled his head to the side, his eyes taking her in.
"Did you not want me to do it? I thought that you said it would be easier if we did tell everyone. It's not as if we can change what happened," he commented and Kyoko hummed. She nodded slowly. That was true, the secret was out into the media right now and Kuon was getting roles that were made for canines. He would just need to have someone who could go with him to these shoots.
Kyoko froze as she heard a knock on the door and petted Kuon's head, rubbing him affectionately beneath his chin and seeing his tail wag. She kissed his forehead before standing up and making sure she was acceptable if she needed to open the door. She grabbed a comb and went to the door as she sorted to her hair.
Standing at the doorway, Kyoko looked out and gave a weak smile. Yashiro. The manager had already interacted with Kuon before and after the interview and it was more than certain that he wouldn't be taking back his friendship with the actor turned animal but wasn't it strange and uncomfortable for him. Kyoko opened the door before dropping into a bow.
"Good morning," she said politely before standing to see Yashiro give her the same good morning bow. "Is there -"
"The president wanted to see if I could come over here and talk to Kuon," he said and Kyoko hesitated. She didn't see why not but she was scared of some of the president's plans even now. She had had years of working at LME and still the wild activities of the president still seemed to give her pause.
"I'll go get him," Kyoko said before going into the bedroom.
Yashiro sighed as he sat down and rested his bag against the sofa. He looked down nervously. He didn't really know whether to tell Kuon or not about the numerous job offers that he had waiting for him at the agency and although they were using him as a dog who usually didn't earn much money, they were offering him quite lucrative offers. There were also those people who were speculating that there was some curse or dark magic that had befallen him and that was what was making it so that he appeared to them as a dog. A small number of people even believed that there should be a cult to follow his teachings although even Yashiro wasn't sure of what teachings those would be.
Yashiro closed his eyes and then looked up as he heard panting and the sound of paws. This was strange but he reached a hand out to pet Kuon's head. "Is that weird?" he asked and Kuon sat in front of him.
"I've gotten used to it," Kuon admitted, "You have to get used to it in this condition. I mean, if you did it to me as a human, then I'd be concerned about that."
Yashiro laughed weakly, he looked at Kuon who was sitting in front of him, gazing at him with those same emerald eyes and that disciplined actor glance. He sniffled and Kuon paused.
"I'm sorry, you have allergies, right?" he asked as he took a few steps away from him and Yashiro sighed.
"Allergies can be dealt with. How can I find another best friend?" he asked before sitting down on the floor with Kuon. "So, I wanted to talk to you about your acting opportunities."
Kuon nodded. "I want to act. I feel that I still have that rush in my as an actor, that need to perform either on the stage or on screen but I won't get the roles that I've gotten before. I know that most people won't want to work on stage opposite a dog but there are roles that have dogs in them."
"And so, it'll be our goal to get you as many of those jobs as possible," Yashiro said. He took a few papers out of his bags, "there were also a lot of emails and phone calls that I received for interviews and talk shows and even a reality show. I don't like the idea of dog fighting though."
"Someone actually wanted Kuon to dog fight?" Kyoko asked and Kuon looked at her with a weak smile. He didn't think that he'd be that skilled against another dog. His usual kicks and punches wouldn't work with four paws. Kuon steadied himself before running at the wall and tried to do some stage combat. Kyoko stared at him and then turned to Yashiro who had his mouth open. Somehow even that had carried over to this canine form.
"That was really impressive," Yashiro said in awe and Kyoko rushed to hug him. She let her hand go over his back and pulled him in for an even warmer embrace, her heart beating proudly because of the love she had for him even in this animal form. She looked up to see Kuu taking in everyone and wondered how long he had been awake for.
"Ah, hel-hello" Yashiro said as he scrambled to his feet and Kuu smiled to him, wishing him a good morning before going to Kyoko and Kuon. He put a hand on Kuon's forehead acting quite protective of him.
"Sorry, I was hoping that Kuon and I could go for a morning walk together. I didn't want to interrupt anything here. I'm just…I'd like to spend some private time with my son," he said and Kuon watched him nervously. Something about the way that Kuu was acting wasn't quite right. Kyoko had a feeling that whilst she and Yashiro were trying to focus on the positives, Kuu was more concerned with the other side which were the dangers and difficulties that were now part of his son's life. He didn't want his son to be a laboratory animal or a test subject.
"Kuon, can we…" Kuu said as he went to go get the collar and leash.
"Dad, I think that…" Kuon said as he turned back to Yashiro and Kuu sighed. He was definitely interested in what kind of job offers his son could now get and the way that many people wanted for him to work for them but that just increased the danger. If Kuon wasn't able to protect himself, people could steal him and put him on tour just to make money for themselves.
"It's okay," Kyoko said and Kuon nodded, feeling her kiss the top of his head again before he went over to his father and let Kuu put him on the leash before gesturing for them to leave and go to the park. There would no doubt be a lot of people on the street but maybe this would help Kuu explain his point to him.
….
….
Kuu took Kuon over to a bench where they were turned away from the majority of the people at the park. Fortunately not too many people were awake and so there had only been a few people who they had passed by. That meant fewer pictures of Kuon were taken and posted online.
Kuu looked to his little boy, it had taken him time to accept that his son might not be able to not break this form which meant that the acceptance for him in this form would take longer. He gently rubbed his belly and gazed down at him. "Are you happy?" he asked and Kuon sighed.
"I don't know if I can be happy," he replied and Kuu nodded slowly.
"And that's because you're a dog?" he asked and Kuon nodded again. He took slow breaths and Kuu pulled him into his lap. Kuu gently pet Kuon, scratching him behind the ears as well. "Kuon, someone did this to you. They did this for a reason that I'm sure has more to do than wanting your wife to go out on a date with them and then we find the cure and there's only enough for one. That means that there is more cure out there," he said and Kuon closed his eyes.
"I'm being selfish, I know," he commented and Kuu opened his mouth to argue but he could see the pain that his son was going through and knew that silence would probably be better right now. There was a lot more under the surface of what Kuon was saying. "About…everything."
"Listen, I just want your safety. You're my son, I just want you to be happy and healthy and safe whether you're a human or a dog," Kuu tried to tell him and Kuon looked at him.
"If I did want to leave Kyoko, would you be able to take care of me? I don't know if I can do that by myself anymore."
Kuu stared at him before nodding silently. Hopefully the two would be able to figure this out.
End of Chapter Thirteen
Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated
Thank you for the reviews on Chapter Twelve
Brennakai, H-Nala, Paulagato