A/N: For Koromaru.
Chapter 29
Different
The dorm was quiet. Everyone was tired from the heat but the leader was not. Minato was bored. That's the only problem.
Watching movies with one of his dorm mates didn't help, but being at home and bear with the rest didn't help either. Modernism? Willpower? Kung Fu? Please don't be that kind of thing again. Minato went down the stairs and immediately heard a dog's greeting.
"Arf!"A bark made the quiet dorm more lively. "Arf arf!"
As if waiting, the blonde came dashing to the foot of stairs. "Minato-san!"
The android extended her hands to the sides, blocking the way. "Koromaru has an intense desire to go somewhere," Aigis said. Her blue eyes were shining. "Furthermore, it appears that if he does not go today, he will not be able to go at all. Please listen to Koromaru's request!"
"Arf!" Koromaru came sitting beside the robot's leg, his tail wagging. His big eyes stared at the boy like there's no tomorrow.
Finally. Something... interesting.
"Let's go to the theater," Minato said.
"Arf! Arf!" Koromaru ran around in circles.
Aigis nodded. "Koromaru is very happy. I, in turn, am happy for him."
She paused and looked at him without blinking. Minato knew what it meant. The mechanical maiden was thinking something and considering if she should do it.
"Oh yeah. Dada da da Dadada da da," Aigis sang, her voice less robotic than usual. "Baby baby. Dadada da da Dadada da da..." Still sounded mechanical, but good enough to lighten her leader's mood.
Minato and Koromaru planned and prepared to leave.
Aigis saluted him. "I hope your operation is successful."
The boy and the dog went down to the film festival. Today, they're showing the last episodes of the popular serial, True Battles of Real Men. Minato Arisato, the SEES leader, was going to sneak into the theater with a dog.
"Arf!" Koromaru's tail wagged in excitement, not knowing how cruel society could be. "Arf! Arf!"
There're girls. There're rumors. There's life, and you only live once. Minato nodded to himself before entering the movie theater with Koromaru.
…
"No dog is allowed. Please leave."
"He is a realistic doll."
"He is not allowed. Leave."
"He won't make any problem, I promise."
"No exception."
"He is clean. A Shiba Inu is a clean breed who always lick his own paws."
"Leave."
"... I have a ticket for him, bought by my own pocket money which I have been saving for the past four months."
"Again, please leave."
"Why is this world so unfair? Humans are animals. We're no different than each other. Even with a ticket, he has no rights to enters and enjoys things in life? Who has the right to decide that?"
"Me."
"He could sit on my lap. Please...?"
"Leave."
"He-"
"See that door? Please, just leave."
"But-"
"Leave."
...
"It was an utter failure…" Minato wondered why the guard had to be so cruel. Has something like this happened before? Someone who brought animals to the theater? Totally not thinking about the beanie guy at all.
Koromaru growled. It changed to a soft whine as the dog glance toward the theater.
"Let's go back to the dorm," Minato said.
"Woof…" Koromaru refused to move. His eyes were still glued to the entrance.
"Is it hard to let go... Probably." Minato thought of something. "There's DVD. I can buy it when it's released."
The dog looked up. "Arf?"
"And we can watch it together in the dorm. How's that?"
"Arf!" Koromaru barked. "Woof! Woof!" His tail wagged faster than ever. "Arf! Arf! Arf! Arf!"
He looked at two tickets in his hand. Oh well, he could sell them to other people here. After walking Koromaru, Minato returned to the dorm.
Minato walked with Koromaru that night, along the street from the dorm to the shrine.
"Whoa! Oh, it's a student. Wait, that's a dog!"
Yes, he's a dog, helmet head.
"I lost something important! Dogs are great at looking for stuff!" It was the samurai teacher. "Now listen here, a warlord of the Sengoku era didn't think of dogs as pets, but…"
Koromaru barked and wagged his tail.
"Ooh, you're gonna help me?" The teacher knelt down and talked to the dog. "Really? Seriously? Oh thank you!"
Minato was glad he was left out of the conversation. He couldn't stand the bubbly energy of samurai. This was none of their business and they had no reason to help him.
"Tell you what, if you finds it, I'll let that student know what'll be on the next test! You wanna that blue haired guy over there, right? Good! I lost a USB memory stick. You know what those are? You connect them to a computer…" The teacher explained to Koromaru and he listened patiently. "... I don't care about the data on it. It's just stupid things like test questions… But it's important to me."
The teacher let Koromaru sniffed the helm. "I'm counting on you, Inuchiyo."
Minato stared at the teacher.
"Don't tell me you don't know Toshitsune Maeda! Listen well… during the Azuchi-omoyama period, Toshitsune Maeda was…"
The teacher talked, talked, and talked… There must be some exam in it. Minato tuned it out. Pharos would remember it for him.
"It's just a waste of time, Koromaru," Minato said. He really, really just want to go home.
"Arf!" Koromaru barked loudly. He didn't normally bark like this. "Arf! Art!" Koromaru dashed to the playground and started digging the sand.
The teacher grinned and ran after the dog. "Go get it, Inuchiyo!"
Minato slowly followed them… So Koromaru wanted to help that teacher? It's the first time they met. Koromaru didn't even know that man's name. Why help a stranger?
After a while, Koromaru pulled something out from the sand with his teeth. It looked like a katana.
"That's it!" The teacher rushed there to take it. "That's the one. Ooh, did I just sound like a Sengoku warlord? Goodness, though, I'm so relieved. Good boy...
Koromaru barked what sounded like a 'no problem'.
"Now, to show my gratitude, I should tell you what'll be on the next test," the teacher began. "Listen carefully. I'm giving you a real big hint... Study the Sengoku period."
Minato stared at that teacher speechless while that he walked away and disappeared from his sight. No rewards. No compliment. Nothing. Totally a waste of time.
"Arf." Koromaru wagged his tail. "Woof!" He seemed so happy… Why?
Minato petted his head. The dog squinted his eyes contently.
"Ah… You are happy to help him?" Minato asked. "Even though you don't get anything in return?"
"Arf!"
"Even though he can't remember you?"
"Arf!"
Minato looked at the dog. "... You're kind to every people. Why are you so..." Minato paused.
"Woof?"
"Let's go back for today."
The next day, Minato watched a movie with Junpei. something about superheroes. He walked Koromaru again. Junpei came, too.
"Woof! Woof woof!"
Minato's swinging legs stopped. "… Death?"
"Yeah, that's what she said." Junpei watched Koromaru sitting on the sand. "Yo, Koromaru, your tail's gonna fall off if you wag it too much. Don't wear yourself out, okay?"
"Arf!" Koromaru continued his running pattern.
Minato looked into the distant. "So you are warm like fire. Yukari's chill like wind… and I'm a black flower from hell?"
"Well, she saw it and she drew it. Can't help." Junpei adjusted his cap. "But you're good at darkness skills, right? That's quite fitting."
Minato shrugged. "How could she do that in the first place?"
"Psychic? Six sense? I dunno…"
Minato wanted to disagree, but then he remembered that woman in the club who tell fortunes. There were many weird things in this world.
"I know she's different. Kinda like you, but not really." Junpei grinned. "She's amazing, man. Even if she is my only friend, I won't regret it."
"You don't want me as your friend?"
"No, no no, I mean… It's not that I don't like you, but, to me, she's…" Junpei paused. "Important. Special… and I don't want to lose her."
"Like the movie we've just watched?"
"What?"
Minato looked at him. "You said you like how the heroine understood the hero by the end… Do you feel like she understands you?"
After a while, Junpei nodded. "Yeah. Guess I feel that way."
They watched Koromaru ran around.
"Chidori said you're scary," Junpei said.
"Scary?"
"Scary and dangerous."
"That's new."
"Oh, and what's the usual ones?" Junpei asked without knowing he touched a sore spot.
Minato frowned. Those were only words and they lost meaning the moment they left him. All of those random people. Only Pharos stuck around, and now he had his dorm mates and the acquaintances around town.
"Minato...?"
Koromaru ran back to them and sat. Minato petted his head and stood up. "It doesn't matter. Let's go back."
