Kanae pulled off her heels halfway across the parking lot. Two hours of fake dating Cedric and the entirety of it spent promanading up and down the halls of LME, smiling at people she trained with as they stared back in disbelief at Cedric's arm wrapped around her waist. She groaned at the feeling of the pebbly parking lot beneath her feet, walking gingerly to avoid her tights rubbing on the blister the marble stairs Lory had installed carved on her heel.
The workman's entrance was dimly lit, only a single bulb hung above the doorframe. Trees in planters on either side rustled in the warm night wind, rubbing their leaves together like greedy old ladies draped in green shawls.
She stood in the center of the light, digging in her purse for her key card, both high heels shoved up under her arm.
Cedric smelled of cranberries and cinnamon. She wanted to know the scent, jot it down as a holiday present idea for Kyoko. There were no cranberries or sea salt now, just a damp earthiness.
The hairs on the back of her neck stood.
"Where are you?" she said, spinning. She held one shoe out, sharp heel stabbing the darkness. She shoved the other in her purse, gripping the doorknob with a sweaty palm.
The beast padded out slowly, its head drooping low to the ground. Massive shoulder blades rolled as it slunk toward her.
"Back!" she said, thrusting her shoe at it.
It was holding something limp and pink in its jaw. Kanae whimpered, twisting the doorknob. Her key card hadn't registered. She dropped her shoe, ripping frantically through her purse for the card. She found it and spun-the door clicked open just as the beast threw its prize at her.
It hit the back of her legs with a disgusting squelch of sound and spit. Kanae gagged, kicking it off. The beast barked. It was sitting, looking at her with a feral grin on its face.
"Woof!" it barked again, nudging the pile of pink slime at her.
"N-no. Bad," she paused, "beast. Bad beastie."
It nudged the pile again, brushing it up against her toes. Kanae squirmed away, tugging the door open. A twist of hips and leap backward and she was inside, skirt ripped, bracing the door against the beast's attack.
None came.
Kanae peeked over her shoulder. The beast had picked up the pink thing and was holding it in its mouth, still sitting. It unfurled with his next sharp bark. The pink carcass was her jacket, mangled and covered in thick spit. She gagged.
The beast stood to its full height. The lamp reflected in its eyes until they glowed like they and not it were the source of the light. It looked almost beautiful, if a hellhound could be called beautiful.
She slid the door open just enough to slip her hand through. "Give it," she said sharply.
The beast cocked its head, slobbery jacket sticking to the fur on the side of its thick neck.
"Now. Give it."
It padded over and dropped the jacket in her hand. Kanae tried not to flinch, snagging her hand and the disgusting cloth back through the gap before slamming it shut. "Shoo," she said.
It laid down in front of the door, glowing eyes fixed on her. Kanae made a rude gesture at it and hammered the elevator call button. It rang out each floor; a full three stories passed before she realized her shoe was still outside.
The beast had his eyes still on her but his mouth lazily gumming her pink high heel. It was as good as dead now. She threw her goopy jacket in the trash and got in the elevator.
Night's breeze pushed the clouds away from in front of the moon as she showered, filling her tiny apartment with the soft blue glow of moonlight. She could spin and touch everything she owned-a hot plate, a mini fridge, a futon, and a cardboard armoir holding her clothes. All of it perfectly organized. Kanae pulled out an oversized white t-shirt she'd stolen from her big brother's laundry basket off her and shrugged out of her dress and into it.
An ear-splitting howl startled her. She cursed, the sound drowned out by a howl begun almost as soon as the other ended.
She braced herself on the frame of her bathroom. A neighbor or two had their windows open and were already cursing at the beast. She grabbed a prepackaged salad from the fridge and ripped it open, taking her frustration out on shredded lettuce.
The chaos outside increased. The howls grew deeper, crescendoing with a slight snap of tone. Kanae turned on music. Someone threw something that splattered and drew cheers. The howling stopped. For a moment, Kanae felt worry tighten her chest. She scowled at herself as soon as the next howl unleashed louder than ever.
Her phone rang. "Hello?"
"Miss Kotonami? You need to come get your dog."
Kanae she sat up like she'd been shocked. "My- no. No, he's not mine."
"I'm sorry miss, but the security guard swears that you were the one who brought him here. You can't just leave a dog tied up outside."
"He's not-"
"I know, I know. Saw you didn't have the pet lease included. I appended it. You'll have some back pay for it, but if you come get him now I'll make sure Zuto doesn't fine you for the damage to the rose garden."
"What did he do to the rose garden?"
"Well, let's just say there aren't any roses anymore. Just holes and roots and stuff."
"Oh good lord."
"You need to come now, miss."
Kanae tapped her fingers on the nightstand, grimacing as they landed in the spill. "Fine," she said. "Fine, right. I mean, no fines. I'll come and get him." She threw on a robe and grabbed her keys.
"I'm sorry," she said to her beautiful, tiny, perfectly clean apartment with no sticky baby handprints and no dirty dishes and never anyone else's laundry before she ducked out in the hallway. It would never be the same again.
The guard stood with feet planted in big bellied disapproval as she scooted out of the elevator. He jerked his head at the back door, double chin wobbling. The beast sprang up when it saw her, scraping a paw the size of her fist at the glass door.
The guard shoved open the door and the beast bounded through, a two-ton cannonball of noise and fur. He barked at everything. He dashed to the front lobby and back, his tail slashing leathery green leaves off the banana plants lining the hall.
The guard's arms crossed on top of his stomach. Kanae could see his fingers itching to write her a fine. She clapped her hands. "Here, ah, boy." The beast skidded, buttocks slamming into a plant and making the massive stone vase wobble. His eyes slammed into her, his entire body suddenly still.
Kanae swallowed. "Here," she said quietly. A scramble of paws and claws on the linoleum floor and she was surrounded by big, damp, smelly dog.
"Not your dog," the guard said, rolling his eyes. "Sure lady."
Kanae smiled queasily, forced to take steps smaller than those in her pencil skirt as she walked surrounded by the beast into the elevator. He completely filled it, his muzzle pressed against her leg and his tail hitting random floor buttons. She waved at the guard as the door shut.
The floor shook with the effort it took the elevator to rise. His feet splayed, trying to find purchase.
"You," she said, wagging her finger at him, "are a nuisance."
He was out and flinging himself down the hallway almost before the doors opened. She hurried after him, casting cautious looks at each of the neighbor's shut doors. The last thing she needed was a noise complaint to top off the night.
The beast stopped his race long enough to dig at the base of her door, fraying the edge of the dull carpet.
Kanae bonked him on the head, pulling her hand back immediately in shock at her bravery. He stopped digging and stilled, looking up at her. She cleared her throat, forcing words. "Listen up, buster. Don't pull this crap inside. I like my place and you're gonna behave or I'm going to kick you out of here so hard you'll find yourself in the dog house."
Golden eyes narrowed.
"It's a joke." She sighed, shoving her key in and twisting before throwing another glare at him. "Bee. Have."
His answering bark was a gunshot. He leapt at the unlocked door and it fell open before him, releasing chaos into her beautiful, wonderful, itsy bitsy apartment. Kanae closed the door behind her and just walked, dropping her robe on the floor, slipping her keys onto the table, ignoring the whirlwind of fur blasting back and forth around her feet in the hundred square feet that made up her apartment.
The beast ricocheted off her futon and into her, slamming her against the wall, one paw on either shoulder. Kanae screeched, bending her neck as far as she could to get away from his hot breath and slobber. The dog woofed, a low, desperate sound, then pressed his cold nose to hers. His mouth followed a second after.
Kanae scrunched her face up, beating at the animal's chest. Her fingers tangled in fur far softer than it should be-and then skidded down firm, smooth skin. She opened her eyes in shock.
And stared right into the wide, golden eyes of a bleach-blonde young man.
"Fucking finally," Sho Fuwa said, right before he collapsed onto her apartment floor.