Am I dead?
The dog was in blinding pain. She was certain that her right foreleg was broken, and her head felt like it had exploded upon impact with that lamppost.
With effort, she opened her left eye and tried to focus.
A small sigh of relief escaped Chibiusa. The dog wagged her tail, noting dimly that there was precious little in life at this moment to wag about.
"Oh, thank God," an unfamiliar voice said.
She turned her gaze on a tall, athletic woman who was brushing sweat away from her eyes.
She should have been angry. Pure rage had reared its ugly head at more inappropriate times than this. She should have got up and torn her throat out for endangering the life of little Chibiusa. But…
But.
But what? But she was sorry? But she was scared to death already?
But the dog knew. It was not anyone's fault that Chibiusa had stepped off the curb. Blame anyone. Blame her for making Chibiusa preoccupied; blame that stranger for driving too fast at night. Hell, even blame Chibiusa for not looking before she crossed the street.
Killing an innocent person was not going to solve anything. Besides, she doubted she had enough strength to kill a mosquito at this moment.
Overwhelming guilt ate at her guts for ever thinking such a thing. She breathed deeply and winced in agony as her probably broken ribs tightened.
But this was no time to be lying face down at night. With tremendous effort, she righted herself. Instantly, a blinding needle of pain shot throughout her entire body. Tears came to her eyes. She managed to stay standing for five seconds before she passed out.
Haruka was devastated. It was entirely her own fault that this dog was at death's door, that Chibiusa was loosing copious amounts of blood from her arm, and that Odango-Atama was shrieking at her boyfriend about keeping a closer eye on Chibiusa.
Michiru and Setsuna were gone, Michiru to do a concert in another city, Setsuna on a…"trip" to the time gate. Haruka was desperately bored, so she had taken the car for a spin.
And ended up with this mess.
The dog fell into her arms. Without medical attention, this animal would certainly die.
All right, Haruka thought, so this dog needs medical attention. Get it to a vet, you sack of…
Haruka didn't have time to finish that thought. With effort, she lifted the dying animal and put it in the back of her car. The dog was surprisingly light, and now that she looked at it, every bone in its body was showing.
Chibiusa ran up to the car.
"Haruka-san," she began timidly, "it's my fault this happened anyway, so…"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Haruka nearly shouted. "Anyway, I have to get this dog to a vet! I don't have time for this!"
She punched the car in an attempt to control her rage.
At first, Chibiusa was taken aback by this explosion from Haruka, but she noticed that Haruka's eyes were glistening with fresh tears. Whoa. Chibiusa had never seen Haruka cry before. In fact, Haruka's attitude seemed to suggest that crying was for wussies, not for hardened Sailor Senshi.
Without warning, the car sped off into the distance at a speed probably in the range of several times the legal limit.
The dog returned to consciousness just in time to hear the words, "…might as well give her a rabies shot while you're here," and to feel a stabbing pain in her right thigh.
Oh, God, I've died and went to Hell.
She tried to jump up, but the veterinarian held her down with surprising strength.
"Now, Tenoh-san, she should be fine in that plaster cast for a few weeks. Those ribs are cracked a little, so you might want to consider lowering her activity levels a bit until they heal. Oh, and one more thing," the vet said, noticing the dog frantically tearing at her cast, "keep this thing on for that entire period of time." He fitted a large lampshade collar around the dog's neck.
Is this what Hell is like?
But she knew that she was alive. It was just that it was unbelievable. Not only was she alive, she wasn't in pain anymore.
The vet handed the stranger a leash, a pink collar, a tag proving vaccination against rabies, and a rather hefty bill.
The stranger blanched. "Uh, I'll charge this to my credit card."
The dog watched curiously as the stranger signed the bill and muttered, "sorry, Michiru" under her breath.
The stranger snapped the collar around her neck, clipped the leash onto it, ripped the hypodermic needle out of her butt, and lead her out of the vet office.
Perhaps a better phrase would be "dragged her" out of the vet office.
The dog hated leashes. They were an insult to her wolf ancestors. She stood in one spot, with all four feet firmly planted, eyes squeezed shut with the effort. The stranger pulled harder, the dog planted her butt down and took it. The stranger's face was going blue with the effort. The dog started actively resisting, walking backwards and thrashing her head from side to side. The leash was ripped from the stranger's hand.
And the dog went flying.
She was lying in an undignified heap with her butt sticking up in the air; her body had fallen against the desk. She was staring grumpily at the end of the leash.
Without warning, both the vet and the stranger bust into fits of laughter. Irritated, she got up, followed the stranger out of the door, and jumped into the car.
"I guess you don't like leashes," the stranger said jokingly.
The dog just stared at her with murder on her face.
"Whoa, there," the stranger said as the dog bared her teeth, "I'll take it off if you want."
She stopped snarling and let the stranger take it off.
"I…HATE…leashes."
The stranger just gawked at her.
SHIT!
Two times in one night, she had lost it. And she had said it loudly and clearly enough that the stranger could not possibly think she was mistaken.
There was a long, incredibly awkward silence.
"So, uh, I guess I'd better get you home…"
"I don't think that's necessary."
The dog shifted in her seat.
"I've been enough trouble tonight, I think I should leave."
"Are you sure? You wouldn't last very long out there like that."
The stranger had a point.
"It wouldn't bother me, I've got nothing to do at home anyway."
The dog stopped her attempt at escape. "Really?"
The stranger nodded.
"So, what did you say your name was?" The dog asked.
"Me?" The stranger replied. "I'm Tenoh Haruka. What about you?"
The dog pondered this for a moment.
"Me? You can call me…Tenoh Cerberus. Nice to meet you," she said with a grin.
The dog was in blinding pain. She was certain that her right foreleg was broken, and her head felt like it had exploded upon impact with that lamppost.
With effort, she opened her left eye and tried to focus.
A small sigh of relief escaped Chibiusa. The dog wagged her tail, noting dimly that there was precious little in life at this moment to wag about.
"Oh, thank God," an unfamiliar voice said.
She turned her gaze on a tall, athletic woman who was brushing sweat away from her eyes.
She should have been angry. Pure rage had reared its ugly head at more inappropriate times than this. She should have got up and torn her throat out for endangering the life of little Chibiusa. But…
But.
But what? But she was sorry? But she was scared to death already?
But the dog knew. It was not anyone's fault that Chibiusa had stepped off the curb. Blame anyone. Blame her for making Chibiusa preoccupied; blame that stranger for driving too fast at night. Hell, even blame Chibiusa for not looking before she crossed the street.
Killing an innocent person was not going to solve anything. Besides, she doubted she had enough strength to kill a mosquito at this moment.
Overwhelming guilt ate at her guts for ever thinking such a thing. She breathed deeply and winced in agony as her probably broken ribs tightened.
But this was no time to be lying face down at night. With tremendous effort, she righted herself. Instantly, a blinding needle of pain shot throughout her entire body. Tears came to her eyes. She managed to stay standing for five seconds before she passed out.
Haruka was devastated. It was entirely her own fault that this dog was at death's door, that Chibiusa was loosing copious amounts of blood from her arm, and that Odango-Atama was shrieking at her boyfriend about keeping a closer eye on Chibiusa.
Michiru and Setsuna were gone, Michiru to do a concert in another city, Setsuna on a…"trip" to the time gate. Haruka was desperately bored, so she had taken the car for a spin.
And ended up with this mess.
The dog fell into her arms. Without medical attention, this animal would certainly die.
All right, Haruka thought, so this dog needs medical attention. Get it to a vet, you sack of…
Haruka didn't have time to finish that thought. With effort, she lifted the dying animal and put it in the back of her car. The dog was surprisingly light, and now that she looked at it, every bone in its body was showing.
Chibiusa ran up to the car.
"Haruka-san," she began timidly, "it's my fault this happened anyway, so…"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Haruka nearly shouted. "Anyway, I have to get this dog to a vet! I don't have time for this!"
She punched the car in an attempt to control her rage.
At first, Chibiusa was taken aback by this explosion from Haruka, but she noticed that Haruka's eyes were glistening with fresh tears. Whoa. Chibiusa had never seen Haruka cry before. In fact, Haruka's attitude seemed to suggest that crying was for wussies, not for hardened Sailor Senshi.
Without warning, the car sped off into the distance at a speed probably in the range of several times the legal limit.
The dog returned to consciousness just in time to hear the words, "…might as well give her a rabies shot while you're here," and to feel a stabbing pain in her right thigh.
Oh, God, I've died and went to Hell.
She tried to jump up, but the veterinarian held her down with surprising strength.
"Now, Tenoh-san, she should be fine in that plaster cast for a few weeks. Those ribs are cracked a little, so you might want to consider lowering her activity levels a bit until they heal. Oh, and one more thing," the vet said, noticing the dog frantically tearing at her cast, "keep this thing on for that entire period of time." He fitted a large lampshade collar around the dog's neck.
Is this what Hell is like?
But she knew that she was alive. It was just that it was unbelievable. Not only was she alive, she wasn't in pain anymore.
The vet handed the stranger a leash, a pink collar, a tag proving vaccination against rabies, and a rather hefty bill.
The stranger blanched. "Uh, I'll charge this to my credit card."
The dog watched curiously as the stranger signed the bill and muttered, "sorry, Michiru" under her breath.
The stranger snapped the collar around her neck, clipped the leash onto it, ripped the hypodermic needle out of her butt, and lead her out of the vet office.
Perhaps a better phrase would be "dragged her" out of the vet office.
The dog hated leashes. They were an insult to her wolf ancestors. She stood in one spot, with all four feet firmly planted, eyes squeezed shut with the effort. The stranger pulled harder, the dog planted her butt down and took it. The stranger's face was going blue with the effort. The dog started actively resisting, walking backwards and thrashing her head from side to side. The leash was ripped from the stranger's hand.
And the dog went flying.
She was lying in an undignified heap with her butt sticking up in the air; her body had fallen against the desk. She was staring grumpily at the end of the leash.
Without warning, both the vet and the stranger bust into fits of laughter. Irritated, she got up, followed the stranger out of the door, and jumped into the car.
"I guess you don't like leashes," the stranger said jokingly.
The dog just stared at her with murder on her face.
"Whoa, there," the stranger said as the dog bared her teeth, "I'll take it off if you want."
She stopped snarling and let the stranger take it off.
"I…HATE…leashes."
The stranger just gawked at her.
SHIT!
Two times in one night, she had lost it. And she had said it loudly and clearly enough that the stranger could not possibly think she was mistaken.
There was a long, incredibly awkward silence.
"So, uh, I guess I'd better get you home…"
"I don't think that's necessary."
The dog shifted in her seat.
"I've been enough trouble tonight, I think I should leave."
"Are you sure? You wouldn't last very long out there like that."
The stranger had a point.
"It wouldn't bother me, I've got nothing to do at home anyway."
The dog stopped her attempt at escape. "Really?"
The stranger nodded.
"So, what did you say your name was?" The dog asked.
"Me?" The stranger replied. "I'm Tenoh Haruka. What about you?"
The dog pondered this for a moment.
"Me? You can call me…Tenoh Cerberus. Nice to meet you," she said with a grin.