One of my friends drew a picture of Isa with a particular pupper (they drew the picture that is the cover, thanks Lico!), and I had to write a one-shot!
Enjoy!
Kingdom Hearts © to Disney and Square Enix!
Kosho
"Three hinges, two doorknobs, and a can of wood stain."
Isa muttered his list under his breath as he walked through Twilight Town. Fixing up that old mansion by himself was no easy task. With Lea at work and the two kids at school, the job fell mostly upon his shoulder until the weekends.
Two weeks before, he'd found himself waking up in the lab in Radiant Garden, recompleted once again.
This time, he was staying that way.
He'd arrived at the mansion to find the three sleeping in sleeping bags and eating takeout for every meal.
For practically being their parent, Lea was not good at it.
The kids weren't even enrolled in school yet.
Isa fixed that within a day.
Kids enrolled. Check.
Everyone given their own room. Check.
Lea got a job. Check.
Fixed the mansion. … still in progress.
He'd started with the bedrooms, Xion's first. He made her room soft, and comforting, just how she wanted it. Roxas wasn't particular on much except for having shelves to put all the stuff he collected there; the boy liked to bring home everything. Lea's was pretty easy; just lots of black accents on soft orange walls. Isa kept his room simple. Cream-colored walls, lots of plants, and ocean-colored accents.
The work kept him busy every day.
Not that he didn't enjoy doing it. Building and designing things was actually really fun and relaxing to him.
But he was alone.
Solitude was fine at times, but too much drove him out of his mind. He just needed someone to talk to, some company during the day.
Lea suggested he find a girlfriend. But he just wasn't interested in dating.
Bang!
The alley beside him rang with the sound of a trash can falling over.
Peaking into the alley, Isa saw a hindquarters and a tail sticking out of said overturned trash can.
A dog?
The dog backed out of the can, it's head stuck in a takeout box. It shook the box off, leaving behind a mouthful of noodles.
"Hey there…" Isa knelt down, speaking softly.
The dog paused, staring at him as the man held out a hand.
"Come here. I won't hurt you."
Whimpering, the dog backed away slightly.
Reaching into his pocket, Isa grabbed his protein bar. Thankfully, not a chocolate one. He unwrapped it and held it out. "Come here. Come on. I won't hurt you."
The dog sniffed the air, inching closer to Isa. It sniffed the protein bar before taking a bite. Isa reached out, running his hand through the soft, but very dirty fur of the dog.
"That's better, isn't it."
The dog finished off the treat, leaning into Isa's hand as the man scratched him behind the ears.
"Are you out here all alone? Well, I can't let that slide, can I."
A cord, a busted up electrical cord, hung from another trash can. Isa took the cord, tying it loosely around the dog's neck.
"You need a good home." He sniffed. "And a bath." He stood up, the dog, tongue lolling out of its mouth, trotted alongside him.
"Are you joining any clubs, Roxas?"
"No. Hayner has talked about starting a Struggle club, but there's paperwork involved and Olette refuses to do it."
Lea laughed. "Lazy friend you've got there. What about you, Xion?"
"Well… I'm thinking about joining the drama club. Ms. Jessie and Ms. Folia really think I should join."
Roxas pushed open the mansion door. "Why do you want to join a club anyway? It's just more time at school."
"Doing fun thi-"
Laughter.
The sound of someone laughing wafted down the hallway.
More importantly, it was Isa laughing.
"Isa?"
Following the noise, they came to the bathroom connected to Lea's room.
The door hung partially open, allowing them to easily push it to reveal the scene inside.
Isa knelt by the bathtub, laughing as a black and white mottled border collie licked his face as Isa attempted to give him a bath.
"What the heck is going on?"
"Oh," Isa finally pulled away as the dog settled, staring at the new people, "I didn't hear you come in."
Xion let out a happy squeal. "You got a dog!?"
"This is Kosho." Isa laughed, petting the dog's wet head. "I found him today, and I could use a friend around here when all of you are gone. He's a good boy."
Xion virtually flung herself at the dog, petting his wet head, much to Kosho's delight. "Such a good boy! Who's a pretty boy!? You are!"
Kosho barked happily before licking Xion's chin. He jumped out of the bathtub, soaking both Xion and Isa.
But no one cared.
After an hour of trying to dry Kosho with a towel, Isa sat by the fireplace in the study, braiding his hair hanging over his should to dry. He heard the patter of feet as Kosho, having run around to sniff and explore the mansion, came back to his side.
"What do you think, boy?"
The dog laid down beside him, basking in the warmth of the fire, as Isa ran his hand down his back. Kosho closed his eyes, resting contentedly.
Isa smiled.
Now, even in this big house, with the others out and about, he would never be alone.