a/n: um, so I'm sorry about the delay, but I was really self-conscious about this drabble. I might go back and replace it later with something else, but it's been sitting in my doc manager for two days so i'm saying enough is enough, lol. It feels like I'm always doing the same thing in each one, but hey, Rin is the kind of person to help those in need, especially if they don't have a voice. Idk what Japan's animal cruelty laws are, so this isn't meant to be taken as realistic. Thanks for reading. :)

December Prompts / Day 3: "Who did you say that was again?"

His tail was flicking back and forth in an annoyed manner that was reminiscent of a grumpy cat. Shima tried to ignore it at first, attempting instead to focus on his studies—his last test grade proved he needed to step up his game, after all, lest he make it even worse—but it was smashing around like a whip, striking the ground over and over again with brute force. It was a distraction that was kind of difficult to ignore. Especially when he, Okumura-kun, and Izumo-chan were the only ones here, having been ditched by the rest of their classmates in favor of grabbing some food.

They were in the middle of a secluded park, somewhat hidden by the playground equipment but not completely. Usually, when they were out in public like this, his tail would remain safely tucked in his shirt, out of sight. But it was out in the open now for passersby to see, which meant one thing:

Okumura Rin was pissed.

"Okumura-kun?" he called out softly, brows raised. "What's, uh, what's the matter?"

Okumura-kun was scowling. The textbook in his lap had long-since been abandoned, and his hands were clenched so hard his knuckles were white. "Over there. Don't you see it?"

He nodded his head toward the edge of the park where the trees started, and Shima blinked. And blinked again. When he saw nothing, he turned back to his classmate in confusion. "See what?"

Oops. Wrong answer. This was proved when Okumura-kun jumped to his feet, the textbook tumbling uselessly to the grass, as he seethed quietly. "There! She tied up her dog to that tree and she left it there! Without water or food! On a hot day like this!"

Shima winced, sending a pleading look toward Izumo-chan for help, only to find that she was completely ignoring them, buried deep in her assignment. Gulping, he looked back at Okumura-kun. "...who did you say that was again? That left... the dog?"

"I don't know who it was, specifically," Okumura-kun went on, crossing his arms. "I just saw her tie it up and assumed it was temporary. But it's been an hour, Shima! An hour! Actually, you know what? Fuck this. I'm going to get it."

He raced off without another word, running so fast that it took Shima by surprise. He watched him go for another few moments before turning to the only other classmate who hadn't left yet. "Um, Izumo-chan?"

She didn't look up.

"Izumo-chan? Hey, Izo—"

"Ugh. What do you want?" she snapped, aggressively putting her pencil down.

He chuckled nervously, a bead of sweat gathering at his brow. "Uh, do you think it's a good idea that Okumura-kun just ran off? I mean, Bon and the others will be back soon and—"

"He'll come back," she said flatly but offered no other elaboration.

"Ah... right."

Shima wasn't so sure. He craned his neck to see if he could still see Okumura-kun. At first, he couldn't, but then something in the distance caught his eye. Sunlight glinting off metal. Shima squinted.

Ah. That must have been the dog Okumura-kun was talking about. But then that meant—

"Shit," he hissed, closing his textbook. "He's actually going to bring it back here."

Izumo-chan rolled her eyes. "He said he would, didn't he? What did you expect? This is Rin we're talking about."

That... was true. Shima pondered over this for a moment, blinking owlishly, before he frowned. The poor thing. He didn't like getting into potentially troubling situations—because what if the lady Okumura-kun saw came back was mad that he'd untied it?—but no animal deserved to be chained up for an extended period of time. It wasn't too hot, but the sun was out and it was relatively warm. It had to be thirsty by now.

One thing was for sure: Okumura-kun looked significantly less angry as he slowly guided the dog over to their study group. As he neared them, he could hear Okumura-kun cooing, "...have some water for you, girl."

"Is it ok?" Shima asked, swallowing. The change in his attitude was almost jarring.

"Yeah, she doesn't seem hurt or anything," Okumura-kun answered. "Probably just hungry or thirsty. Isn't she cute? We'll find a place for you to go, don't worry, little girl. Hey, Shima, hand me that water bottle, please?"

Shima blinked again. "Uh... yeah, sure."

Izumo-chan spared them a curious glance but stubbornly looked away when Shima caught her looking. He started to grin, but when he met Okumura-kun's eyes, that image of his tail thrashing around flitted through his mind and it faltered.

He wasn't scared of Okumura-kun, not really. The kid was like a kitten on most days.

But getting on his bad side was out of the question.