The Tale of a Tamer and His Dog God
Ch. 3 – The First Day of Mayhem
-
The first day of school. A day that some people look forward to and others despise. As Kenshin walks down the street in his blue uniform and backpack slung over a shoulder, Kaoru follows as few paces behind, not letting on their current argument. "Please? It's so boring here. I promise to be good." Kenshin stops suddenly, causing Kaoru to bump into him. Startled slightly, she moves to stands in front of the tamer.
"Sorry Kaoru, but you can't go to school with me. You don't have any paperwork saying that you're human. Anyways, I talked with Sano and Megumi and they're going to bring
Katsu and Kamatari so you can hang out with them for the day," he says, continuing to walk. Kaoru follows right behind, slightly hunched over.
"But Katsu is scary and Kamatari is weird."
"Hey you two!" Megumi says, waving at the two as she and Sano wait in their school uniforms on the corner. Katsu and Kamatari are in the background, arguing over something.
"Hey guys. Ready for the first day of junior year?" Kenshin asks, Kaoru watching her two friends for the day continue to fight.
"How can you be so happy about school? I swear that the summers just keep getting shorter and shorter," Sano complains.
"We should get going before school starts," Megumi says, looking at her watch. She turns towards Katsu and Kamatari, who are still arguing. She sighs before talking to them. "Kamatari, Katsu, show Kaoru the ropes." The two stop arguing and look towards them.
"And stay out of trouble," Sano says, giving a wink to Katsu.
"Yes Master," the two say, bowing.
"Don't forget we have class today," Katsu tells Sano.
"Right."
"And we have that mission," Megumi mentions.
"I know." Kenshin turns towards Kaoru, who has joined the other two god dogs, meeting her eye to eye.
"Kaoru, no trouble," he says.
"No trouble," Kaoru says, waving him off as his friends start moving without him.
"I mean it," he says one last time before catching up with his friends.
-
"This is Megumi's place? It's so big," Kaoru comments, looking around the giant beige living room. Katsu and Kamatari sit on the sofa, flipping through the channels of large television.
"Yeah. I'm glad I chose a partner who can afford my expensive tastes in life," Kamatari comments. Kaoru floats over and sits herself on the back of the couch.
"As long as there's food, I'm fine," Katsu says, stuffing another spoonful of cereal in his mouth.
"So what so we do now?"
"Usually we just sit in front of the television and see what's on. Maybe play some video games and get something to eat," Katsu says. Kaoru slides down so she sits on the actual couch next to Katsu and watches the show in front of them.
-
As the two older dog gods watch some sort of daytime game show, Kaoru looks up at the clock hanging on the wall. "Ten o'clock. It's only been two hours." She pulls her eyes away, refocusing them on the screen. Fed up with the boredom, she starts tangling her hands in her hair in frustration. "Oh for crying out loud! It's only been two hour. This is so boring! Don't you do anything fun?" Kaoru says, shooting up from her seat and flying around the house in sheer boredom and stress.
"Like what? Oh. Let's play dress up," Kamatari says, watching the girl and clapping her hands together. Kaoru stops in midair and gives Kamatari a look as if she was saying what in the hell are you?
"No. Let's go out. Enjoy the fact that we have the opportunity to live in this world," Kaoru suggests, floating down to their level, tail wagging in excitement.
"And what do you have in mind?" Katsu asks, interested in what the newcomer has in mind.
"Let's first go to the park and see what happens."
-
The red haired tamer suddenly stops in the middle of his high school's hallway, looking around in search of something. "Is something wrong Kenshin?" Sano asks, stopping his travels as well.
"I just got this weird feeling. I think Kaoru is planning something."
"Come on. She said she wouldn't get into any trouble. Plus, Katsu and Kamatari are with her and they'll make sure that she doesn't do anything." Sano grabs the guy by the arm and drags him through the hallway towards their next class.
-
"Wow. This is really boring to. Where is everyone?" Kaoru says, high a top her perch in one of the trees in the park. Her two companions sit on either side of her looking down at all the humans.
"Either at school or work. The only ones out here are housewives with their kids and old people," Katsu comments, picking imaginary stuff out of his black tail.
"Are you sure no one is going to see us up here?" Kamatari asks, sinking a bit more into the tree so that the branches can cover her. Kaoru looks at her quickly only to shake her head, focusing back down on the park.
"You're such a wimp. Who looks up to a top of a tree this tall?"
"She's got a point Kamatari." All stay silent. Kaoru looks around more carefully, attempting to pick a target that would entertain them all. She suddenly sets her eyes on a pair of old ladies, sitting on the bench and feeding some of the birds.
"There is our first target," Kaoru says, pointing to the bench. The other dog gods following her line of sight.
"Two old women feeding some birds? What are you going to do? Scare all the birds away?" Kamatari asks.
"Just watch." Kaoru kisses her index finger and points it down. "Poof." They wait in anticipation for a few minute and see nothing except what was there before.
"I think you may have missed Kaoru," Kamatari comments.
"Just wait," Kaoru replies, her tail twitching behind her. Suddenly, two of the birds fly up and land on the back of the bench between the two old women.
"Hey there," a small little voice says. One of the women look around, before focusing on her friend.
"Did you say something Rose?" Her friend looks at her, stopping her feeding of the birds.
"No." They both resume their work, until the voice comes again.
"Right here ladies." This time, they both stop and look towards the two birds that are staring back at them, heads cocked to the side.
"We just wanted to thank you for the food, but do you think next time you can get something a bit more fresh. Stale bread is only good for so long." The birds bob their heads around for a few before flying off as the two old ladies scream and jump up from their seats, only to start kicking the birds to scare the rest of them off.
"That was great Kaoru. Who knows what mischief can be done with that one finger," Katsu says, grabbing her finger and inspecting it carefully.
-
During class, Kenshin stares out the window, book closed on his desk. "Why can't I shake this feeling? Only a few days and I think she's driving me crazy."
"Eh hem." Kenshin tears his gaze from the window, to his teacher who is standing only a few inches away, a very pissed off look on her face. "Mr. Himura, is there something you want to say?" she asks, keeping her place in her book with her finger as the rest of the class looks towards the two.
"No ma'am," Kenshin says, opening his book . The teacher looks at him once more before returning to the front of the classroom. Most of the students snicker, keeping their eyes on him. HE sinks a bit into his chair, only thinking about how much Kaoru was going to cause him even though she wasn't even around.
-
"This is great. At first I wasn't so sure about all of it, but I can't remember the last time I had so much fun," Kamatari laughs as she and the other two sit upon a roof top of one of the taller buildings in the shopping district. Katsu kneels next to Kaoru, and bows down so his forehead touches the roof.
"Kaoru, you are a dog god among the dog gods. I bow down to your greatness." Kamatari continues laughing, rolling on her sides as Kaoru hits Katsu in the head.
"I know. I know. So what should we do next?" she asks, looking around at the people below them.
"It has to be something good since this may be the last trick of the day."
"Why don't you make a ghost or something appear?" Katsu suggest.
"No good. People may get suspicious and something like that may get on the news," Kaoru says, flexing her finger to get it ready.
"I know. Why don't you make a piece of fruit or vegetable talk? I mean, those pigeons were pretty funny," Kamatari suggests.
"Alright. That woman looks like a good target. The one with the watermelon."
"Well then. Here it goes." Kaoru points her finger towards the unsuspecting woman and waits for the action to begin. The woman picks up a watermelon, cradling it in one arm, starts tapping on it. She turns it around, only to show a pair of eyes staring back at her.
"Mind not doing that? You're giving me a headache." Automatically, the woman slams the watermelon onto the ground, screaming in fright. Unfortunately, a man was walking his lab who was startled by the flying watermelon. This causes the dog to yelp in surprise and go running off, his owner trying to control him without success. The dog leads his masters into several produce carts, causing them to collapse and its contents to roll into the street and the cars to halt to a screeching halt. The sudden halting causes cars into run into each other and a line of traffic as far as the eye can see. The three dog gods watch with wide eyes from above, surprised at the result.
"This wasn't supposed to happen. What do we do?" Katsu says, starting to panic.
"We run. That's what," Kamatari says as the three dog gods disappear.
-
"See Kenshin, I told you nothing would happen today," Sano says as he, Kenshin, and Megumi walk down the street, back towards the corner where they met earlier that day.
"I guess you're right, but I keep having those feelings the whole day," he says, trying to think of why he would thought nothing went wrong.
"You're probably just paranoid. I mean, you've never exactly left Kaoru alone for such a long period of time right?" Megumi suggests.
"I guess." They continue there way past the stores, listening to other people talk and the news coming from the televisions in the store.
"On a more interesting note today, traffic in the shopping district has finally been cleared, though how it came about is rather odd." Kenshin suddenly stops and backtracks his way to the television with the story of interest.
"Odd?"
"IT seems that the accident was caused by an accident that happened by some stores. The produce fell into a road because several carts were knocked over by a dog dragging his owner after becoming scared when a woman smashed a watermelon onto the sidewalk. Why did she smash the watermelon? Because she thought she heard it talk."
"Kenshin, you don't look so good," Megumi and Sano go back towards their friend as they see a bit of a twitch appearing in his left eye, both hands in fists at his sides. He turns towards them, taking in a deep breath.
"Kaoru!" Sano and Megumi cover their ears at the shout and people around them stop to see what was happening. When nothing happens after a few seconds, they return to what they were doing. Sano and Megumi wait around and are soon joined by the three dog gods.
"Yes Master. Out of school already?" Kaoru says, bowing in respect.
"Kaoru, do you have any idea about this incident that happened in the shopping district today?" he says, pointing to the scene on the television. The three dog gods look towards the screen, then towards their tamers. His question is only answered by silence, until Katsu starts discussing.
"Well you see…"
"Katsu, you had something to do with this?" Sano asks.
"Kamatari?" Megumi asks, starting to get an idea of what exactly happened.
"How could you three do something like this? All we asked was not to get into any trouble," Kenshin starts, pacing in his place, the other two behind him, arms crossed.
"But Kenshin…" Kaoru starts, only to be stopped by Kenshin's finger pointed right at her.
"You be quiet. I know this was all your fault."
"It was part of the vow we made, you remember?"
"Within reason Kaoru. Normal people don't know you guys exist and if weird, supernatural things start happening, who knows what they'll start doing," Kenshin all but screams, rubbing his eyes in frustration.
"We're sorry Master," all three say, bowing to their partners.
"Come on. We gotta get to practice," Sano tells Katsu.
"And we need to go work on mission," Megumi says.
"Yes Master," Kamatari and Katsu say, standing straight again and walking away.
"We'll talk later Kenshin," Sano says. Kenshin watches them walk away, waving back.
"Bye guys." He turns back to his partner, who is still bowed over. He closes his eyes and sighs before walking past her. "We have some more talking about at home now." She gets up and realizing that he's past her, hurries up to him, stay a few paces in back.
-
"It's supposed to show up at sundown, right?" Kamatari asks Megumi, as they wait inside the giant plaza. Megumi waits on the ground, tossing up a few jacks in her hands.
"Looks like it will start setting at any time, so get ready." Kamatari flies up higher, near the roof, her purple tail swishing and ready to attack. After a few seconds, a black cloud appears a few feet away, taking the form
"So, they sent a dog to finish me off. How cute."
-
A tamer and his dog god sit quietly in their small living area, the dog god sitting in a corner watching her tamer attempting to do his homework. "Kenshin."
"I don't want to hear it Kaoru," he says, continuing his work.
"But…" she stops as Kenshin slams his pen down on the table, still not making any eye contact with her.
"I don't get what's with you. You're totally different than all the other dog gods I've heard about. Others usually don't make demands and know about the vow and I've never seen anyone with that thing you do with your finger." And with that statement, Kaoru dismissed her sullen state for a more aggressive one.
"Every dog god has something special about it and that just happens to be my special…" She stops herself this time, looking towards the window, her tail at attention as if ready to pounce. Kenshin notices the silence and sees her in a state he had never seen her in before and gets up from his seat.
"Kaoru, what's wrong?"
"Something's close by and it doesn't look good." The phone rings in the background, calling Kenshin to pick up his cell phone from the spot next to where he was sitting. Looking at the caller id, he sees Megumi is the one calling him.
"But isn't she supposed to be on a mission?" He opens the phone, only to have Megumi speak immediately.
"Kenshin, its me. I need your help big time."
"Where are you?"
"By the plaza. Quick," she says, before hanging up. Kenshin looks down at his phone, then up to Kaoru who seems to have heard the conversation as well.
"You heard her Kaoru. Let's see what you really can do."
-
Kaoru and Kenshin soon appear in the plaza nearby, only to be met with a giant black robe, holding a scythe with two blades and a beaten Kamatari trying to hold it off. "Whoa. That's why she meant quick," Kaoru mentions as Kenshin runs over towards Megumi who is off to the side, holding her left arm.
"Megumi, what happened?" Kenshin ask, checking to see if she's okay.
"Intelligence was missing info. Kamatari and I thought we could take him, but he did this weird thing with his eyes, where they glowed and then Kamatari couldn't use any of her powers. You're the closest tamer I could think of." They turn towards the scene when a loud crash is heard to see Kamatari knocked to the ground. The demon turns around, setting his sights on the other dog god.
"A new dog for me to play with. Won't mind if I do." The demon looks straight towards Kaoru, red eyes appear from in the hood. Kaoru stares right back at it.
"Kaoru, don't look at his eyes!" Kenshin screams, trying to warn his partner. Kaoru continues to stare at the demon as if she was in a staring contest with it.
"Why? He's just staring at me, which I should be flattered by but it is kinda weird."
"Cause they'll take away your powers," Megumi shouts, both humans looking towards the demon, trying to figure out what to do next.
"Take away my powers? Ha! I'd like to see him try. Does it look like my powers are gone?" she asks out loud, snapping her fingers so that a small flame appears on top of it. She crosses her arms, giving the enemy a smug look.
"Why isn't it working on you?" the demon asks.
"Because I'm not your ordinary dog god," Kaoru says, clenching her fists and tail up proud.
"Think you can defeat me? Think again because I have plenty of other talents," he says, charging towards the dog god, scythe up in the air. Kaoru calmly stays in her place, extending her right arm, index and middle fingers together.
"Just try me. Blue Inferno!" A burst of blue flames extend from her two fingers, aimed directly at the demon. As it nears its target, it expands over it, engulfing it completely in flames. As it does so, a loud piercing scream is heard and as it disappears, so does the demon. Kenshin, Megumi and Kamatari on the other side all look at the place where the demon once was.
"Wow. That was fast," Kamatari says in awe.
"Alright. Kaoru 1. Evil demons 0," Kaoru says, smiling and proud of herself. She quickly flies down by Kenshin and Megumi. "So how did I do? Not bad for the first time in a few hundred years?"
"That was amazing Kaoru. I can't believe you have so much power," Kenshin says, grabbing Kaoru by the shoulders and shaking her slightly in amazement. Kaoru chuckles at his actions, knowing she did a good job.
"Aren't you so lucky to have me?" Megumi watches the two converse as she walks over towards her partner.
"How is it possible that Kenshin could get a dog god so powerful that she was able to defeat the monster in one attack while Kamatari and I had problems?"
-
"Chocolate cake! Chocolate cake!" Kaoru says running into their place and placing herself by the small table they eat at, slamming her palms onto the top, grinning like a little kid.
"Just wait a second. I'm pretty sure I have some," Kenshin says, placing his hilt on a shelf on the wall and heading towards the fridge.
"I'm waiting," Kaoru shouts.
"Here you go. For a job well done," he says, walking over to her and placing the slice in front of her.
"Yay," she says, beginning to eat the cake with her hands. Kenshin sits down across from her.
"I never thought Kaoru could possibly have this kind of power. I mean, she defeated that thing with one attack and wasn't affected by those eyes that we're Kamatari's downfall. Why didn't Aoshi know who you were?"
"Huh?" Kaoru asks, who stops halfway through her cake.
"If you're such a powerful dog god, wouldn't have a dog god as powerful as Aoshi have at least heard of you?" Kenshin asks, looking for an answer. Kaoru looks at her cake for a few seconds, before starting to eat it again.
"Because I'm picky when it comes to my partner."
"Then why me?"
"Like I told your uncle, because you're cute. And because I knew you would be easy to manipulate."
"Manipulate?"
"Just kidding. Hey, can I get a glass of milk with this cake?" she asks.
"Sure." He gets up from the floor and heads back towards the kitchen. "I must have done something special to deserve Kaoru."
"Milk boy! Milk!" Kaoru shouts. Kenshin smiles and takes out some milk to give to his partner.
-
As the day begins, students talk to one another about what happened after school. Kenshin, Megumi, and Sano all talk about Kenshin's desk about what had happened yesterday until their teacher enters the room. As she does, the class starts to calm down and take their seats. "Class, today we have a new student joining us. I will let her introduce herself." Everyone becomes excited at the prospect of a new student and wait as the door to the room opens, a familiar black haired girl walking in, dressed in school uniform.
"Hi. My name is Kaoru Kamiya. My family is from Kyoto and I look forward to the rest of the year." The class responds with a hi Kaoru as Kaoru locks eyes with the familiar red head.
"Ms. Kamiya, why don't you take a seat next to Mr. Himura," the teacher says.
"Alright." She adjusts her bag once more before heading towards the window seat to the left of Kenshin.
"And while we're at it, why don't you show Miss Kamiya around the school today Mr. Himura."
"Of course Mrs. Kita." The teacher nods once and begins her get her stuff together, letting the class have a few more minutes.
"Hey there Kenshin. Happy to see me?" Kaoru asks, leaning towards him.
"What are you doing here? How did you convince the school to let you in?" he asks, confused and scared of what may have happened.
"I snuck into the school and saw what files I needed. Then I just made copies of them. I do have special powers after all."
"You shouldn't be here."
"Would you rather have me here where you can at least keep an eye on me, or would you rather I go hang out with Katsu and Kamatari for the day?" Kenshin thinks for a minute, only coming up with multiple scenarios of what could possible go wrong with her.
"Just behave. Alright?"
"You got it."
"Let's start class," the teacher announces, class bringing itself to attention.
"What have I gotten myself into?"