[ prompt: n/a ]
[ song used while writing: bad_news by bastille ]
[ word count: 1,352 ]
[ date: 4/22/17 ]
[note: kenji speaks in blue, and kenji's master speaks in white, and sophie speaks in very light purple, and takeshi/sakuma speaks in orange.]
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It was a day like any other. Or at least- that's what Kenji had thought.
Both him and his master were awoken by the sound of the alarm clock, the wolf dog's head instantly perking up at the noise. It was not like his master to set the alarm clock, so it could only mean one thing... company.
As his master sat up in bed, Kenji would pick himself up from his spot at the end of the mattress, walking gently over to the man and letting out a whine. "Yes, I know... you don't like it when I have company, but you know how Sophie worries about me." His master would say as he grabbed his glasses from the night stand and put them on his face, turning to Kenji and scratching his head. At this name, the wolf dog would let out another whine, grumbling. Sophie was the man's daughter who came to visit once or twice a month. She wasn't very fond of Kenji and never had been. As to why, he didn't know. "I'm sorry... she won't be here long though, I promise." The man spoke again, attempting to stand. At this cue, Kenji would jump down from the bed and take a few steps towards the door before stopping, waiting for the man to follow.
It was at this moment, his master would stumble a bit, looking as if he might lose his balance. Noticing this, Kenji would rush back over, leaning against him to keep him from falling. Placing his hand on the bed, the man was able to regain himself, immediately turning his attention back to Kenji. "Ah! Thank you, Kenji. You're a good dog." He would praise, resting his hand on the wolf dog's back and smiling at him. This would cause Kenji to let out another whine, looking at his master with concern. "Oh, don't look at me like that! I'm fine... just... feeling a bit woozy this morning. It'll pass." He would reassure him, walking towards the door. Deciding not to worry about it anymore, the wolf dog would quickly follow. His master was probably right.
But he didn't get any better as he prepared for Sophie's visit that morning. Kenji was unable to keep track of how many times he had to help his master regain his balance.
When Sophie finally arrived around noon, his master had gotten much worse. They were sitting at the kitchen table, the man at one end, and Sophie at the other. There was a cup of coffee for each of them on either side, steam still rising from both mugs. As usual, Sophie didn't want anything to do with Kenji, despite his friendly advances (Walking up to her, panting happily and wagging his tail. Usually, no human could resist when he did this, but Sophie was different. She acted like he wasn't even there). The two chatted for a bit, with Sophie doing most of the talking until his master would try and talk. His speech was slow and slurred, almost as if he was drunk. But Kenji knew that he wasn't drunk- he hadn't had any beer that morning.
"Dad? You okay? You don't look so good." He heard Sophie ask. Reluctantly, Kenji would pad over to the girl, pawing at her. "H-Hey, there's something wrong! I don't think he's-" He would yip at her, stopping when she pushed him away. "Quit it." She hissed. She didn't understand. "Ooh yess, I'm fine, jus'..." Kenji's master stopped mid sentence, head drooping. Both Kenji and Sophie had no time to react as he fell off his chair and onto the floor, lying there motionless. This would cause Sophie to let out a scream of surprise, running over to her father and trying to shake him awake.
"NO! NO... no... no... h-he... call an ambulance!" Kenji would whimper as she did this, pacing. "CALL AN AMBULANCE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? PLEASE-" He would start to bark, when she suddenly snapped, standing up and stepping towards him. "H-Hey... stop! What... what are you doing?" The wolf dog would stutter, ears flattening against his skull. The girl would walk closer to him- grabbing him by the collar now.Then, she would start to drag him towards the back door "No, stop! STOP!" He whined, trying to pull away from her, but he couldn't. "PLEASE STOP! DON'T DO THIS! LET ME STAY WITH HIM! STOP IT!" Sliding the door open, she would throw him outside, the force causing him to stumble back against the wooden railing.
It didn't take long for him to recover, running back over to the glass door. Rising up on his back feet, he would desperately scratch at the glass. "LET ME BACK IN! PLEASE!" Kenji would howl. "H-HE'S GOING TO DIE!"
"Kenji? What the hell is going on!?"
A familiar voice would shout from the neighbor's yard, but Kenji barely heard it, continuing to scratch at the glass like his life depended on it.
This was the voice of Takeshi Sakuma, a shiba inu and Kenji's best friend.
"Kenji? Kenji! KENJI!" He would repeat the wolf dog's name a few more times before he would finally squeeze underneath the old wooden fence, running across the lawn until he was by his friend's side. "KENJI! HEY! STOP!" The shiba inu would bark, but the wolf dog still didn't listen. "DAMN IT, KENJI! QUIT IT!" He would snarl this time, jumping up and taking Kenji by his collar. "NO! LET GO OF ME!" He responded, thrashing about. But he didn't let go, not until he had successfully pulled Kenji away from the door. Pinning him down, Takeshi would growl at him once more. "STOP IT, YOU'RE BEING HYSTERICAL! NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU SCRATCH, SHE WON'T LET YOU BACK IN!" He spat, scrunching up his muzzle as he stared into the bigger dog's eyes. "Now calm down and tell me what the fuck you're barking about, or I won't let you go."
"Get off of me Takeshi, he's dying! She's just... letting him die! I-I... I need to get back in there... she has to let me back in... she has to! Let me go!" Kenji would stutter, struggling underneath of him and whipping his head from side to side. "No, she won't Kenji! Look at me!" The shiba inu would snarl. This would make Kenji stop, looking at his friend with surprise. "You know how she is, she won't let you back in. Now calm down and take another look." He said.
Turning his head Kenji would look back through the window. Sophie was kneeling on the floor now, a phone held to her ear. "S-She's..." He stuttered, beginning to relax. "Yes- are you done with your little tantrum now?" Takeshi would ask. Receiving no response, he would step away from Kenji, watching as he trotted back up to the door and placed a paw to the glass. This time, however, the wolf dog refrained from scratching at it, watching what was going on inside instead. "Thank god..." Takeshi would mumble, walking over to join Kenji at the window. In the distance, he could hear sirens- the ambulance would be here soon.
"Takeshi."
"Hm?" Snapping out of his little trance, the shiba inu would look back at the other male, who was still focused on Sophie and the motionless form of his master. The sirens grew closer until the stopped just by the house.
"Do you think... do you think he'll die?"
Takeshi would turn to look back inside for a moment. "Well... he doesn't look good, Kenji-" He started to say before stopping himself, looking over at Kenji. The wolf dog was giving him a sad look, tears in his eyes. "B-But! Maybe... he'll be ok." He said. But he knew, looking into Kenji's eyes, that he didn't believe a word that he had just said.
As the paramedics entered the room inside, the two dogs would watch as they worked until they eventually left, taking the man with them. Nobody let Kenji back into the house. He was forced to sleep outside that night.
