A Whisker Away: A Dog's Tale (ONGOING)

Whisker 1: Bully

Whisker 1 | Bully
[3rd Person POV]

Many Years Later...

"Are you ready to go to school?" asked Miyo Sasake to her only teenage son while looking at him, smiling.

"Again?" irritatedly asked Kazuya. He seemed to be very aggravated upon hearing the word "school", knowing that all he had to do is to do countless school works and examinations really tires him out.

Hinode Kento, the father of Kazuya, seem to be quiet when all of the sudden, he put his mug of coffee down on the table and stared at the boy, "You have to, it's for your future. Remember my stories about your mother who is very energetic back on our days. She is used to be called Muge for that." a small chuckle can be heard across the room.

"Muge?" Kazuya innocently asked.

"Y-you heard nothing, come now. You will be late for school," said Miyo Sasake to change the topic. She glanced at Kazuya to give him a warning look.

"Tch, fine. I'll just go so that I can do something outside this home." Kazuya said as he thought that he'll be graduating high school in a few months. "Oka-san, please prepare my fave dish for dinner. I'm craving for it again."

Sasaki shook her head, smiling, "You really love Teppanyaki so much." Kazuya just nodded in response.

"Ittekimasu."

"Itterasshai."

He left the house but before he do, he checked on his dog, a shiba inu, which he never forgets to feed. The dog is always with him since childhood, which made Kazuya a dog person.

"This dog could really be a good weapon for Kajiyashiki Neiko's fear of dogs," laughed Kazuya.

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When he reached the school grounds, he immediately searched for a specific girl with a shoulder-length braid, wearing a pair of glasses. He was able to find her in a speed of light, walking towards the main entrance of the school building.

Kazuya immediately ran while swinging his bag towards the girl and things went too fast, the bag made the poor girl fell down the ground. All the other students gasped as Kazuya Hinode approached the poor girl, laughing.

"Seriously, Kazuya?" Neiko asked.

"Oh, are you okay? I didn't mean to," smirked Kazuya.

Neiko stood up while a second girl came in to help Neiko remove the dirt from Neiko's clothes.

"There you are again, Hinode-kun. Bullying Neiko out of nowhere. At this moment, I can really report you to sensei," said Aimi.

Kazuya just let out a chuckle and left the place.

"Are you alright?" asked Aimi to Neiko.

"Yes, I'm fine. This always happen. Like everyday, it's still a mystery to me why Hinode Kazuya bully me when I haven't done anything wrong to him."

"I bet it's because you don't fight back. You know what, let's just report it to Miyo Sasake-san, his mother. Maybe things will change then," smiling Aimi.

Neiko immediately shook her head, "No, I can't bear ruining a family because of me."

Aimi just shook her head on disapproval, decided to pull Neiko towards the school building for classes.

Neiko managed to remove all the dirt on her skirt after putting a little amount of water to wash them off. She sighed on the thought that another day is ruined but thinking about what Aimi said, she may be too soft to report it to Kazuya's parents.

She then left the comfort room and came back to her classroom. The classes immediately start and sometimes, she catches Kazuya teasingly looking at her like anytime, he will start throwing crumpled papers at her face.

"What does he want?" she asked herself. She decided to atleast confront him nicely, probably later after school. Hope he won't do his dirty tricks to her again like back then.
 

   
  

 
"Kazuya, thank you for coming," she said to him as he approached her at the rooftop.

Neiko can't sense how Kazuya seems to prevent her stares for she thinks about the right words she'll say... not wanting any misunderstanding.

"Why? Are you pulling a prank on me now?" His voice is beginning to vanish like thin air, "I know you can't do that, hahaha." He laughed nervously.

She gulped before asking the question she has been meaning to ask two months ago.

"Why are you bullying me? Did I... do something wrong to you?"

He raised a brow. After seeing this sight, she immediately looked down to her feet while feeling her hands shaking out of nervous.

Silence filled the place, as if both are thinking of what to say.

"Don't you remember how you look at my dog with disgust?"

"Your dog?" she raised her head with shock, "I have allergies, I can't stand getting near your dog because of my condition. And, I didn't look at him with disgust, it's just... I can't stand it when my allergies attack," she defended.

"I hate people who lies," he whispered and walked away.

Neiko haven't been able to say a single word. She exclaimed mentally on how he didn't even believed her! Should she really go near his dog and let her allergies attack her so he would believe?

After a moment, she nodded on my thought. "All those months he bullied me, was because of my allergies and my sudden need to run away from the house because I'm afraid I would make his family worried for my condition? All that because of a school project in the past?", she thought to herself.

She went home feeling all sorry for herself for being weak. Knowing that Hinode Kazuya is a dog person, she should've stayed away in the first place. She just can't because there are times that both needed to interact for school purposes.

"Tadaima," she said as she remove her school shoes to go to the kitchen.

"Okaerinasai. How's school?" answered her mom, a gentle looking woman, currently making dinner.

"All good. Where's Yoshi?"

"Ah, your black cat? She's in your room. Probably laying down your bed again," said her mom as she shook her head. She's probably thinking about all the fur.

Neiko chuckled, "it's okay, oka-san. I'll be going upstairs now."

"Okay, come down for dinner later."

"Yoshi~" I called for my cat. She immediately went down from my bed to come to me, "Aw, are you okay? Are you hungry?"

"Meow~," she answered as she purred while Neiko pet her gently. She gave her the right amount of food from the shelf when her phone rang.

Text Message

From: Aimi
Msg: I can't stop thinking about what that Hinode Kazuya did to you, can't we just tell his parents or atleast sensei? 💢

She suddenly thought of Hinode Kazuya. He probably hate cats, or that's what she thought. But now that she knows why he is bullying her for a long time, and the reason is just a misunderstanding, Neiko will definitely make him realize that what she's saying is true and make him pay for what he's done to her.

Text Message

To: Aimi
Msg: Don't worry, I'll handle this myself.

To be continued...