| Born from the Heart |

t w o

"Children! You've arrived earlier than I anticipated. Good morning!" Gara beamed, her wrinkling smile filled with joy after seeing them both.

"Good morning, Gara-san."

"Good morning, ma'am."

Ren and [Name] stood in front of the doorstep of Gara's house. It was their first stop of the agenda for [Name] to familiarize herself with the town. "The town is rather small, but I bet you pair would want to maximize your time to explore, so I'll just call dear Jones out." She slightly closes the door as she goes back inside.

"Jones! Come here boy!"

Barking can be heard rather faintly behind the door.

Gara opened the door again to reveal a small brown ball of fluff by her feet, which she picked up with her arms. The dog had their tongue out, panting in excitement. His rounded eyes staring at the two teens in curiousity. It was a poodle.

"Dog." [Name]'s eyes lit up at the confused animal. She walks closer to the brown fluff and bent over a bit, putting her face near him. The dog sniffed her nose before licking it, tickling her. She giggled rubbing her nose, before standing straight again. "Adorable."

Ren holds his arms out, which prompts Gara to gently pass the dog onto his hold. He looks down at Jones, whom he was now carrying. Jones started to sniff Ren's sleeves. Realizing who he was, his tail started to wag and happily barked at a familiar scent, looking up.

"Hi Jones, did you miss me?" A bark was his response. He pets him, feeling warmth from the dog's affection. Ren finds himself missing him too after being in the city for the summer.

"He surely a lovely dog. I haven't seen one until now."

"Really? Are there no dogs in Tokyo?"

"There are." Ren cuts in, "She hasn't been able to really see one up close is all." He looks back at the year prior to this, recalling [Name] rarely went to the overworld as she usually preferred to reside in mementos, not until the summer trip anyway. She hasn't seen much of the world yet, but she has a better understanding of shadows more than anyone.

"You should come over more often so you can interact with Jones more then! I think he loves you instantly."

"Bark!" His tail wagged faster.

"Aww.. I think I love him too." [Name] says, nodding, despite not entirely grasping what she meant. "What kind of dog is he? He's very small for a dog, isn't he?"

"His breed? He's a poodle. Dog sizes may vary depending on their breed, sometimes they're mixed. I got Jones from a gift from one of the townspeople because they wanted to express their gratitude -- I wasn't expecting it, of course, he really didn't need to." Her eyes soften when it lands back on the brown poodle.

"But I'm very glad now that he did, Jones is a very loving companion, aren't you, Jones?" She scooped her dog back into her embrace from Ren's hold and proceeds to snuggle the dog, baby talking to him.

"I'm glad I met Jones! I'll visit whenever then ma'am!"

"Gara-san is quite alright, dearie."

"G-Gara-san!" She corrected herself right after her statement, Ren laughed quietly at her antics before putting a hand on her shoulder. "Our day is rather long today, we'll be heading off and just wander around the town Gara-san. Sorry to cut this short."

"Oh hush dear! Ren, you're too polite sometimes, don't you know? Let this old woman be and enjoy your date!" She giggled, his eyes widened, cheeks tinted red.

"It's not-" Gara closed the door before even letting Ren finish his protest. He sighed, his shoulders dropping in defeat.

"What's.. a date again?" [Name] asks, scratching her head, looking at the now flustered Ren, as they were walking towards the gate. "It's when two people who like each other hang out, basically."