Underneath the Red Trees

CHAPTER 43: THE SPECTACLE OF THE BOY AND THE DOGS

Touma pushed open the door of his childhood home. It was in a suburb of Edogawa City, Tokyo. The house was not big, but it wasn't small, either. Big enough for a family of five. The interior smelled somewhat of clay and somewhat of wood, with a hint of wet dog to it.

The genkan had somehow not changed at all since the last time Touma visited. Pairs of shoes laid disarranged on the floor. Only one pair stood neatly. Touma put down his umbrella and kicked off his sneakers, incorporating an addition to the chaos. He proceeded inside with his socks on.

In the living room was a woman sat on the beige sofa. She was watching a TV drama. In her middle age, Touma's mother had started wearing her straight hair shorter.

There were five sleeping dogs lying on the sofa with her. All of them were different breeds and different ages. One of them was still wet, a black Labrador. The wet dog smell came from him. He was the only one lying on the floor. His paws were crusted in mud, pawprints still stained the floor.

Touma stood in the threshold of the living room for a while. Since living away from home, he had developed the hobby of staying quiet to see how long it took his family members to notice him.

The Labrador jumped up from and bolted toward Touma. His paws stained Touma's clothes. The other dogs stirred. As soon as they saw the reason for the sudden commotion they followed suit, barking and leaping excitedly.

The dogs pushed him up against the wall, all bounding for a chance to lick and greet him.

The dogs were all strays Touma had collected as a child. The Labrador was called Tadeo. Kuuki was a dark grey sheepdog with one ear and a short tail. Binta was a border collie who was missing a leg. Nami was an Akita. The only dog who had not come to jump on Touma was Maru, a round bulldog who, in old age, had gone half deaf and half blind.

Touma laughed as he tried to push the dogs off him. Other than the dogs, his family also kept a couple of cats, but them being strays, they just came around for food and pets and then left.

Yuna Kirigaya laughed at the spectacle of the boy and the dogs. "I think they missed you."

"You think?" Touma asked when he was finally able to push the dogs off him.

Yuna reached out to him and pulled him down on the sofa. "My beautiful boy, how are you?" There were smile lines around her mouth and eyes.

"Good," Touma said, "Where is Dad?"

Yuna answered, "Working on a new piece. In the back."

"And Sakura?"

"In her room. And your brother..." as she spoke of her younger son the smile fell from her face, in place of it came a withdrawn expression. Touma knew she was worried. After that freak accident, he had been difficult. He was away more without any explanation. He came home late.

Touma squeezed her hand.

"He has been absent since that girl went missing. What was her name? Masuda—I think—or something like that." Yuna shook her head. She chose to change the subject. "How are classes going? Are you studying enough for exams?"

Touma shrugged. Nami decided to come sit beside him, laying her head on his lap. "Everything is okay."

"Just okay? What's the matter?"

Touma let out a curt sigh. "There is this guy."

"You're dating someone?" Nami's head shot up, startled. Touma looked over his shoulder to see his younger sister, Sakura, standing in the doorway. Nami laid her head back down.