The One Who Speaks Dog( A Norn9 Fanficion)

Chapter 12

It took a little while to get to town, seeing how the Norn was so high in the air. I sat next to Masamune with Siku stretched out on the back seat behind us. I turned every once in a while to keep an eye on her. I looked ahead of us seeing the town in view of the ship. I took a deep breath as I studied the land in front of us. The air on the ship was warm, but I guessed that it was cold outside the ship.  The three of us kept silent, seeing how we were focused on getting to land. The ship's nose tilted down but rose again when we got onto the ground and landed. I held onto my seat at the jolt of the ship, and my whole body stiffened. I tried to keep my breath steady as I took deep breaths. Masamune laughed as he stopped the ship and turned it off. "You not used to the carrier yet, huh?" he asked, as I let go of my seat.  "No, not yet. This is the second time I rode in one," I said, as I unbuckled. I turned to Siku as she shook out her fur and sat on the seat. Masamune looked back at her while he opened the doors. "We might have to look for a dog car seat. Don't want Siku falling across the ship," he said, with a laugh as he opened the doors. "That'll be nice," she thought, as I chuckled. "I might have one at the house or in my mom's car," I said, as I helped Siku out of the ship. Masaume chuckled. "It might be a little too early to let you go home. Mr. Azuma could be waiting there," he said, as I looked up at him. "Oh, right. Forgot that I shouldn't be out right now," I said, getting a little depressed. "I'm sorry Anna. But the time will come. Just got to take it one step at a time. Right?" he asked, as I looked at him. "Right. But I am glad she let me come with you," I said, as we headed toward town. 

We started to enter the town, seeing it full of people coming in and out of businesses. The town was lively and full of conversation. I looked around at the crowd. "Siku, stay close," I thought as I started to follow Matsume through it. Siku trailed behind us, close enough to headbutt me in the knee.  Matsume started to walk through the crowd as he turned to me. "Stay close and keep an eye out. We don't know who's around. Plus it's crowded so it'll be easy to get lost," he said, as I nodded. "I don't have a leash for Siku though," I said, as he looked down at her. "Just make sure she keeps close. Also, try to learn more about your ability while we're here. Maybe you can discover more things about it," he said, as I cracked a smile. "Sounds good," I said, as I looked at Siku, who barked happily. "I'll let you know if I smell anything unusual," she thought as I cracked a smile. Matsume looked down at Siku as he sighed. "Maybe there will be a pet store around. You don't have a leash on you?" he asked, as I shook my head. "No. I left everything at home," I explained. Matsume sighed. "At least she has a collar. We might have to get one. But for now, let's worry about that later," he said, as he started to walk down the street. I motioned for Siku to follow as I started to walk myself. Matsume stopped to look back at me. I stopped myself. "Something wrong?" I asked as he looked at me. "You might wanna put your hood on just in case we run into Mr. Azuma or his group," he said, as he eyed my jacket. I put it on without thought. 

We walked through town as I scanned the road, looking at people that stared at us. With my hood on, I probably looked dangerous. I studied one side of the road, then the other in the search of people in white coats. I kept an eye out but looked up at Matsume as he walked normally through the streets. He turned back to me and cracked a smile. "Anna, you can walk more normally. You look like you are in pain," he said, with a chuckle. I stood up a little taller. "Sorry, just a little nervous. That's all," I said, as Siku nudged my hand. I rubbed her ear. "I understand. But you are with me. Plus, we won't be gone long," he said, as he started to walk down the road. I followed without another word. I looked down at Siku as she walked next to me. She looked up at me for a brief moment before starting to scan the area herself. I put my hands in my pockets as we continued to walk down the road. Matusme searched the streets himself as we walked. 

We walked for a little way before stopping.  I looked up at Matsume as he looked around. "It should be around here. Oh, over there," he said, as he nodded to a small tent with what looked like buckets of food underneath it. I followed him through the crowd, still keeping an eye out for anything too weird. I looked up at the tent as we approached, seeing buckets of vegetables under a huge, white tarp. A man with a green apron stood in front of it at a cash register. We approached the tent and the man nodded at Matsume but spoke up when I walked by. "Excuse me," he said, grabbing my attention. Siku lowed her head as she went to growl, but settled down when I took a deep breath, which Matsume noticed right away. The man started to walk in front so I couldn't pass. "I'm sorry Miss. Dogs are not allowed in the tent. I'm gonna have to ask you to keep your dog out here," he said, as Siku growled. I took another breath. "Calm down. He just has a strict rule,"  I thought to settle her down. "I'm sorry sir. She's a service dog," I lied as I rubbed Siku on the head. The man huffed. "I'm sorry to hear that. But I can't allow your dog around the food," he said, as I looked at Matsume. He nodded. I turned back to the man. "I'm sorry. I'll wait out here," I said, as I started to walk out. Matsume lowered to whisper in my ear. "Stay near the tent and keep out of sight," he said, as he walked into the tent. I put my hood on as I found a shadowy area near the tent to relax in. I sat on a crate, with Siku sitting in front of me, keeping an eye on the crowd.

I looked down at Siku as she looked back at me. "I'm sorry, Anna," she thought as I rubbed her on the ear. "Good girl," I said, as she growled in enjoyment. I cracked a smile as I looked back through to the street and watched the crowd. Siku decided to lie down and keep watch, her ears alert. I looked the other way as I saw a dark alley, going into who knows where.  I looked at the opposite wall as I sat my head back and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath as I felt a little calmer than before. "It's so nice to be out here, even if it's in an alleyway," I thought as I looked down at Siku, seeing her still keeping an eye on the road. I rested my head on the wall as I kept my breath calm. I watched Siku for a moment as I closed my eyes and relaxed. I took a deep breath as I started to focus on my ability. I thought about what everyone said about being off the ship and how I should try to learn things about my ability. I took a deep breath as I kept to myself, trying to focus on Siku's thoughts. They were calm like always and didn't seem all that different. I started to focus on if I could connect with Siku's senses. She was calm but when I noticed it, she had no effect on it. 

I opened my eyes as I heard a door crash, then a familiar huff coming from the market. I looked up as I heard footsteps walking out of the tent. I looked down at Siku as she looked out at the street with her ears alert. "Do you smell something?" I thought as she glanced back at me. She sniffed the air. "Your mom's nearby," she thought, which made me perk up. "You didn't have to follow me out here. I will be returning home like I said," my mom's voice yelled through the air. 

I jumped off the crate and looked at the street. "Stay close and get ready to either fight or run," I thought as I put my hood back on. I started to sneak to the road as I clung to the wall. I tried to hide in the shadows as I came out to the road. Siku's mind went blank as she followed. I signaled her to stop as I pressed my back to the wall and came to the corner. "How do I know that you'll return?" a strange man's voice replied. I thought for a moment, before peeking at the market around the corner. There was my mom with a bag of fruit in her hand, as she turned to look back at a man that didn't look familiar. He looked a little younger than Mr. Azuma. He had short blond hair with red highlighted in it. He wore a red hat and a black and white jacket. My mom huffed as she turned to the man. "I will return because I know you'll find me instantly. Do you really think I'm that stupid?" my mom snapped. The man huffed. "You know, we're trying to work with you. Your lucky we'll allow you in town," he explained. Mom chuckled. "Well, you got to keep me alive in order to find Anna, right?" she snapped again.

The man put his hands on his hips. "You could've been in a worse position," he reminded mom once again. I watched as the door to the shop opened and Mr. Azuma walked out. My eyes widened as I saw him. "Don't make a scene you two," he said, as my mom huffed. She looked away for a moment then back. Her eyes met mine and grew. I studied her in fear as Siku growled. "Shh," I said, as I put my hand on her head to settle her. "Fine, let's just head back. I'm hungry," the strange man said, as he started to walk down the street. Mr. Azuma stopped to watch my mom, then followed her eyes. I pulled back and rested against the shop's outer wall, my heart beating a mile a minute. Siku studied me as she cocked her head. "Something wrong, Anna?" she thought as I started to shake. I put my shakey hand on the wall as I peeked an eye around the corner. The three were looking in the alley's direction. Mr. Azuma spoke on his earpiece, then cocked his gun. "Anna?" Siku asked again. I became paralyzed as I studied him, a fear growing within me. "Anna, what's going on?" Siku thought again. "Run," I thought as I booked it down the alleyway, hearing footsteps running down the street.  Siku caught up to me. "What about Matsume?" she thought as I took a turn. "We'll get yelled at by him later. Right now just run," I thought as my body slammed into a wall. I regained my balance as I ran down another alleyway, trying to make my escape.