Fikush-ON!

Ch. 38: New Year's Tea, Spiked

"Dash, catch!"

Giving a command, I threw the ball in my hand as far away as I could. I watched as the ball flew above a white, snow covered field, eventually coming down and sinking deep into the snow. My canine companion also showed interest in the ball's flight, but wasn't too keen on actually chasing it. We stood there, facing the field, only the soft noises of our quiet neighborhood filling the air. As seconds passed, I snorted.

"Yeah, ain't falling for that..." I muttered under my breath with a grin. "You're a smart girl, ain't ya?"

The ball, after all, was just a snowball. Despite her lazy nature, Dash likes playing catch, but she's also smart enough to tell a snowball from a regular ball. Not sure if I should feel proud of having such a smart dog, or disappointed of my prank failing... Eh, maybe both.

It was a wintery noon. The weather was nice, though a tad too cold for my taste. But there wasn't any wind, so I didn't mind it too much. The sky was only partly cloudy, letting in some sunlight, sparkling on the thin layer of snow the town was blessed with just last night. Hopefully it'll stick; snowy winter scenery makes up for the freezing weather. Plus, snow makes it even easier to neglect cleaning up after your dog. I usually prefer giving Dash her evening walks, but when I looked out of the window and saw the freshly fallen snow, I decided to give her the earlier walk. Wrapping up my thoughts, I yanked the leash, and Dash and I resumed walking. The weather being this nice, I decided to make this walk a long one, going wherever the streets lead us.

It's been a few days since Christmas. Ever since that day, I've felt... more fresh, I guess. Fresh and happier, I think I should put it. I came to notice how I found joy in things I didn't pay much mind to before, and fewer things managed to piss me off. Just yesterday, Tamiko mentioned that I smile more than usual. Actually, right now as I was walking with Dash, I found myself smiling for no particular reason. Well, obviously there's a reason for that, but still.

The smile, however, soon disappeared as I remembered that New Year is only a couple of days away. Tadaaki and I would be heading off to crash that house party, where we'd meet one of Tsukuda's buddies, and convince him to arrange a meeting. Yeah, Tadaaki has made sure that the dude would be wasted enough to actually oblige, but my pessimistic side made me think if we'd have to persuade him in some other, non-pleasant way... Not that I'd have a problem with that, but it'd just bring us more trouble. Eh, let's just hope things won't turn ugly. Gotta keep my head cool... Oh, and hopefully it won't take too long, since I'd also like to attend Ui's party.

"Arf!"

My train of thought disappeared in a spectacular explosion caused by the shockwave of Dash's bark. Jolting in surprise, I came to a stop. Now, what got her so surprised? Thinking about it, I thought I heard some footsteps, but my gaze – as usual – was pointing at the sky. Turning to look at the direction Dash was facing, I was met with two fairly familiar gals, both taken by surprise.

One of the gals – Ritsu – was holding her hand over her chest, sighing with a trembling voice. "Geez, that shook me up!"

She was accompanied by Mio, who also seemed understandably startled. Dash's barks can be quite loud, maybe because she has so much energy to spare after lazing around the whole day. After getting over the initial shock, and recognizing each other, the atmosphere turned into a friendly one.

"Oh, Eiji-san. Good morning," Mio greeted me.

I nodded for an answer. "Yeah, hi. Sorry for the scare. She usually doesn't bark at people, but maybe she just recognized you two."

During my sentence, Ritsu skittered over to us, crouching down in front of Dash, immediately giving her some scratches behind the ears.

"Oh, you recognized me, didn't you? I'm your favorite, ain't I?", she said to the dog, sounding overly sweet.