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Man's Best Enemy-Makoto

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"And remember, keep a close eye on Hana at all times-wouldn't want her getting lost would we?"

You groaned as you remembered your neighbour's words once again. She was going to kill you! You had one job, look after her sweet, little dog Hana for 20 minutes while she went to pick up her grandson, and in less than 20 minutes you had managed to lose her. You had just turned around for a second to put your gum in the bin and the second you loosened your grip on the lease, she ran off.

Guess someone doesn't like you all that much, huh?

Not that it mattered. No, the important thing now was getting her back. Mrs. Hyata wasn't a particularly mean or vengeful person but, as her next-door-neighbour, you didn't want to get on her bad side. You jogged away from the bin hoping that you would find the dog soon; she was pretty small so she couldn't have gone far.

After about ten minutes of searching you began to grow desperate. You'd been around the area where you started and still, no Hana. Asking people didn't help at all and neither did calling out her name (you were starting to get some weird looks too). The main bit of the park, where you were now, had open fields to the right and front, with tennis courts, a playground and a cafe to the right, and a carpark behind. Mrs. Hyata and her grandson would be back soon, not to mention the tall grass and thick trees at the edge of the fields making it impossible for you to see Hana in there, if she was even in there. It wouldn't hurt to try though and if all else failed, you could just move.

With a stressed yet still hopeful sort of determination in your step, you set off for the field in front of you.

The man-made path soon gave out leaving you to tread across blades of grass trampled into a makeshift walkway. It left you thinking, how many people had walked here before you, and how many more would? Had any of them lost their neighbour's dog? Probably not. You sighed, carrying on towards the centre of the field.

There stood a large oak tree with a circle of benches round the stump. The ground was slightly raised giving you a good view over everything as well. As you approached, dragging your feet with both a lack of energy and a lack of joy, you pictured Mrs. Hyata's face when you returned empty handed. She'd have her grandson, Hiro, with her; he loved that dog. Hana would run up to him when he got home from school and run along next to his bike when he rode around the neighbourhood on weekends. There was no doubt in your mind that he would cry upon finding out that she was missing. There'd be a search party and 'lost dog' posters that you'd (quite rightly) have to print and provide rewards for, but even then, all that didn't guarantee that Hana would be found. The poor thing could have run onto a busy road and been hit before the search party was even assembled.

The hopelessness of the situation was starting to weigh you down. You winced at the thought of finding her body, the guilt was making you think in some pretty weird ways. How you wished you had kept your grip just a bit tighter.

A dog yapped somewhere near you-Hana sounded a lot like that when she was excited. She'd start up in the evenings as if to say 'goodnight everyone, sweet dreams!'. It was cute, though the rest of your family didn't seem to think so. You smiled at the thought before your lips dropped back into a pout-there wouldn't be many goodnights if you didn't find her, and with just over ten minutes left, it didn't seem like you would.

The yap sounded again causing you to look up a bit, stretching to see over the military crest of the hill. There was a boy there in a school uniform and he looked like he was bending down to something, something at his heels. Your heart leapt. Sure your perspective wasn't great but that was around the height that-

The dog yapped again.

It was clearly coming from where this boy was in front of you.

No longer so remorseful you broke into a run, quickly reaching the top of the hill only to find exactly what, or rather who you had been looking for-Hana. All thoughts of searches and library photocopier fees dispersed as you dropped to your knees, overjoyed at finding her. You would regret the dirt and grass stains on your school skirt later but for now, hugging Hana close to your chest and never letting her go was the only thing on your mind. That, and the boy

Said boy cleared his throat, interrupting your internal celebration, "Uh, are you okay?" he asked with a more teasing tone that curious one.

You immediately let Hana down and got to your feet, brushing off some dirt and looking up, "Yes, I-I...I'm fine, thank you sir." you cast your eyes back down with the stutter. He hadn't looked this cute from where you were before.

A chuckle broke out from above making you whip your head up, cheeks dusted with pink, "What?" you asked.

"You don't have to be so formal, is all. I don't think anyone's ever called me 'sir', I'm eighteen!"

You smiled, giggling a little yourself. You had good manners, and that's what matters.

"Can I ask a question?" he looked down at you.

"You just did, didn't you?" you laughed as he pouted at your reply, "Okay, okay, go ahead. But a different one this time right?" you held your laughter back smiling up at him.

"Yeah, why did you hug this dog? Is it yours"

You blushed laughing awkwardly, "No, Hana isn't mine, she's my neighbour's. I was watching her and she ran off, speaking of which, I really should get back now..." His face fell after hearing that, not too obviously but you still noticed. It wasn't like you could stay forever anyway.

You reached down to get Hana's leash from his open palm. As you moved in to get it your hands touched, you froze. Looking up into his seemingly innocent, endless green eyes, hands still pressed firmly together the two of you didn't notice the worn leather slip from beneath your palms until it was too late, and Hana had rushed past your ankles back towards the main bit of the park.

Your daze soon wore off and was replaced with the former feeling of panic-this dog really didn't like being tied to you.

You broke away from Makoto turning to sprint back the way you came, though you weren't looking forward to doing it in a skirt and patent leather shoes. As you hurried to race down the hill a strong arm curled around your waist from behind, stopping you mid-sprint. You turned round.

"Hey, um..."

"(Y/n)," you half whispered, shy from the lack of space between you two.

"(Y/n), sorry for not asking, I'm Makoto, by the way. Do you want a piggyback? You'll get there much faster if I carry you, promise."

Though it was important, whether you got there faster or not you weren't going to say no to wrapping your legs around and riding a cute guy. You nodded again and let him bend down to lift you on, firmly grasping his shoulders to steady yourself. And with that, you were off.

You got there pretty quickly leading you to believe he was right. The ride was fun, you spent it laughing and screaming excitedly into his ear, pressed against him and his surprisingly solid back muscles. You arrived, you with an effortless smile across your face and Makoto, red-faced, sweaty and breathless, in front of Mrs. Hyata and Hiro, and little Hana at her heels.

They bid you goodbye, thankfully not questioning Hana arriving before the two of you. She'd figured that Hana had just beaten you back to them, or at least that's what she said commenting on how your boyfriend looked 'really worn out' (this left you equally as red as Makoto).

After the two of them left, Makoto turned to you, "Hey, (y/n), do you want me to walk you home?"

It wasn't that late but still, you agreed, hopping back onto Makoto's back and directing him to your house.

Author's Note

This is a request for @nikkimel5, hope you enjoyed it!