But You Don't Care

jyuichi

I woke up late the next morning, and rain was still pouring from the sky in sheets. I sat up and released the small dog from my grasp, rubbing my eyes. Tomomi was still asleep, her cat laying on her feet. I turned to the side and was face to face with Rie, who promptly licked my face. I quickly pulled away, but she followed. I chuckled silently and got out of bed. I grabbed my clothes from yesterday and left to change in the bathroom. Her house seemed very different when quiet. Then again, I'm not exactly used to silence. Rie had followed me around as I bumped into corners occasionally. Such an embarrassing reminder of my nearly useless left eye.

"Clumsy me," I said to Rie. She wagged her tail in response. I pulled on my clothes, brushed my teeth and fixed my hair. I stared in the mirror, very unimpressed with what I saw. Rie nudged my leg, and I looked down at her. She sneezed a bit before walking out of the bathroom. I followed the Shiba Inu and clipped her leash to her collar. I opened the door and stepped out, completely forgetting about the rain. I let out a shriek and pulled my hood up with a struggle. Rie didn't seem to be enjoying the rain too much either.

"Gah, hurry up and go to the bathroom, Rie!" I whined. She just stood there, unsure of what to do in such heavy rain. I heard a few taps behind me and turned. I looked up and saw Tomomi giggling in her window. She disappeared, and the front door opened soon after. She came outside with a pastel green umbrella, still chuckling a bit.

"What are you doing?" She asked, holding the umbrella up so we were both covered. Though, that didn't really matter. I was already soaked through.

"Well Rie only wakes me up when she needs to use the bathroom, and I didn't want Rie to pee inside your lovely home. So I took her out to use the bathroom. She's not having it," I replied, staring blankly at my dog. She continued to stand there.

"Maybe she was just hungry?"

My eyes widened, and I stared into the distance.

"Food?"
Rie looked up at me and wagged her tail. I sighed extremely heavily and pinched the bridge of my nose. Tomomi grabbed my arm and pulled me back inside. Rie shook the water off of her fur. I didn't even bother shielding myself. I pulled my hood down and removed my shoes as Tomomi brought me a towel. I thanked her and dried myself off, then Rie.

"Ah, sorry my dear. It's probably going to smell like wet dog in your lovely home for a while," I apologized. I received a kind smile in response.

"No worries. We have air fresheners for a reason. Come on, let's find something to eat," Tomomi replied to me. I followed her into the kitchen, Rie following close behind. Tomomi stood on her tiptoes to get three plates from the cupboard. She pulled meat out the refrigerator and put it on a plate, setting it on the ground for Rie to eat. She then stared into the appliance, eventually turning to me.

"We don't have anymore fish, and I don't really know how to cook much of anything, so I guess we're just going to eat some rice and miso soup. If that's alright with you, of course."

"Anything is fine! I'm not too terribly hungry anyways," I chuckled shyly, worried that what I said may have been a bit rude. She didn't seem to mind, or maybe she didn't notice. She sent me to go sit as she made us some breakfast, so I decided to go play my guitar. I trotted up the steps with some trouble, and pulled the love of my life from the corner of Tomomi's room. I sat on the ground and began tuning it. Rie found her way into the room and sat down next to me. I strummed my guitar, but it didn't feel the same. It felt like all my muse was gone. I sighed heavily as I looked up at the window. I screamed when I saw the black masked man pressing himself against it, blood smudged on his hands. He seemed angry that he couldn't get in. I scooted backwards and shook my head. Tomomi quickly entered the room.