The Undesired Second Chance

Chapter 14: Bad News

Something bad was in the air tonight. It was faint, carried only on the barest edge of the midnight breezes, but it was there.

He could smell it, and he didn't like it one bit.

Unable to fall asleep, the dachshund finally had to admit defeat and get up completely. He wrinkled his nose, giving a quiet sneeze at the persistent bad-smell, and glanced toward the window. It was dark, likely still a few hours before dawn.

Three of the other stray dogs that had taken to following him were curled up on their own piles of newspaper or salvaged cushions, undisturbed by whatever sense was bothering him.

Miho, however, was glaring out into the night with suspicion. She had her ears folded back, clearly unsettled by something.

So it wasn't just him, then.

"Anything new?" he asked in a whisper, trotting over to join her by the glassless window frame.

The larger dog shook her head. "Not that I can see," she replied. It was clear by her tone that this frustrated her. "Shouldn't you be asleep, Boss?"

Ignoring her concerned question, he instead said, "I'm smelling the same thing you are." He put his paws up on the wall so he could actually look out.

Miho followed his gaze, recognized what house lay in that direction, then smiled. "Hoh, look at you. Worried for your human?"

He determinedly looked the other way.

This was evidently enough proof for Miho, as the fluffy dog nodded to herself. "Me too."

"I'm not—" he started to protest, but gave up halfway. Because he was worried. "You know what?— Yeah. I think I'm gonna go for a walk."

She cocked her head to the side, surprised. "Oh. I guess... Just stay safe, Boss."

He jumped the rest of the way up onto the windowsill, gave her a quick nod of acknowledgement, checked briefly over what was left of his pack again, then dropped down outside. Landing in a patch of dead grass that prickled at his paws, he set off down the street.

It was a quick trip to the human's house, just one block over. He walked up to the back door, the one connected the room that smelled like fire and metal. Just like the past few days, there was a plate decorated with small shuriken—the same plate from that first night—and on it were a few slices of ham.

He sniffed at the air, and was relieved to smell only ham: the bad-smell was even more faint than it had been when he first noticed it.

With a few chakra-assisted jumps, the dachshund landed on the roof and walked around to the front of the house. Careful not to slip into the gutter, he nevertheless got as close to the edge as he could. Then he went still, listening closely for signs that the human was inside.

Calm, long breaths of someone deeply asleep: the blond man was safe.

He let himself relax slightly.

Now he just had to find the source of that unsettling smell, and make sure it wasn't a threat to his pack... or his human. His.

Jumping back down to street level, he followed his nose back the way he came. It was a little troubling to find himself heading closer to where his pack was sleeping, though, if he had to guess, it would be a few blocks past them. Thankfully.

He couldn't help but remember the animals who had gone missing. It seemed every district had had at least one stray simply vanish overnight. That old tabby-cat, Tora, hadn't ever turned back up. Neither had any of the four gone from his own pack.