Chapter 5 – Symbiosis
The wind brushed gently through the park, whispering through the leaves like the world had finally exhaled its tension. A single, colourful bug crawled slowly down a long green stem; there was no noise, no voices, just the deep, calm current of nature flowing around them.
Natsuki's eyes met Damon's, two figures facing each other, silent, almost frozen. The air between them was thick with anticipation.
Then—
"Woof."
They both flinched and glanced down. A small, white dog stood across from them, his paws muddy, his tail whipping back and forth like he owned the entire place.
Natsuki crouched down first, her focus instantly diverted. "Aww, where'd you come from, little guy?" she said, lifting him carefully and brushing his fur as if he were a long-lost plush toy. Damon just stared, half at her, half wishing that charged moment from a second ago hadn't ended so fast.
"You're a good boy, huh? Where's your collar?" she whispered gently against his fur.
"I got lucky," barked the dog.
Damon blinked, the world pausing around him. "...What?" he said, the sound barely a breath.
"Escaped the dog prison," the dog added, his tail wagging harder.
Natsuki looked up at Damon, frowning. "What are you mumbling now?"
Damon's eyes were wide with genuine confusion. "You didn't just hear that?"
"Hear what? The barking?"
He pointed frantically at the dog cradled in her arms. "He talked. He literally said he escaped from dog prison."
"Very funny," she said, rolling her eyes as she adjusted her grip. "Don't tell me you can talk to animals now." She started walking, heading toward the street. "Anyway, we're taking him back to the shelter."
"The shelter?" Damon followed, half-running to keep up. "He literally said he doesn't like it there!"
The dog barked again, his tail whipping side-to-side with emphasis. "Yeah, tell her I'm not going back."
Damon sighed, frustrated by her disbelief. "He says he's not going back."
Natsuki stopped, turning to face him. "And I say I've been studying too much fantasy. Come on."
"No—wait, watch this." Damon crouched beside the dog in her arms. "If you don't want to go back, do what I say, alright?"
"As long as you feed me better," the dog replied.
"Hold a paw up," Damon commanded. The dog raised his paw instantly.
"Coincidence," Natsuki scoffed, though her brow furrowed slightly.
"Roll around. Exactly five times."
She frowned deeper. "Damon—"
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. The dog obeyed perfectly, spinning in her arms.
Natsuki blinked, her jaw dropping just slightly in genuine shock. "...You've got to be kidding me."
"I think it's part of the ring," he muttered, looking at his hand. "I didn't even know I could do that."
"Ring?" the dog barked, tilting his head.
"If you can talk to him," Natsuki said, holding the dog close and stroking his white fur, "then I can too. I just can't understand him."
The dog tilted his head back, his gaze fixed on her. "Soft paws. You, feed me."
Natsuki smiled faintly, seeing only the dog's endearing gesture. "Okay, little guy. The 'Dog prison' is that way, my house is this way. Which one do you pick?"
The dog lifted a paw, pointing clearly toward her house.
"Thought so," she said, already turning.
"Fine," Damon muttered, walking with her. "Guess you've got a new roommate."
"Why not you?" she challenged lightly.
"My dad would lose it. Plus, he likes your… paws." Damon smirked, teasing her.
Natsuki stopped again, surprised. "He actually said that?"
"Word for word," Damon confirmed, enjoying her blush.
At Natsuki's house, the air was warm and comforting, thick with the scent of simmering soup. Her mother smiled wide at the sight of the little dog, and even her father—pale, his eyes soft but distant in his deteriorating state—let out a quiet, genuine laugh.
Natsuki's little brother came running in. "Big sis! You got a dog? And—oh." He eyed Damon with too much knowing for his age. "I know what you two have been up to."
"What—? We—" Damon began to stammer in denial.
"Were smooching!" the boy grinned, puckering his lips theatrically.
Damon's face froze in mortified surprise. The entire family stared, even the dog seemed to pause its tail-wagging.
Her father chuckled, waving his hand dismissively. "Ah, young love…"
"Sir, I swear—"
The old man just laughed, cutting him off. "Reminds me of my youth." Damon blinked, stunned that his father's Alzheimer's seemed to have briefly lifted, replaced by some clear, warm memories.
After a few minutes, the dog padded back in, shaking water off his fur with a happy wiggle. Natsuki's little brother cheered, and her mom smiled again. It was a weirdly peaceful moment, the perfect picture of domesticity.
Outside again, Natsuki skipped rope, her movements fluid, while Damon quizzed her for practice.
"What's essential in the almighty formula?"
She missed a step, frowning in concentration. "I—I know this."
"That's why you'll always be second place," Damon teased mercilessly. "You can't think under pressure."
Her head flared with indignation. "Wanna say that again!?"
"I'm good," he replied with a laugh.
The dog barked, watching them from the grass. "You two are pretty close, huh?"
"Yeah," Damon said to the dog, without thinking.
"You humans are weird. You have these intense feelings you so wish to confess but don't. Then one dies, or someone else gets jealous."
Damon looked down at the wise-cracking animal. "How old are you, pipsqueak?"
"Six. Just tell her already."
"What if—"
"Oh, here we go again with the what ifs," the dog groaned. "Humans."
"Next question, ya dummy!" Natsuki yelled, still jumping rope, completely unaware of their conversation.
Later, they were at the funfair, searching for Daiki. He found them first, his head suddenly appearing between theirs as they stared at a game stall.
"Little too old for that, aren't we?" he teased.
Damon jumped back. "Don't sneak up on me like that, man!"
Natsuki smiled warmly. "Long time no see, big boy."
They played a few games, won nothing, but laughed together anyway. When Natsuki stepped away to pay for something, Daiki leaned closer to Damon.
"You told her yet?"
"Told her what?"
"That you're secretly in love with her, that your heart flutters when—"
"Not the time," Damon cut him off sharply, his face instantly guarded.
"It's never the time with you. It's been seven years."
"Technically six, since I realized it a year after we met."
"So you confess?" Daiki pushed.
Before Damon could answer, Natsuki reappeared behind them. Her grin stayed, but only halfway this time, sensing the shift in the air.
"…What feelings?" she asked, her words coming out softer, as if she meant to joke but forgot how the moment she saw his face.
Daiki gave Damon a hard look—the universal tell her look.
Damon looked away instantly. "Eh—uh—nothing."
Then, a wooden box flew through the air from nowhere. Reflex took over as Damon pulled Natsuki in, spun, and took the violent hit on his back.
When he lifted his head, her eyes were wide and shocked, staring right at him, the noise of the fair dimming into a distant hum. Her face said everything that the thugs' attack had interrupted. She didn't say thank you; she didn't need to.
Security handled the thugs—just local low-lifes looking for trouble. Daiki reappeared from their blind spot, saw Natsuki's deepening blush, and saw Damon's hand still holding hers.
"Told you so," he said quietly, his grin hidden from Natsuki.
Natsuki turned. "What are you up to now?"
"Nothing. Let's get going."
They started to leave, the soft orange glow of the fair lights fading behind them against the dusk sky.
Then—
"Well, well, well."
Voices, laced with ugly history, spoke from the shadows behind them. Three of the old gang stood there, their faces twisted into menacing smirks.
"Karma's a bitch, ain't she?"