A Girl's Best Friend.

Yuzuriha sat under a tree in the garden of the Imonoyama mansion, Inuki a small distance away from her. She looked around her, all was peaceful & quiet. Sorata & Arashi were talking on the rooftop of that huge house; for once Sorata wasn't trying to flirt with Arashi. She sighed, thinking about what might happen tomorrow.

If she had her way, she wouldn't be fighting. She closed her eyes, her normally perky self saddened by the burden fate had lain on her. Why me?....It's not fair, I don't want to have to fight, not with him on the opposite side... Anybody but him...

Yuzuriha's lower lip trembled with restrained emotion. Kusanagi...

She bowed her head & wept softly, not wanting to be heard by the other Seals, especially Aoki. Her crying would worry him & that wouldn't be polite; he was so happy just now after that very long phone call he made to his family. Sensing his mistress' distress, Inuki padded over to Yuzuriha, laying its head in her lap.

Yuzuriha hugged Inuki, her faithful companion and single constant in her short life. The world could come to an end & Inuki would still be by her side. She laughed bitterly at that thought. The world IS coming to an end. Tomorrow.

"Inuki, I don't want to fight him..."

Inuki turned its head to stare at Yuzuriha. She swallowed back her tears & rubbed Inuki's head.

"You know him, Inuki. Kusanagi. That nice man we met on the way to the Diet building. He said you were a nice dog, a weird dog but a good one still."

Inuki nodded its head. Of course it remembered that nice man. He'd taken Yuzuriha & Inuki out a few times. He was one of the few people Inuki knew who never ignored Inuki. Anyway, of course Kusanagi was a nice man, any person who could make its mistress smile so much had to be a great person.

Yuzuriha continued sobbing. Inuki got alarmed. It rarely saw its mistress cry so much & so hard. She had only done so once. Inuki remembered the first time it saw its mistress cry so much. It was still a young puppy then.

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"Hey, Inuki, we should sleep early tonight, it's gonna be a big day for the 2 of us. Imagine, it's the first day of school! I'm a big girl now!!" Seven year old Yuzuriha sat on her bed with Inuki.

She hugged Inuki. "I can't wait to show you to all my new friends in school tomorrow. I'm sure they'll like you. You're the greatest dog in the world!!" Inuki nodded happily. When its mistress was happy, Inuki was happy.

Actually, Inuki wasn't too sure what "school" was. But its mistress was going so Inuki would go too. It had to be there to protect & help its mistress. That's what it was born for anyway.

The next day, Inuki faithfully went to school with Yuzuriha, staying close to its young mistress.

"Hello, what's your name?" Yuzuriha cheerfully bowed to the girl standing next to her in the line. "I'm Nekoi Yuzuriha! Are you going to be in my class?"

"My name's Aya." The small girl next to her replied. She had her long hair tied into pigtails and was carrying a big bag. "I think we're both in the same class. Look, we've got the same timetable." Aya showed Yuzuriha the timetable they both had.

"Goody! Yay..I have a new friend. Look, meet Aya, Inuki!" Yuzu showed Aya off to Inuki. "Aya, meet Inuki, my pet dog. I've had him since I was a baby. He's very cute and very faithful." The young puppy nodded its head gravely in welcome. Inuki was not used to big displays of affection. It was a very serious puppy.

"Aren't you a bit old to have an imaginary friend?" Aya asked Yuzuriha. "Huh? But Inuki's not imaginary. Inuki's a real dog and he's my very best friend..." Yuzuriha went down on her knees and rubbed Inuki's head. "He's real, I promise you."

Aya stared at her new friend. This Yuzuriha must be having a serious case of it. She was even kneeling down on the floor and rubbing some imaginary dog's head. Her hand was even moving like it was touching a real dog. She must be one good actress.

Oblivious to her new friend's uncertainty, Yuzu continued her small chat with Inuki, even settling down on the floor, schoolbag and all to pull Inuki into her lap. "Look, it's so early in the day and I've already got a new friend. Can you imagine how many I'll have later?"

Aya moved away, taken aback by Yuzu's behaviour. It looked strange, a seven-year-old girl holding nothing and having a conversation with thin air. She was having the appropriate pauses and facial expressions like she was really waiting for a response.

Aya recalled her mother's words to her earlier. "When you go to school, you must make the right kind of friends." Young Aya wasn't too sure that a friend who talked to thin air would be approved by her parents.

"Umm...I just remembered something. I left something behind in the toilet just now..." Aya nervously walked away, slowly picking up her pace until she was running away from Yuzuriha. Yuzuriha looked up, puzzled. "Eh? Why'd she go so fast? I was just about to ask her if she liked you. But never mind..We'll see her in class, won't we Inuki?"

Yuzu picked up her bag and water bottle and waited for the teacher to bring them all to class.

"Psst...Aya...Why did you go away just now?" Yuzu whispered to Aya later in class. Somehow, Yuzu had contrived to sit next to Aya.

"Nothing...I had something on." Aya replied lamely. The small girl fidgeted in her seat. Yuzu would not let it go at that, she was sure of it.

"But you could have called me to go along. I would have helped you," she whispered. Aya just shook her head.

The teacher narrowed her eyes. First day of school and the new students were already so talkative. Seeing the sharp glance sent her way, Yuzu immediately shut up. "Talk to you later during break..." she whispered hastily. Aya nodded noncommittally, lowering her head so that Yuzu would not see the grimace on her face.

Later, in the lunch room, Yuzuriha sat next to Aya again. "I'm glad I could sit next to you," she said happily. "Hey Inuki, want to see how the school food is? Too bad you can't eat it." She talked to Inuki who was sitting under the table.

"Ah...Be careful where you put your feet Aya. You might step on his tail..." Yuzu playfully admonished Aya, wagging a finger at her. Aya's short fuse finally ran out. Aya stood up angrily, shouting. "Stop following me around! Can't you find any other friends!" All the other students looked up in surprise, Aya's voice had carried in the small lunchroom.

Yuzu stared in wide-eyed shock. Nobody had ever spoken to her in that tone of voice before. She swallowed hard. "Sorry...it's just that I wanted to have somebody to talk to...Inuki's been my only friend so far." Yuzu replied weakly.

"You and that dog again! I don't even see it! You're a liar! Look, do you see a dog anywhere?" Aya pointed to the area beneath the table and asked the girl sitting next to her. "What dog? You mean you can bring dogs to school?" The girl asked. All other students looked interestedly at Yuzu's table, then shook their heads in puzzlement. There was certainly no dog.

"See!" Aya spoke triumphantly," Nobody sees a dog. You're just lying." "She's lying right?" Aya asked the girl next to her. "Yup. There's no dog. You're just a liar." the girl accused Yuzuriha.

Yuzuriha, who had been speechless all along, shook her head in denial. "But Inuki's right there..." she protested. "But we can't see one...Yuzuriha's a liar!" another boy spoke out. "You know, she's crazy, I saw her talking to thin air during class just now." another boy butted in cruelly, joining in just for the sheer sake of belonging.

Yuzu looked wildly around for support but found none. All the girls and boys were staring at her with hostile looks, those who might have a shred of sympathy did not dare show it in the face of such strong disapproval.

Her child's mind unable to cope with the rejection, Yuzu spun around and left the room, sobbing. They called me a liar. But Inuki's real... Never in her short life had she imagined being called such rude names. Inuki ran after his mistress.

Yuzuriha ran to the washroom, locking herself up in a cubicle. Inuki slithered underneath the gap to sit next to her. She hugged him tight, her voice rough from crying. "I don't care what they say, you're real to me. I don't care about them." She rocked herself back and forth, repeating her words over and over again.

However, when the teachers came to coax her out, she refused to leave.

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"Yuzu-chan, it's time to go home now..." Yuzu started at that voice. Aoki-san? "No...I wanna stay here," she said petulantly.

"You can't, the school's closing soon and your grandmother would be worried if you don't come home. Look, I'll bring you to the park if you like. But you'll have to come out first." Aoki said gently. He had an inkling of what was going on but he had to confirm what he guessed first.

"No. I'm not coming out. They don't like me, they think I'm a liar." Yuzu replied. Seiichiro sighed and scratched his head. The teachers had phoned her grandmother and she in turn had phoned Seiichiro to help her persuade Yuzu to go home. Thank god the teachers were understanding. Just learning that Yuzu was from Mitsumine Shrine had explained a lot of matters. He rubbed his jaw, thinking. What would get her out? Visits to the park, balloons, treats... That's it!

"Yuzu-chan, if you come out, I'll buy you Haagen-Daz ice-cream..." He promised. Yuzu perked up. Ice-cream? Her grandmother had never let her eat as much as she wanted, she said it was bad for her teeth. She pondered the offer, her seven-year-old mind debating the pros and cons of leaving the secure sanctuary of the school washroom.

"Cookies and cream?" "Uh-huh.."

"As much as I want?" "As much as you want," Seiichiro promised fervently. Let her come out please..

There was the sound of a door being unlocked and Yuzu stepped out, sniffing. Seiichiro picked her up, feeling her small arms going around his neck. "Come, let's go get your bag and get your ice-cream, OK?" he smiled gently. Yuzu was so cute, he wondered if his child would turn out as lovable as the little girl; his own wife was pregnant with their first child.

Yuzu nodded, turning to bury her head in Aoki's shoulder. Inuki walked slowly behind the two of them as they left the school compound.

Back at the shrine, Yuzu vented her frustration, tears escaping the minute her grandmother asked her why she had created such trouble in school. "Everybody calls me a liar!! I don't want to go to school anymore...They all say I'm lying! But Inuki's here... he's right here with me!" she pointed to the inugami, nearly hysterical in her grief at being rejected.

Inuki sat quietly in a corner, watching the interaction between his mistress and her grandmother. It was more than a little annoyed at the small children who had upset his mistress so. Inuki had spent the better part of the day watching Yuzuriha's happy smile turn into a saddened pout. If only it could speak... Then it would tell Yuzuriha that it didn't mind not being seen by others. Yuzuriha's company was enough.

"How come Aoki-san and you can see Inuki but others can't?" Her grandmother murmured her sympathy. "You can't do anything...Inuki's born for you, as your Power as one of the Dragons of Heaven...I certainly can't remove it, it's your birthright."

"Then I don't want my power! I just want them to see Inuki!!" Yuzu continued wailing softly. Her grandmother sighed heavily. She had guessed it would come to this, watching Yuzuriha anticipating the new friends she would have and how they could share Inuki with her if they wanted. How was she to explain the inability of normal humans to see Inuki to one so young and Gifted? She didn't have the heart to disillusion her youngest grandchild.

She hefted Yuzu into her lap. "Shush...You'll learn to cope. If it helps, don't tell them about Inuki. Just make friends with them, but don't say anything about Inuki. You see, there are very few people who can see him."

"But I want them to see him." Yuzuriha stubbornly refused. "I just want them to see Inuki..." She continued crying into her grandmother's shoulder, finally falling asleep.

Seiichiro entered the room, having respectfully left while Yuzuriha's grandmother had a talk with her. He walked up to her and stroked her hair. "It wasn't so tough for me.." he smiled crookedly.

"Actually, my friends thought it was 'cool' that I could control Wind." Seiichiro recalled his adolescence. He wasn't one for showing off but when his friends had discovered his heritage, they were constantly bugging him for demonstrations until they tired of the game and treated him like any other normal person. Although he was the only one around who never feared typhoons or storms.

There was one major difference though. Inuki was born the minute Yuzu entered the world but Seiichiro's own Power had not awakened until he approached puberty. His own nephew, Daisuke, had just manifested his powers the year before, though he was not a Dragon of Heaven. Seiichiro and his peers were mature enough to cope with the existence of such a Gifted person among them. Yuzu's schoolmates were clearly not.

Seiichiro carried the sleeping Yuzuriha and brought her to her room, her grandmother still in attendance. "I think I'll stay next to her tonight, she had quite a bad day, don't you think?" her grandmother said, stroking Yuzu's hair. Seiichiro nodded.

"What are you going to do?" he asked. The hand stroking her hair paused in its movements. "I don't know, it's all up to her, she has to learn to cope like we all did...The hard way."

"Isn't your wife worried? It's late at night and you aren't home yet," Yuzu's grandmother commented, changing the topic abruptly. "Oh...I phoned her already...She's staying at her parents for the night."

"You shouldn't have done that. You're not a bachelor anymore, be more considerate to your wife," her voice held a reproving tone. Seiichiro sheepishly scratched his head. "All right, I won't do it again..." he promised.

"Grandma?" Yuzu's sleepy voice was heard. "Where's Inuki?" Her inugami climbed up to settle on the bed. She reached out and hugged him before going back to sleep, the tearstains on her cheek still clearly seen. "Hush, he's here, now go back to sleep."

Her grandmother tucked the sheets all around her before dragging up a chair to sit next to Yuzu. Seiichiro left the room to rest himself, hoping that the young Dragon of Heaven would learn to sort out her own matters, even at that tender age.

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"Yuzu-chan...You gotta wake up..." Sorata shook her shoulder gently. Yuzuriha sat up, rubbing her eyes. She looked around, dazed. "I fell asleep?" Sorata nodded.

"Is there something wrong, Yuzuriha?" the young priest asked, noticing the tearstainson her face. He hated seeing women in distress. Yuzuriha shook her head vigorously, assuming a patently false expression of gaiety. "No...no...I'm just sleepy is all. Don't worry about it Sorata."

Sorata frowned. Yuzu prayed he would take her excuses at face value and not pursue the matter. "Well...alright then, but go into your room if you want to sleep, you'll catch cold sleeping in the garden." Arashi appeared and nodded her agreement. "You should go inside, Yuzuriha, it's getting late."

Yuzuriha nodded. "Come Inuki, let's go in. We need a lot of rest for tomorrow." Inuki walked in, looking up at its mistress adoringly. Her hand slipped down to touch its head and it leaned into the touch. Yuzuriha smiled tiredly, looking down at her inugami. "No matter what happens, I love you very much, Inuki..." Inuki wagged its tail happily. Yes, and it loved its mistress very much too.

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