Shiba Inu

She would wake him in the morning if she had to go outside. He would take her for a twenty-minute walk to the park and by the side of a river she loved, without disturbing his sleeping uncle and aunt.

That was how it had continued for the past twenty-five days until he broke the streak yesterday night when he was too tired and sleepy, he had forgotten to take Sakura

What Aunt Oba would do to Sakura horrified him more than any horror film from the Horror Movie Marathon could.

"Sakura!" he shouted as he pulled open the door. Aunt Oba had reached the landing, and she was an inch away from grabbing Sakura's tail. "No!" He jumped forward, but Aunt Oba reached first.

She grabbed Sakura by her tail, then dragged her down the stairs, banging her jaw on the stairs. Sakura's wails were cut short by Ryota's screaming and Aunt Oba's shouts.

Ryota followed, trying to find a way to push Aunt Oba away from his little dog. "Leave her!"

Sakura spun with a squeak. Her nails scratched the edge of the stairs, and finally, she dug her sharp nails into a stair. She applied more strength and pulled herself forward. Then she opened her mouth, slowly coming closer to the edge of the stair. Her eyes squinted shut as she clenched the stair's edge in her mouth.

Aunt Oba clicked her tongue. "Let go! Do not ruin my staircase!" She yanked Sakura off the stairs, snapping two of her nails.

"Hey! Please, stop it!" Ryota saw blood dripping down the stairs as Aunt Oba held Sakura upside down and strode to the main door.

"She wants to go out, I will give her out." He heard Aunt Oba say as she disappeared past the staircase.

Uncle Oji was standing beside the door, holding it open for his beloved wife.

Ryota threw him a disgusted look from afar, then jumped off the last three stairs. Like husband, like wife.

Aunt Oba stopped in the doorway and raised Sakura to her chest. She held her by her hind legs and tail, then heaved her back, ready to throw her onto the street.

Ryota clenched his fists. 'Not again.' He would always watch from behind as Aunt Oba took out her frustration on Skaura, he did not want history to repeat itself.

That little pup did not deserve all that. She was better off with her mother then. She might even end up scared of Ryota if he does not stand up for her. He wanted her to trust him, not fear him.

He took a deep breath, standing behind Aunt Oba. "I said," he let it all out, "leave her!"

Energy surged through his veins as he shouted. With his shout, he felt some air gushing out of his mouth. He opened his clenched eyes not hearing Sakura's cry, just to find Aunt Oba stumbling down the staircase.

Sakura squealed again and Aunt Oba let out a moan as they both fell on the street. The exact next moment, Sakura slipped out of Aunt Oba's body and tried to run away – only to realize she did not have the energy to do so.

Ryota watched in shock. He had not expected his shout could scare Aunt Oba enough to make her stumble into her own feet. If he had known that, he would have done that days ago.

Sakura's walking came down to staggering, but she continued trying. Ryota knew she did not want to stay around them for another minute, he feared he might have become one of THEM.

Uncle Oji dashed out of the doorway to get Aunt Oba or… Sakura. God knew whether he would help his wife or continue his wife's goal.

Sakura was more important to Ryota than solving that mystery. He ran past Uncle Oji and jumped off the two stairs of the porch.

Even after being hit on the head, Aunt Oba made another snatch for Sakura, but she was far from her reach.

Anger boiled inside him. 'How dare that hag!' He would never imagine himself doing that. 'What would be the consequences?' he thought, staring at Aunt Oba's arm.

Without thinking anymore, he kicked Aunt's arm away, grabbed Sakura, and rolled to a stop.

He held her in his arms, her stomach facing him. He felt hot all over, he thought about her tail and wanted to check how bad it was. His hand went down to her spine and touched her tail.

With a sudden outburst, she growled at him and tried to jump out of his arms.

Ryota was baffled to see her growl at him, but he was angry to see blood in her mouth, on her gums. Her fang was loose for sure.

Uncle helped Aunt Oba get off the ground. Ryota caught him glaring at him, but then he found Aunt staring at him.

She maintained eye contact with Royta the whole time as she said, "You kicked me, brat."

So this would be the consequence. But is this not what he had prepared himself for the last fifteen days? Like a warrior, he braced himself for the worst in the battle of words.

"Stay away from her." His voice came bold and deep, just like that of a voice actor's voice.

Aunt frowned, her face cringed in anger and disgust. "I raised you since my father left you at my doorstep. And now you dare to shout at me, hurt me, disrespect me. Like I wanted my bitch sister's cursed child."

Shame took over him, he had not braced himself for an emotional attack, he had expected abuses in the war of words. 'She was not a bitch. And I am not cursed.' He could have said that if he had braced himself for that moment.

Aunt walked back to the doorway with a limp on her leg. "You better be sorry for this, Ryota. I am not afraid of you just because you can throw me off with a shout." Then she walked inside.

He had little time to think about her words: 'You are one of them.' Before Uncle tossed him a coin of five hundred yen.

"Get her treated." The door thudded close.

The coin spun and stopped near Ryota's feet before stumbling over a tiny stone particle and losing its balance. Ryota glanced between the five hundred yen coin and the sixty-six thousand yen Shiba Inu puppy.