Chương 89: Chapter 25 Tentative Title: “The Duo(Part 1)

I woke up and took a shower. The lingering sweetness from last night still clung to my heart, leaving me feeling pleasantly sluggish, but the sun had already risen. No matter what, a new day had arrived. After putting on my underwear, I lit my kiseru and took a slow puff, absentmindedly watching the purple smoke drift toward the ceiling. Mochida would be here soon, and my wife still carried last night's scent, so she should probably take a shower too.

"Rina, wake up. It's morning."

"I require a good morning kiss." I gently kissed my wife's lips. Her eyes fluttered open at once, and after exchanging our morning greetings, she headed for the shower. Now then... If possible, I wanted to visit Miyafuji and the others today. Every soldier had come back battered, but Miyafuji had lost an arm. Chiyoda had told me his injuries were severe, so I wanted to see how he was recovering.

The rest of the people I knew were apparently safe, but with all the chaos surrounding Akihabara, Hyodo was probably tied up. Tachibana, given his position as a Superintendent, was undoubtedly buried in police work. If I could meet anyone, it would probably be Akamine and the others. As I smoked my pipe, the dog wandered over. The same one that had happily chewed on a human arm last night. Still, it obeyed every order faithfully and listened surprisingly well.

Questionable origins aside, it was probably time to give it a proper name. It had been munching away on the battlefield, and yesterday it had been munching on an arm... As I stroked its fluffy fur and looked into its face, our eyes met. Its round little eyes looked at me expectantly. Sorry, but you're not getting one of my arms.

"Hmm... I've got it! Your name is Bite. Got that? Bite. Remember it."

"x56s6u5... Woof!" I heard a voice I would have preferred not to hear, but it seemed satisfied with the name. For now, I scratched behind its ears. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Hey, don't stand up just because it feels good. We're about the same height. Stay on all fours.

"I'm done~. That little guy looks pretty happy." Now dressed, Rina dried her hair with a towel as she looked at Bite. He remained on all fours with almost no reaction. His tail hung low too. Maybe he simply didn't recognize anyone besides me. He reacted if someone touched him, but voices alone barely got any response.

"Yeah. Probably because he finally has a name. His name's Bite."

"Huh. I thought you'd go with something like Wanta or Inukichi. Come here, Bite~." What did she take my naming sense for? Both of those had actually been candidates. Bite had only barely won out. My second choice had been Inujirou. If I'd gone with that, Nyanta would have been the firstborn, and Inujirou the second.

"Here, Bite. You obey Rina too."

"... Woof." He really was an intelligent dog. Bite walked over to my wife, sat down in front of her, and lowered his head expectantly. I had no idea what went through his mind, but since he was a dog, I'd like to believe loyalty came naturally to him.

"By the way, what are you doing today? If you're free, let's go buy some clothes."

"No, I was thinking about visiting Miyafuji today. His injuries were pretty serious, so I just hope he isn't forcing himself to stay strong. You should go shopping with Kaori instead. If anything comes up, we can always call each other."

"Really? Hmm... Well, I should head back home at least once to check on the kids anyway..." She nodded.

"Alright. I'll head back tomorrow or the day after. Until then, let's just enjoy ourselves." Then she smiled shyly.

"Besides... Tsukasa made sure to leave his mark and prove that you're mine." She leaned in and lightly kissed my cheek. I really couldn't win against my wife. Well... she'd always been like this, so it was hardly anything new. I took another puff. Then another. Puff... puff... puff...

"Oh, right. Could you pick out some clothes for me? If I were visiting someone as a man, I'd just wear a suit, but I have no idea what a woman should wear. If I were a student, maybe a gakuran... Though with this body... a sailor uniform?"

"I think there's one in the trunk. Want to wear it?"

"I'll take something else." What she brought out instead was a black formal suit. It came with a tight skirt. Without the jacket, I'd have looked more like a bartender or a casino dealer. Still, a suit was a suit. Back in my previous job I'd worn a company uniform, so I only ever put on a suit for weddings or funerals. From now on, though, I'd probably have more opportunities to wear one.

"Good morning. That suit looks great on you."

"Thank you. I'm still not used to wearing one, though. I was thinking of visiting the injured today. Which hospital are Miyafuji and the others being treated at?" As we talked, Mochida handed me a folder. I skimmed through it. Inside were summaries of the new laws, everything currently known about the Akihabara incident, and the casualty figures. Six thousand personnel had been deployed inside the inner perimeter, while approximately five hundred civilian volunteers had fought in the outer perimeter.

Of those whose fates were confirmed... 4, 856 soldiers inside the inner perimeter had died. 268 people in the outer perimeter had been injured. Setting the volunteers aside, every soldier who had entered the inner perimeter had suffered injuries of one degree or another.

"They're all at the Self-Defense Forces Hospital. The same one where Mr. Tachibana was admitted. Will Ms. Rina be going with you?"

"No. I'll go alone today." I smiled faintly.

"I'm going to be living in this body from now on. If I don't start going outside little by little, I'll end up becoming a complete shut-in." It would be better if I visited alone. Seeing Miyafuji's condition would probably be too much for Rina. Besides... After we had parted ways in Akihabara, there were things I wanted to ask him. He had recovered thanks to medication, but I was certain those had been unimaginably painful hours.

"... Very well. I'll drive you to the hospital."

"Thank you. After that, please take Rina shopping."