His pulse kicked into high gear. Tosas were basically weaponized animals, bred specifically for dogfighting in Japan before it was banned. All muscle, jaw strength that could crush bone, and aggressive instincts that had been selected for over generations. Once they decided you were a threat or prey, they didn't stop. Didn't back down. Fought until something broke.
And this one was snarling at a little girl who probably weighed less than the dog did.
Where the hell is the owner?
No time to wonder. Hayato broke into a run, closing the distance fast.
"HEY!" His voice came out sharp, commanding, projecting authority he didn't necessarily feel. "Get away from her! Back off!"
The Tosa's massive head swiveled toward him. Lips peeled back from teeth designed by nature and breeding to inflict maximum damage. Those eyes locked onto him with pure, focused aggression.
"GRRR... WOOF! WOOF WOOF!"
Oh great. Now I'm the target.
For a split second, Hayato's brain ran the calculations. A Tosa in attack mode could close this distance in seconds. If it decided to lunge, he'd have maybe one chance to defend himself before those jaws found flesh. Dogs like this had killed people before. Not often, but it happened.
Worth the risk if it gets the girl to safety.
He felt the Snake Eye Orb's power activate. It was subtle, he barely had to think about it now. Just a mental push, a flex of will, and that cold, cursed energy flowed out from somewhere deep inside.
The effect was instantaneous and dramatic.
"Whine... whimper... WHIIIIINE!"
The transformation was almost comical in how complete it was. One second: aggressive fighting dog, all threat and violence. Next second: terrified puppy trying to merge with the pavement.
The Tosa's aggressive posture just collapsed entirely. Its ears flattened against its skull so hard they almost disappeared. The massive body dropped low to the ground, legs spreading in a submissive crouch, and it started shaking. Actually shaking, visible tremors running through all that muscle like it was vibrating.
The sounds it made were pitiful. Whimpering, whining, the kind of noises that no fighting dog should ever produce. All that carefully bred aggression, generations of selection for fearlessness and tenacity, just... gone. Overridden by pure, primal terror.
Hayato let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Holy shit. The Orb works even better than I expected.
He'd been looking for a chance to test it on something living, something real instead of just theory. And this aggressive bastard had volunteered itself at the perfect moment. No guilt about using it on an animal trying to hurt a child.
Perfect test subject.
"Hey! HEY! What the hell did you do to my baby?"
Oh god, here we go.
The shrill, entitled voice cut through the street sounds like nails on a chalkboard. Hayato turned to see a heavyset middle-aged woman waddling toward them as fast as her body would physically allow. Her face was flushed bright red, whether from exertion or anger or both was hard to say. She was breathing hard, wheezing slightly.
She didn't even glance at the little girl. Didn't check if the child was okay, didn't acknowledge her existence. Just dropped to her knees with a grunt and scooped up the still-trembling Tosa like it was a frightened puppy.
"Baby! My poor baby! What's wrong, sweetie? Mama's here, mama's got you!"
Her baby. She's calling a hundred-pound fighting dog her baby. Of course she is.
Hayato felt something twitch in his temple. The sheer audacity of this woman...
"What did you do to him?!" She rounded on Hayato, eyes blazing with indignant fury. "If anything happens to my precious boy, I swear to god I'll make you regret the day you were born!"
"Your dog," Hayato said, voice carefully controlled despite the anger building in his chest, "almost attacked a child. A little girl. She's right there." He pointed at the scared kid still sitting on the ground.
The woman didn't even look. "That's impossible! My baby would NEVER hurt anyone! He's the sweetest, most gentle soul in the world!" Her voice was rising in volume with each word, drawing attention from passersby. "He's an angel! If he was being aggressive, it's because YOU people provoked him somehow! He would NEVER attack unprovoked, NEVER!"
The mental gymnastics required to maintain that delusion were actually impressive in a horrifying way. This woman had clearly done this dance before, had her excuses and defenses ready and rehearsed. Completely convinced of her dog's innocence despite all evidence.
Zero accountability. Zero self-awareness. Just pure entitled delusion.
Hayato felt his patience, already strained from a long morning, evaporating like water on hot asphalt.
"Apologize."
"What?" She blinked at him like he'd just spoken a foreign language.
"Apologize. To her." Hayato turned and reached down to help the little girl to her feet, extending a hand.
That's when he actually got a proper look at her.
Oh. His irritation at the dog owner momentarily took a backseat to surprise.
The kid was... well, calling her cute seemed inadequate. Delicate features that wouldn't look out of place on an expensive porcelain doll. Skin so pale and smooth it almost seemed to glow in the afternoon sun. Long black hair that caught the light with an almost unnatural sheen.
In a few years, when she hits her teens, she's going to be absolutely devastating. Poor thing's probably going to have to beat off admirers with a stick.
The girl took his hand hesitantly. Her hand was small, cold, and trembling slightly. He helped her up gently, making sure she was steady on her feet.
"Apologize?! To this child?!" The woman's shriek could probably be heard three blocks away. "You and this child should be apologizing to my baby and me! Look at him, he's traumatized!"
The dog was still whimpering, still shaking, trying to burrow into her soft body as it could hide there.
"YELP! WHIIIIINE! OWWWW!"
It let out a sound somewhere between a yelp and a howl, high-pitched and pathetic. The kind of noise that no fighting dog should ever make, the kind that spoke of absolute terror.
"Baby! Oh my poor, poor baby!" The woman was frantically stroking the Tosa's head now, alternating between attempting to comfort it and shooting absolutely murderous glares at Hayato. "What's wrong, sweetie? What did that mean man do to you?"
When their eyes met properly, when she caught the flat, icy look in Hayato's gaze, he saw her flinch. Saw her eyes widen slightly, saw her breath catch.
Good. Maybe a little fear will make her think twice before...
Nope. Instead of backing down like any rational person would, instead of recognizing danger and retreating, her face contorted with even more rage. Her volume increased even further, if that was possible, voice reaching levels that should probably damage her vocal cords.
Alright. That's enough of this bullshit.
Hayato let just a fraction of the Snake Eye Orb's power touch her. Just a fraction, way less than what he'd used on the dog. He dialed it down consciously, deliberately. A gentle warning tap compared to the psychological sledgehammer he'd hit the Tosa with.
Because even if she was terrible, even if she was delusional and entitled, she was still human. He wasn't going to traumatize a person the same way he would a dangerous animal.
The effect was instantaneous and way, way more dramatic than he'd expected.
"AIIIIIEEEEEE!"
She screamed like someone had doused her in gasoline and lit a match. Her face went from angry red to corpse-pale in less than a heartbeat. The color just drained out of her completely. Her eyes went wide, pupils dilating hugely, whites showing all around. Then her eyes actually rolled back slightly in her head and she just... crumpled.
Collapsed right there on the sidewalk, legs folding under her, still clutching the dog in a death grip. And started sobbing. Not just crying, full-on hysterical sobbing. Wailing and moaning and making sounds that were more animal than human, completely incoherent.
Hayato blinked. Uh. Okay then. That's... that was not proportional to the power I used.
He'd barely touched her with it. Seriously, less than a tenth of what the dog got. Maybe even less than that. The absolute minimum needed to get a reaction.
But her response was somehow even more extreme than the Tosa's. Way more. She was literally rolling on the ground now, still crying and moaning, her whole body shaking. The dog, equally terrified, was whimpering alongside her in a bizarre duet of fear.
Human, but somehow less mentally resilient than a fighting dog bred for combat. That's... actually kind of depressing when you think about it.
Maybe it was the unexpected nature of it. The dog could at least understand physical threat on an instinctual level. But a human mind confronting something impossible, something that bypassed all rational defenses and struck directly at primal fear centers...
Yeah, that would break someone fast.
He felt a twinge of something. Not quite guilt, but close. Pity, maybe. She'd been terrible, had been completely in the wrong, but watching a human being reduced to this was uncomfortable.
Note to self: humans are way more fragile to this than animals. Dial it down even further next time, or just don't use it on people at all.
Hayato mentally shook his head, pushing the discomfort aside. He'd done what was necessary to stop the situation from escalating further. That was it.
Hayato turned his full attention to the kid, putting the crying woman out of his mind. Passersby were starting to stare, probably wondering what the hell was happening. Time to go before this turned into a bigger scene.
"Hey." Hayato kept his voice gentle, non-threatening. The last thing this girl needed after being cornered by a dangerous dog was another scary adult. "Let me walk you home, make sure you get there safe."
The black-haired girl slowly lifted her head to look up at him. Her expression was completely blank. Unreadable. No tears despite having just been terrified. No smile of relief. No gratitude. Just... neutral. Empty. Like she'd turned off her emotions entirely.
Kids shouldn't look like that. That's the face of someone who's used to bad things happening.
After a long moment of silent assessment, where Hayato could practically feel her weighing him, judging threat levels, deciding if he was safe... she lowered her gaze again. Still said nothing.
Not a yes. But crucially, not a no either. He'd take that as permission to help.
"If you have your parents' phone number, you can use my phone to call them. Let them know you're okay." He pulled out his phone and held it out to her, making very sure to keep the gesture casual, non-threatening. Palm up, offering, not demanding.
She looked at the phone. Looked at him. Looked back at the phone. Her face remained carefully blank throughout.
Then, without a word, she simply turned and started walking.
Alright then. Guess we're doing this the quiet way. Not talkative. Got it.
Hayato followed a few meters behind, matching her slow, deliberate pace. He kept the distance consistent, trying to project "safe escort" rather than "potential threat." The silence between them wasn't uncomfortable exactly, but it definitely had weight. Heavy with unspoken things, with trauma freshly experienced, with a child's wariness of the world.
His mind was racing, though. This strange, quiet kid who'd just stared down a fighting dog without making a sound, who wasn't crying even now when the danger had passed, who looked at him with such careful blankness...
That takes either incredible courage or she's so used to scary situations that she's learned to just shut down emotionally. Neither option is great for a kid her age.
About ten minutes of quiet walking through residential streets later, she stopped in front of a modest single-family home. Two stories, small yard, well-maintained but clearly not wealthy. Looked like a normal, safe house.
Good. At least she's got a home to go back to, not wandering the streets or something worse.
"Alright then." Hayato crouched down so they were at eye level. His mom had always taught him that when talking to kids, it made them feel less threatened, less like they were being loomed over. Showed respect. "I'll head out now. But next time you see a big dog, especially breeds like Tosa or Pit Bulls, or Rottweilers, you should cross the street and give them lots of space, okay?"
"Golden Retrievers and Huskies and Labs are usually fine," he continued, voice gentle. "They're bred to be friendly. Big softies, most of them. But aggressive breeds like that Tosa, dogs that were bred for fighting... they can be dangerous even with the best training. And clearly that woman had no control over hers. So just be careful, yeah?"
"The dog came at me."
Her voice was quiet but surprisingly clear. Not defensive or argumentative. Just stating a fact, correcting a potential misunderstanding. She wanted him to know she hadn't provoked it.
"Yeah, I know it did." Hayato's expression softened. "I saw the whole thing. You didn't do anything wrong, not one thing. That wasn't your fault." He made sure his tone carried absolute certainty, no doubt. Kids needed to hear that sometimes, they needed that validation. "Tosa Inu are bred for fighting. They've got really high natural aggression. That dog was dangerous and shouldn't have been off-leash. None of that is your fault, okay? I'm just saying, for the future, when you're walking around alone, be careful. Not all dog owners are responsible. Some are..." He thought of the crying woman behind them. "Some are completely delusional about how dangerous their pets are."
"The dog was afraid of you." She was staring at him now with those big, dark eyes. Direct. Intense. "That woman was too."
Uncomfortably observant kid. Too smart for her age, maybe. Or just traumatized enough to be hyperaware of threats and power dynamics.
"Probably just because I've got a scary face." Hayato tried for a self-deprecating smile, making it a joke.
She stared at him for another long moment, and he could practically see her processing that statement. There was absolutely nothing scary about his face, and they both knew it. He looked like a normal teenager, maybe a bit tired around the eyes, but nothing intimidating.
"Tsurumi Rumi."
The sudden introduction caught him completely off guard. "Hm?"
"That's my name. I'm in sixth grade at Chiba Elementary School."
"Oh!" Recognition flickered through his mind like a light turning on. Wait. That Tsurumi Rumi? The one from Oregairu... holy shit, small world. "I'm Hayato. I go to Sobu High School."
"How can I become like you?"
The question hit him way harder than it should have. There was something in her eyes now, replacing that careful blankness. Something intense and a little desperate. Like she was asking the single most important question in her entire world, like his answer would determine something crucial.
'Getting involved in cursed games and supernatural death scenarios'? Yeah, great advice for an elementary schooler.
"You will when you're older, naturally," Hayato said carefully, making absolutely sure his tone stayed gentle and encouraging. "Growing up helps. But honestly, Tsurumi Rumi?" He made sure he had her full attention. "Most kids your age would've been crying their eyes out after what just happened from before. Screaming, panicking, completely losing it. You didn't even make a sound."
Hayato paused, choosing his words with care. This mattered. He could see it mattered to her.
"That's real courage. I'm not just saying that to make you feel better or because it's what adults are supposed to tell kids. I genuinely, honestly mean it. You're already way braver than you think you are."
Hayato definitely would've been bawling like a baby at her age. Hell, even now, a hundred-pound fighting dog charging at him would spike his heart rate through the roof if he didn't have time-stop ability.
Her expression shifted slightly. Not quite a smile, but something. A crack in that careful blank mask. Like maybe she believed him, or wanted to believe him.
"Anyway." Hayato stood up, brushing off his knees. "I should get going. You should get inside, make sure your parents know you're home safe. And remember, stay careful out there, okay? Watch out for loose dogs, stay aware of your surroundings."
He'd only taken a few steps away, had barely turned around, when her voice, small but clear, reached him.
"Thank you."
Something about those two quiet, sincere words made him smile despite everything. Despite the crazy morning, despite the crying woman behind them, despite all of it. Hayato raised a hand in farewell without turning around fully, giving her a casual wave over his shoulder.
"Take care of yourself, Tsurumi Rumi."
Good kid. Really hope she turns out alright. This city's tough enough without whatever else she's dealing with.
Tsurumi Rumi watched the strange high school boy until he disappeared around a corner. Then she turned and went inside, the familiar scent of home wrapping around her.
She kicked off her shoes at the entrance, lining them up neatly.
"We're getting a new teacher next week."
She said it to the empty house, her voice flat and emotionless. Her parents were at work. They were always at work.
"Wonder how long this one will last."
Two teachers at Chiba Elementary had quit in the past two weeks. Not retired. Not transferred. Quit, suddenly and without proper explanation. Both had experienced something while teaching there, something that left them needing professional psychiatric help. She'd overheard the adults talking about it, had seen the fear in the first teacher's eyes before she left.
There were rumors among the students. Whispers about what happened, about what they saw or heard or experienced. But nobody knew what was actually true. The adults weren't telling them anything useful.
Rumi walked to her room and sat on her bed, thinking about the high school boy. Hayato. The way the dangerous dog had suddenly cowered. The way that awful woman had collapsed crying. The way he'd crouched down to talk to her at eye level, voice gentle, like she mattered.
How can I become like that?
She didn't know. But she was going to figure it out.
---
You are really persistent... Alright, I will update it again...