Suzune had a short build and a friendly, round face. That and her straightforward manner and generous personality had helped her earn the trust of those around her. The clients and their pets all loved her.
If she had one flaw, however, it was her tendency to say whatever came to mind without stopping to think.
“And next is… Ah, Rui. What’s wrong with Chachamaru today?”
“Thanks for all your help, Dr. Suzune. He’s been having a lot of eye boogers the last few days. Do you think some germs got into his eyes?”
“All right, let me take a look at him. Come on in…”
Just as they disappeared into the examination room, the automatic doors of the entrance opened up. Hinata turned to look, then exclaimed, “Grandpa!”
It was Shunya, his grandfather. Hinata loved and admired his grandpa. While the man’s hair was white, he always had a young and brisk manner about him.
“It’s good to see you again, Hinata. And you, Mayuka; you’re looking well.”
“Yes, sir!”
As Hinata’s longtime friend, Mayuka also knew Shunya.
Yuusuke finished checking out the corgi and its owner at the front desk, then waved at Shunya happily. “Good afternoon, Father. Suzu’s seeing a patient right now…”
“Oh, it’s fine, Yuusuke. I’m only here to see Hinata and Chris,” Shunya said, sitting on the sofa and beckoning Hinata and Mayuka over.
Hinata sat next to his grandfather and looked up at him. “It’s been a while, huh? Have you been busy?”
“Yes, with all sorts of things… Is Chris doing well, too?”
Chris barked once to confirm. Shunya bent over to rub his head, and he squinted happily.
“What kind of cases have been happening recently?” Mayuka asked, her eyes sparkling. Shunya put a hand to his chin and looked at the ceiling to think it over.
“Well, let’s see… I was at the scene of a break-in recently. The owner was out of the country on vacation and found out that a burglar had gotten inside. It’s been happening a lot these days. The police told me they’ve been on high alert.”
After Shunya reached retirement age and left his job, he took up privately training police dogs. He was currently raising three German shepherds and helping out with police investigations alongside them.
“And did they catch the bad guy?”
“Unfortunately, too much time had passed since the crime, and the scent trail had faded. But while we were investigating, the owner suddenly realized that their smartphone was no longer in their pocket. My dogs managed to find it, though. The owner had gotten home and found the place ransacked, then rushed to the nearest police station in such a panic that they dropped the phone along the way… So I guess that counts as helping, doesn’t it?”
Mayuka laughed out loud. “It’s too bad that you couldn’t catch the burglar. But at least the owner got their phone back.”
Chris lifted his head and woofed in agreement. As it happened, Chris was a very talented former police dog, raised by Shunya’s friend, a younger trainer named Kobayashi.
But there had been an accident on Chris’s very first investigation. Kobayashi stumbled across the culprits and was attacked—and had been missing ever since. Chris was also stung by a bee during the incident, and he was now terrified of bugs. It wasn’t just bees, either; Chris would yelp and run away from butterflies and even ants.
After losing Kobayashi and developing a fear of insects, Chris had no choice but to retire from the police force, and so Shunya had brought the dog to Hinata.
“I was getting a little worried, since I hadn’t stopped by to see you for a while,” said Shunya. “Nothing strange has happened?”
“Everything’s been fine,” Hinata reassured him. “Nothing has happened since that last case…”
A few months ago, Hinata, Mayuka, and Chris had faced off against a group of jewel thieves. They managed to help the police arrest the criminals, but in the process, they had worried everyone sick.
“That’s right. We’ve been behaving ourselves,” said Mayuka, though her eyes were wandering suspiciously.
Shunya laughed. “I have a hard time imagining you behaving yourself, Mayuka…”
“Heh-heh. Well, sometimes we do a little training, just in case.”
“M-Mayuka!” Hinata scolded, elbowing her. Shunya chuckled and shook his head.
But soon his face was serious again, and he leaned down to whisper in Hinata’s ear. “Listen closely, Hinata. Don’t forget that those people might still be targeting Chris.”
Chris was the only one who had witnessed what happened when Kobayashi went missing. There was a possibility that he had evidence of the crime, and so the criminals might be after him.
That was why, as Shunya had told Hinata before, it was best to keep Chris from standing out, to let him live the life of a normal pet.
Hinata nodded eagerly, then asked, “Grandpa…have you learned anything more about Mr. Kobayashi?”
Shunya’s expression clouded. “No, nothing yet… They still haven’t found any clues.”
Hinata was slightly relieved, then felt disgusted with himself for thinking that way.
Of course it would be best if Kobayashi was found safe and sound. But if that happened, wouldn’t Chris go back to living with him? That would be really painful. I love Chris, and I can’t imagine my life without him. I wonder if that means I’m a bad, selfish person…
Hinata reached down to pet Chris’s head, trying to ease his guilt. Chris looked up and barked happily.
Shunya seemed to sense what was going on in Hinata’s mind, and he gently patted his grandson’s shoulder.
“Just take care of Chris. Right now, you’re his number one partner, Hinata…”
The thought of his grandfather having so much faith in him made Hinata’s heart sing. Satisfied with the message he’d imparted, Shunya got to his feet.
“Aw! Are you leaving already, Mr. Shunya?” Mayuka exclaimed.
“I’m sorry, Mayuka. I only stopped by because I happened to be passing through. I’d like to spend more time here, but my dogs are waiting at home.”
“Oh, that’s right. Say hi to the shepherds for us,” Hinata offered, getting to his feet, too.
“Hello, Hinata’s grandfather,” said a voice from the chair across the room. “I’m Rui Takeuchi. Dr. Suzune’s been helping me with my cat.”
Rui bowed, then tried to lower Chachamaru’s head, too. Shunya returned the courtesy.
“Ah yes. We met here before, didn’t we? Thank you for helping Hinata and Chris, young man.”