I.N.K. (Inu No Kaneko) | Original Kemonomimi Light Novel

Chapter 2: The Sickening Truth

A month had passed and there had been no phone calls and no knocks on the door, but surprisingly Kaneko didn't care. In the month that had passed Kaneko had grown very fond of the little dog boy; she couldn't help but be selfishly happy no one had come for him yet. She had grown fond of him just as he had always been of her. Each day Kaneko would come home from a hard day at school and be greeted by Inu who was over-joyed to see her come home. She'd open the door and he would come running around the corner from the kitchen with arms wide open. She'd kneel down and pick him up, spinning him around before hugging him and setting him on her hip. This daily routine had helped her so much. This boy had come to her, not anyone else, and she couldn't help but wish he were hers'.
One day she decided to get him something special. For the month they had been together she bought a cake, planning tonight to ask him if he would want to make this permanent. She came up to the door and opened it, over joined to see him. She stepped in the door but Inu didn't come. "INU?!" She called into the house with a smile, thinking he may be asleep. "IM HOME!" She called again as she took off her shoes, but there was no reply. "... Inu?" She said, now more worried and suddenly she heard something that made her heart drop to her stomach, splitting in two. She heard a small, desperate yip like from an injured puppy come from the kitchen. "INU!?" She yelled in a panic as she ran to the kitchen and saw Inu laying on the floor, holding his stomach in obvious pain. She dropped the cake in shock, running over to him and kneeling down, checking him over. "Inu, are you hurt? What's wrong?" She asked, beginning to feel her heart beating to the point where she was afraid she might start to have a panic attack. Finally she looked up and saw a dark chocolate bar she had just bought not long ago, half eaten, laying on the floor next to him. "Oh my gosh" she said to herself with tears starting to form in her eyes. She picked him up, running to her car and buckling him up. "Don't worry Inu, you're... You're gonna be okay" she said, trying to convince herself more than anything, before she jumped into the front seat, driving as fast as she could, hearing Inus whimpering coming from the back of her car. "Hold on, Inu," she pleaded as tears fell from her eyes, barely able to see the road in front of her. She got to the hospital and ran up to her friend, Yui, who she had introduced to Inu not long ago "He ate chocolate-please help him!" Kaneko was barely able to get the words out as she was verging on collapsing from fear and panic. Yui put him on a bed and went up to one of the doctors she works with, telling him the situation before they both ran to the emergency room, having Kaneko go to the waiting room where she proceeded to break down. As Kaneko sat there her mind was racing, her heart felt like it had left her chest and she had no way of bringing it back. She cried for hours as she heard no news, left only to her imagination of what was going on and what the outcome would be. Finally, a doctor came into the room and Kaneko stood up in worry and frightening excitement for the news.

"Miss Kaneko Ai Hogosha?" The doctor said

"Yes? That's me. How's Inu?" she said straightforward, overcome by worry.

"He's fine; he's resting right now, so I'd let him sleep for a while. He had quit a battle in there, though I'd suggest him not eating chocolate from now on. He was lucky this time," the doctor said before leaving the room. Kaneko sat down, feeling awful for what she had done. The grief suddenly and swiftly over-taking her as she reached shakily to her pocket and made a call, leaving the hospital. With each step she took, her heart tried to pull her back to the place Inu slept but she ignored it. She drove home, the lights of the road flying past her like blurs through her tear filled eyes; her heart wrenched out of her as she drove, driving further and further from the place she had left Inu. She knew the orphanage would pick him up soon. She knew what would happen when they came. Inu would wake up and be surrounded by people he didn't know, he would be scared, angry, sad, all because of her, but she did this to him. He was in the hospital because of her carelessness. She got home and opened the door; she had just about taken off her shoes when she collapsed to the floor, her hands on her face as she cried in agony, wondering what she had done and why. Kaneko knew she wouldn't have been a good parent. She knew he was better off finding a new family, someone to love him and take care of him...so, why did she feel like her entire life had ended?