Chapter Text
“As the days go by, its not warming up anytime soon. Make sure to stay bundled up when heading out these coming weeks. Now, in recent news. All activities of the cult seem to have…”
Kotone stares vacantly at the TV as the news drags on. When will people lose their memory of everything that happened? The lounge is empty, par for two. The only other sounds to be heard was the AC humming and Koromaru’s breathing. Kotone glances down at the white pup, happily panting as he looks around the lounge for the hundredth time from his position next to the windows.
“You probably love this weather huh boy? You have a built in coat, plus the shirt we gave you. I never understood why, but eh. Why not? It looks cute.” She was leaning against her fist, elbow on the arm of the couch.
Koromaru looked at her as she spoke, and let out a single “Arf!” In response. He continued to blankly stare around, taking a moment to scratch himself. Kotone smiled at him as he scratched his chin with the vigor that only a dog could have for such an activity. “Need any help bud?” She asked.
In response, Koromaru rolled over, sticking his belly into the air. Despite being upside down, he still managed to stare directly at her. While Kotone was about to move over to him, Koromaru instead quickly scrambled to his feet and trotted over to be closer, where Kotone could rub his stomach without having to get up. “Thanks bud. You’re sweet for that.”
“Arf! Arf!”
“Couldn’t agree more.” Kotone sat back up, quickly glancing at her phone. It was still early enough in the night. A small smile creeps onto her mouth. “Hey Koromaru… Wanna go for a walk?” Upon hearing the sacred word, Koromaru’s ears pricked up. They used to go on walks quite frequently, but they haven’t gone for a walk since the day before fighting Nyx.
“Arf! Arf!”
A resounding yes.
The shrine is empty as usual at night. A cool breeze blows through as Kotone watches Koromaru play. As usual, he runs around the shrine sniffing everything, and climbs on the structures low and stable enough for him to jump on. Eventually he walks over to the sandbox and starts to dig a little bit, before grabbing something with his mouth. He comes back over and proudly presents his discovery to Kotone. “Is this… A soma?” She smiles and kneels down to give him some well deserved pets.
“Here's a treat bud. Welcome to your new life as just a dog. No shadows, no dark hour. No Persona. You’re just another dog now. Hopefully this means we can spoil you a little more from here on out. “ Koromaru took the pets and treat with great joy, leaning heavily into Kotone’s hand when she scratched a good spot.
Kotone sighed, the shrine was the same as it had ever been, yet it still felt different. Like the wood was painted a slightly different shade, or that the play structures were just barely in the wrong position. She couldn’t quite place her finger on it, but as she was getting deeper in thought, she heard a stick fall to the ground.
Koromaru had brought a stick from the nearby trees and dropped it at her feet. He stared up at her expectantly, panting quietly. As she picked up the stick, Koromaru’s eyes quickly followed it. As she shook the stick in front of him, Koromaru lowered his stance, ready to chase the stick at any moment.
With all the might she had gained over the last year, she threw the stick across the shrine, watching Koromaru sprint after it. After only a few seconds he leapt into the air, catching the stick, before landing and running back over to Kotone. The stick was held similarly to the way he would hold his weapon, but that just meant there were clean parts of the stick to hold when throwing. Their game of fetch lasted for a while, at least until Koromaru started to look tired.
“Seems like you’re still pretty tired from the big fight huh.” She was petting and rubbing Koromaru’s face while talking to him. He seemed to be enjoying it. “You’re such an amazing dog Koromaru. You always make sure everyone is safe. You spent so long protecting this shrine, without anyone to protect you. Even when other dogs are being mean you treat them with kindness. You’re just like, the model dog aren’t you?” Koromaru wagged his tail during all the praise, looking quite proud of himself.
“Arf! Arf!” *panting noises*.
Koromaru had a large smile on his face, or at least as large as his little dog face could manage. The shrine was always going to be home to Koromaru, but Kotone appreciated how he let the dorm be his second home, and subsequently let SEES be a second family. They could never replace the priest, but they were always there for him. That thought lingered in Kotone’s head for a bit. She was grateful to the pup for all of this. Perhaps she could show him how much she appreciated it a little more. And maybe get the other dorm members to as well.
“Say Koromaru. Want to head back to the dorm and watch the documentary on wolves you like so much? I’ll brush your coat while I’m at it.” Koromaru was sitting at her feet, staring up at her and wagging his tail as she spoke. “Arf! Arf!” He seemed excited. “Well no time to waste then. I can’t stay up too long but we should be able to watch an episode or two.”
The two started the walk back to the dorm. Kotone speaking to Koromaru, and Koromaru barking in response.