Chapter Text
It's been four months and I have to say I’ve been doing well post-life. Just four short months ago I had met my unfortunate end and ended up in a new world as a dog.
Oh, how do I know I ended up in a new world? Well simple, the ghosts. Ghost? Demons? I haven't figured out which they are. To me, they seemed like some odd in-between. They weren't human spirits but sometimes had human characters. They didn't seem sinister enough to fully be demons but they were damn near close.
I was quick to discover that no one else could actually see them. I would often see some of these strange creatures clinging onto people and no one made a single indication that they were aware of these supernatural beings.
I don't really remember how I died. The memories are hazy. All I remember was one moment I was in pain followed by a bright light. Next thing I know I’m waking up in the streets in a body that was most definitely not mine. Disoriented, I hadn't realized the change my body had been through.
Don't remember that section in health class.
After spending an hour freaking out after spotting my face in a store window, I finally got my sh*t together and embraced my new furry bod.
Took a good moment to get used to being on four legs, but once I got the hang of it I discovered that I was very nimble. What wasn't hard was me figuring out what breed I am. A Shibu Inu, which sort of made sense considering I found myself relocated to Japan. Also, I'm still a girl. One check cleared that easily.
I have to say I’m possibly one of the cutest dogs around. I must be a purebred and come from a strong bloodline. I had a pure white coat, I would have thought I was an albino but had a patch of cream on my chest that mimicked a heart perfectly and my eyes were a lovely sunset hazel with hues of red, orange, and green. My tail was perfectly curved creating a cute Q. My teeth were a healthy shade and my paw pads were absolutely squishable.
In this new life, I even have a name. It's a Reiki, story on how I got that later. I’ve adjusted well and now have a set schedule I like to follow.
Well, the day has begun, let's get started.
‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・𝔻𝕠𝕘 𝔻𝕒𝕪𝕤・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵
Reiki's first stop of the morning, chilling around the dog park. It was an off-leash park so she was safe and newcomers not used to her presence didn't bat an eye despite her lack of collar.
“Good Morning Reiki!”
That’s Yumi, she goes to a local college and walks her dog, Pepper every morning.
Reiki barked back in a greeting.
Barking ensued as Pepper came bounding over, dropping her ball at Yumi’s feet. Reiki barked back, having no clue as to what she was saying. Turns out that turning into a dog didn't give her the power to actually speak to other dogs. I mean she could perfectly understand humans, perhaps the only reason she can’t talk back is because dogs don't have the appropriate vocal cords to produce proper words.
Reiki went around the park being greeted by other humans and their canine companions. She was sort of a celebrity in the park. Why? Well, Reiki can not only see the odd demonic ghosts that plagued society she can get rid of them.
‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・𝔻𝕠𝕘 𝔻𝕒𝕪𝕤・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵
It had happened a mere three weeks into Reiki’s arrival into this new world. She was making her daily rounds to local stores and restaurants to check out the fresh food that had been thrown out post-dinner rush.
There was this really great Ramen shop that Reiki liked that served amazing food and did not have the wherewithal to recycle the food they couldn't sell before closing.
Padding down the street, just a block away from the restaurant Reiki could already smell the lukewarm dumplings, she paused at the shrill scream that filled the night air.
Reiki hadn't even realized she was running towards the scream until she skidded into the opening of an alleyway. A woman's screams pierced the air combined with the unrelentingly barking of said woman's dog. He was just a few steps into the alleyway barking at a creature that Reiki would later learn he–along with other dogs–couldn't actually see.
A large slithering beast had grabbed a woman, twisting around her body like a snake. Bumpy skin with varying swollen lumps. No face to be found but it did have a large mouth, which it had opened.
Reiki didn't have to be a genius to figure out what was going to happen. The woman's airways had been cut off, putting an end to her screams. Reiki was scared, terrified. If she could sweat she was sure she would have broken out in a panicked cold sweat. Her fur stood up on ends and her tail puffed.
Her head grew fuzzy. A memory flashed by. The pain...The screaming....
Reiki snapped back. If someone didn't help this woman she was going to die. With a snarl, lips curled reviling her sharp fangs, Reiki surged forward. A wail left the beast as she sank her teeth into the flesh of the beast. It was enough to get the thing to drop the woman. She slumped to the floor, catching her breath tethering between consciousness. Reiki bit harder refusing to give up. She loosens her jaw only to snap back harder.
The creature screeched louder. Reiki couldn't stand the taste. She wanted to throw up, but she wasn't going to let go. Her mouth grew hot and her stomach bubbled. It was an odd sensation, the feeling Reiki found akin to the excitement she would get when riding roller coasters. She felt stronger, more powerful.
The young woman whom Reiki had saved managed to push herself up onto her hands. She spotted the battle, gasping and scooting back. Her dog ran over, diving into her arms, nose buried deep as it sought to comfort her and seek some comfort himself.
She wasn't sure what had grabbed her but she wasn't expecting a random dog to come to her aid. At least she thought it was a dog. She had spotted this dog every so often when she was walking her own. A white Shiba Inu with a distinct heart patch on its chest. One ear always seemed to be slightly flopped forward. It was the same dog, she was sure of it, but it looked much different.
Her heart-shaped marking was no longer an off-white but red. The tips of her paws were red as well, blending perfectly in an ombre that shifted back into white as it reached her ankles. The same coloring transpired on the tip of her tail and ears. The patch of fur on her face that served as her eyebrows were red as well, but had taken on a more fluid shape mimicking little clouds.
The most incredible thing was the fur that had puffed around the dog's ankles, puffy texture curly outwards to take on the shape of clouds as well.
The young woman had to cover her eyes as a spark jumped from the dog's mouth. She bit down harder on the creature and a jolt of electricity burst forth. The dog let go and jumped back.
Reiki felt the entire world shift. The very air crackled, quivering with amazing energy. She dug her paws into the ground taking a strong stance. Reiki pulled her head back pointing to the sky. Her jaws opened and a large ball of electricity formed within her mouth. She threw her head forward letting out a bark so tremendous it shook the very heavens like thunder.
The woman covered her eyes as the ball of energy hit the creature. The howls of pain were endless as it was consumed by the electricity. Within seconds it was nothing more.
Reiki made her way over to the woman giving a comforting bark. The woman lowered her hands and was greeted with a normal-looking Shiba Inu.
“Y-You saved me.”
Reiki gave another bark, tail wagging happily.
‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・𝔻𝕠𝕘 𝔻𝕒𝕪𝕤・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵
So that's the story about my powers. I don't need to be big and flashy all the time, for the smaller less threatening creatures a simple bite with some charge behind it got rid of them. I started using this power to go about the city and rid it of these beasts. Turns out these things were truly a plague amongst the human population. Some of these strange creatures can cause physical pain or even make people sick, and ridding humans of them truly helped them out.
My good deeds earned me the name Reiki. One man started calling me that after he was going through a string of bad luck. He had spiraled and fallen into a deep depression. I had happened upon him having an utterly sh*tty day in the park. Hunched over a bench crying into his hands. It's said that dogs and other animals can help uplift someone's mood. I went in with that farce to comfort the man on the bench, but my main target was the two little dregs clinging to the man's shoulders sporting wicked grins. As if they knew what they were doing.
After ridding the man of them his bad luck ended. He came back to the park just a week later looking much better, scooping me up and spinning me around as he told me he had gotten a promotion and that the bald patch he had gotten was starting to fill back in.
He’d visit me almost every other day with delicious food and started calling me Reiki. Seems the name picked up because those who came to know my presence started calling me that as well.
Why Reiki? Well, Reiki is supposed to be positive energy used to heal others. People thought that my good girl presence was a good luck symbol that helped generate good energy, so good in fact that it could make people feel better.
‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・𝔻𝕠𝕘 𝔻𝕒𝕪𝕤・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵
The next stop of the day was interrupted by a familiar face.
“Reiki-chan!”
“Yu!” Reiki happily cried despite no one being able to understand her.
She leaped up and was caught in the arms of a teenage boy. His fingers immediately dug into her fur hitting all the best scratching points.
Yu was a boy who used to live here but moved away a few months ago to go to school. He had been accepted into an elite private school. Yu saw Reiki as a companion with excellent listening skills, unbeknownst to him that she really was listening to every word he said.
Turns out he could see these strange creatures as well, they were called Curses, and Yu was going to go to a school to train as a Sorcerer, where his job would be to eliminate these Curses from the world. Reiki was really proud of him, bringing him her best stick as a gift. It was the best she could, she was a dog after all.
“You have a dog, Yu?”
A boy appeared next to Yu. His face was made for poker with a stoic nature and blonde hair so perfectly styled you would think he was some kind of corporate businessman who took the term “not a hair out place” far too seriously. He had to be a Sorcerer as well, dressed in a uniform similar to Yu’s.
“This is Reiki-chan! She’s a local stray who would come by my house."
“You shouldn't pick up strays. You never know what kind of diseases they may have. She might have fleas.”
Reiki balked, offended. “Excuse me, dear sir, I take excellent care of myself!”
Despite being a dog on the street, Reiki did her best to stay clean. She found a local river to bathe in and it was amazing the kind of things she could dig out of the trash. She managed to figure out how to apply shampoo, a complicated system she rigged up with some branches but a brush was still a work in progress. She was clean but her fur had gotten a bit matted and her nails were a tad too long for her liking. Maybe a kind pet groomer would give her a trim.
Yu also took offense to his friend's words, pulling Reiki closer to him, so they were pressed face to face. “Reiki-chan isn't dirty, Nanami!”
Nanami sighed with a roll of his eyes. “If she's not yours, why did you give her name?”
“I didn't name her. Reiki’s actually pretty friendly, everyone around here knows her. They say being around her brings you good luck. Also, her fur is really soft.”
Yu’s hands slipped under her front legs and she was held out to Nanami. “Go ahead, pet her.”
“No thanks.”
“A dog?”
Yu turned around. “Senpais!” He happily greeted me.
More Sorcerer students entered the scene. Two boys and a girl. Wait, was she smoking? She couldn't be older than sixteen.
The boys were tall and surely going to only get taller for the years to come. One had dark hair pulled back into a bun while the other had pure white hair, the bluest eyes Reiki had ever seen peeked from behind a pair of round glasses.
“Gojo-Senpai, Geto-Senpai, Shoko-Senpai! This is Reiki!” Yu presented her like a monkey with a lion.
“Pretty cute dog,” Ieiri said before taking a drag from her cigarette.
“She is smoking!” Reiki thought.
“Her fur is almost the same color as your hair,” Suguru joked to Satoru.
“Ha! Good one! Obviously, my hair is far more luxurious,” Satoru posed, running a hand through his pure white locs.
“Wow, these three are quite powerful,” Reiki thought.
Something Reiki discovered was that those who had the power to combat Curses had a distinct smell to them. A fresh sweet scent that rejuvenated Reiki’s senses. The stronger their power was, the more powerful their scent became. Satoru was the one with the strongest aroma, Reiki felt like she had been dropped off at a bakery just as it opened, fresh pastries and bread set out with their delectable scents wafting about.
“Reiki’s really popular! They say being around her brings you good luck,” Yu repeated to his seniors.
“A dog that brings good luck, now that's a first,” Satoru said.
“Nothing but superstition,” Suguru stated.
“But in our line of work is it really that odd?” Ieiri added.
“I suppose not,” Suguru said.