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V9 Story I – Part 04

In my imagination, I pictured a beautiful girl smiling down at a fallen, pitiable man. Her smile was perfectly exquisite, a beacon of light in the darkness.

A man who had never been loved by anyone received kindness from her so effortlessly. The girl was likely simply stating the impression she got from him. She didn’t dislike him and found him agreeable. That was all.

Studying his expression, I grasped something crucial.

From that alone, from something so simple, people can find their worth in the darkness. A simple smile could justify everything they had gone through until then.

“That’s when I decided to live for her. No matter what happened, I wanted to protect her. But I failed. This mutt could not even do that.”

Kugutsu sprang to his feet and stared at me.

A sharp pain shot through my leg. Suppressing a cry, I looked down. The metallic dog clamped onto my calf with its sharp fangs, and my hospital gown quickly reddened.

“Guh, agh.”

“The first-floor puppets are mainly for security. I would stay still if I were you. Those teeth are made for humans. Please tell me, sir. You know, don’t you?”

Countless white arms reached out from behind Kugutsu and wrapped around me.

I was held in a tight grip, my head and arms immobilized. Cold, hard bodies pressed against me.

With the puppets holding me, my freedom was utterly restricted, and the dog’s teeth remained embedded in my leg.

Peering down at me, Kugutsu said, “I’ve got nothing left but revenge. No hard feelings. This will be my last job. So, sir, please answer me.”

Something felt off. I gazed up at Kugutsu’s face. He was smiling gently.

Kugutsu calmly spoke. “Where did that kid go?”

He was planning to kill Yusuke. I must not respond.

And something about his words bothered me. It was like swallowing a needle.

“This will be my last job.”

“I can’t tell you where Yusuke is. Kugutsu, what about you?”

A searing pain coursed through my arm. My vision reddened momentarily.

My arm was forcibly wrenched from its socket. When I looked in that direction, I locked eyes with a petite puppet, resembling an adult woman but the size of a toddler. Her face bore a frozen smile.

She leaned against my arm as if seeking affection from a parent. My muscles strained unnaturally. The pain was excruciating. I couldn’t remain silent. It felt like I had heard inexcusable words just moments ago.

“Are you planning to end your life?”

Kugutsu didn’t respond to my question. His gentle smile conveyed his answer.

A surge of anger boiled within me. I couldn’t grasp this incomprehensible response.

Why was everyone so eager to throw their lives away?

“Wait, just wait a minute. This is beyond stupid. It’s ridiculous. Why do you have to die? I don’t get it. It doesn’t make any sense!”

“I couldn’t protect the princess, my master. A stray like me, not even good for guarding, is no longer needed. This is the end for me. After I get my revenge, it’s my duty to die.”

His voice was decisive yet tinged with resignation. This was likely something he’d heard from Chihana. He was still bound by his dog-like upbringing. However, his current master was Maihime.

And Maihime didn’t want him to die.

To kill. To be killed. To die. Unrealistic desires swirled around, making me feel sick.

A person’s life shouldn’t be thrown away so easily.

“So, all the more reason I can say this. Listen, Kugutsu, there’s no way Maihime would want you—”

I couldn’t finish my sentence. My left arm was pulled out of my shoulder, too.

I stifled a scream. Then, the puppets gently clutched my right wrist. Their empty eyes held no emotion. And Kugutsu wouldn’t hesitate either.

Suppressing the pain, I composed myself. Besides his grudge against Yusuke, Kugutsu clung to a misguided sense of loyalty. He had been bound by the curse of being a dog for many years, and now, it was directly linked to his will to die. A shiver ran down my spine as I recalled the desperate look on Yusuke’s face.

How could I change Kugutsu’s mind? He had tried to become human but had failed.

The wall around him would not be torn down that easily. It was no wonder. But suddenly, unease crept over me. Something felt off. I raised my head and glanced past Kugutsu.

The bridal puppet was beaming at the metallic dog. It felt like I got slapped on the cheek. The puppet’s smile mirrored Maihime’s smile. I searched my memories.

I remembered the way Kugutsu gazed at Maihime and Hishigami.

Whenever he looked at them, Kugutsu gritted his teeth, his face marked with bitterness. As I peered into his eyes, a question formed in my mind. From an outsider’s perspective, his reaction was akin to a dog losing its owner.

But the intense jealousy in his eyes said it was more than that.

He always appeared happy when he was with Maihime. Furthermore, at the human trafficker’s place, he had referred to himself as a person.

“A human trapped in a never-ending nightmare was able to break free. It is salvation for them.”

He said Maihime saved him from torment. And because of that, he adored her.

“I like you.”

If those words and that beautiful smile signified his salvation… If she had pulled him from the darkness…

His true feelings must be…

“So, what about it, sir? Can you please stop beating around the bush?”

The dog’s fangs sank deeper into my calf. The tips grazed my bone. The puppet’s arms refused to let go. I felt as if I were drowning in pain.

Slowly, I opened my mouth to speak. “Kugutsu, you…”

“Sir, there’s no time for idle talk. I don’t want to hurt you too much.”

“You love Maihime, don’t you?”

It was such a simple question.

Silence descended. Kugutsu’s eyes widened, genuinely taken aback, like a child.

“…What?”

“You love Maihime as a person.”

A dog fell in love with a human. Love at first sight with the one who saved him. And he wished to be by her side. But Kugutsu was ignorant of human relationships beyond that of a master and their dog.

So he chose to remain a dog.

What if their twisted relationship was built solely on a simple emotion?

Kugutsu took a step back, his face flushing rapidly. He covered his mouth, gasping for breath.

Seconds later, he stammered in a quivering voice, “Wh-What are you saying, sir? O-Of course not. Don’t be absurd. M-Me? L-Love my master? I-I’d never be so disrespectful.”

Kugutsu trembled all over. Clenching his fists, he had the look of someone who had just made a shocking realization. His face twisted in anguish, as if he’d been stabbed in the gut.

“…It can’t be.”

A look at his expression was all it took for me to understand. For Kugutsu, that was a sentiment he must never uncover. For Kugutsu, his love for Maihime was an emotion to be locked away.

Love for others is a human emotion. Acknowledging that would destroy their relationship.

If the master-servant bond fell apart, Kugutsu would lose his only means of interacting with Maihime, leaving only a man who couldn’t become human. Thus, he locked away the human emotions budding within him.

“A dog? No. Kugutsu, you’re human.”

He said he tried to think of himself as a person but couldn’t quite manage it. There was an inconsistency there.

A dog is not aware that it’s a dog, and he had insisted countless times that he was one. Kugutsu had once lost all hope, but he said he found salvation.

Maihime, despite her arrogance, had initially said that she didn’t view Kugutsu as a dog but as a person. Nevertheless, Kugutsu chose to stay with her as a dog. He had willingly discarded a conventional master-servant relationship.

Ultimately…

“You love her, but you ignored your heart and insisted you’ll never be human. You dreaded the idea of parting with her, so you contented yourself with being a dog.”

He willingly chose to be a dog.

Kugutsu didn’t reply. He simply stared at me with his mouth agape.

I lifted my head. “So why do you need to die?” I howled. “You’re not a dog; you’re human. Dying because you couldn’t protect your master is ridiculous. You’re just afraid of being abandoned by your master. Revenge isn’t a duty; it’s your own decision as a person.”

Kugutsu took a step back and shook his head. “Stop,” he muttered.

“I want you to stop seeking revenge. Above all, I want you to forget about the idea of a murder-suicide. You’re not a dog. You’re not obliged to seek vengeance then die.”

That was Kugutsu’s personal desire. Maihime’s legs would never fully heal. She likely wouldn’t hold a grudge against anyone, but Kugutsu’s anger wouldn’t subside.

Nonetheless, I wanted him to stop seeking revenge. I didn’t want anyone else to die.

And Kugutsu should live as a human.