A/N: This chapter does not reflect my actual attitude toward dogs.

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Tokyo, January 1985

Kumiko awoke to the ear-splitting ring of her alarm clock and slammed the snooze button with as much might as she could muster. The force served to flick the clock high up into the air before it plummeted to the floor with a thud and went silent.

She rolled onto her side with a groan and blinked at the poster of Hideki Saijo that graced her wall. She had bought it a few years earlier when she'd found the singer insanely attractive, though her tastes had since changed, and he was no longer her type. With this in mind, she reminded herself to take it down after work to replace and with something more current.

Kumiko sat up, stretched both arms with a crack, and then slipped out of bed, allowing her duvet to crumple in a pile on the mattress. She took a moment to straighten it out for tidiness before looking at the calendar on her way to the bathroom.

Today was the twelfth, which meant that exactly two days remained until she had to pay the rent. She was no stranger to being frugal and never failed to meet the due date, but coming face-to-face with her landlord always brought unease.

It was an unreasonable fear because even though Mr. Kimura was a lecherous old man with less-than-stellar manners, she knew it wouldn't take much effort to incapacitate him should he become a threat. Gone were the days when she would kill in creative and grotesque ways, but the fact remained that she still had plenty of other tricks at her disposal.

A fragile being like Mr. Kimura would be an easy opponent, so she wondered what caused such feelings. Perhaps she'd been living as a human for so long that she had become susceptible to the same fears, regardless of how trivial they were.

She reached the bathroom before an unexpected sight made her stop. Her face was the same, but a pair of pointed ears had sprouted on top of her head this time. She squeezed one to make sure it was real, then wondered what had happened last night to make them spring up again. The likely explanation was that a nearby supernatural presence had roused her more animal senses, but if that were the case, she surely would have noticed it in the daytime.

She brushed the occurrence off as being nothing more than an involuntary reflex. It was a convenient explanation, and since she wanted to feel safe, she accepted the notion as complete truth before concentrating hard so that her fox ears would disappear. 

A crucial part of her morning routine was to wash her face with lukewarm water before patting it dry with a towel and applying lotion. Her job as a tour guide meant that looking presentable was of utmost importance, although if she had to be honest, the confidence that came with having soft and smooth skin was already motivation enough.

Her tour guide uniform consisted of a white shirt and a matching navy blue vest, skirt, and pillbox hat. After having leftover rice and a boiled egg for breakfast, she donned the ensemble, then brushed her teeth and put on makeup.

She left her apartment feeling nothing short of ready to face the day ahead, only to feel her high spirits fade when she saw a familiar figure heading up the stairs toward her. Ugh, not you again. What is it this time?

Mr. Kimura reached the top of the stairs and smiled genially. Disgust welled up inside her, but she hid it by smiling back and giving a polite bow.

"Good morning, Mr. Kimura. It's a lovely day, isn't it?" she greeted while trying not to focus on his caterpillar-like eyebrows and hideously long sideburns.

"It is indeed, Miss Takahashi. I see you're heading to work early today?"

"I sure am. The early bird catches the worm, right?"

She finished off her sentence with a giggle, and to her dismay, Mr. Kimura reacted with added enthusiasm.

"Look at you, always so cute and optimistic! Well, run along. I wouldn't want to make you late, would I?"

He stepped to the side, thus allowing her to descend the stairs without bumping into him. She recognized the cue and continued to smile, eager to leave his sight.

She reached the bottom and was about to sigh in relief before Mr. Kimura's voice filled her with irritation.

"One more thing, Miss Takahashi!" he called out. "Don't forget that your rent is due on the fourteenth!"

Do you think I need reminding? Kumiko took advantage of the fact that he could no longer see her. She headed straight for the main doors, hoping that he wouldn't see her lack of response as rudeness.

She stepped out into the street and felt grateful that it wasn't so busy on Saturday mornings. On most days, there would be countless students in uniform heading to school and droves of salarymen rushing to work while toting their briefcases.

Unlike them, her occupation as a tour guide meant that she was in higher demand on weekends. Parents would be taking their children out on trips, and people like her needed to be there for those who chose to go sightseeing.

It would have been nice to go to a local park and enjoy the scenery, but more work meant more hours. More hours meant more money. More money meant greater financial freedom.

A little sacrifice in the meantime was hardly a problem when she had countless years left to satisfy her desires, so she embarked on the route to the subway while focusing solely on the near future.

If it was any consolation, Manager Furuya had yet to ask her to work on Sundays. Still, she couldn't see her good fortune lasting much longer with the number of employees expected to leave this year.

She came to a stop in the middle of the footpath, realizing that she'd become invested in something supposed to provide nothing more than a steady income. After all, she'd never intended to stay here for more than a few months, what with her fabricated birth certificate and eternal youth.

Yet, yearning for stability often resulted in her overstaying her welcome, just as she'd done repeatedly for the past few centuries since the passing of her late husband, Ichiro.

She couldn't properly recall his face, but she knew that he'd been handsome and kind-hearted enough for her to begin abandoning her previous indifference towards humanity.

The location of his final resting place was a secret known only to her, and in a way, he'd been her companion right up until the present, even if he hadn't been able to witness any of the attractions that she had come across in her endless journey.

There had been a time when she'd clung desperately to the possibility of bringing him back, but the world had changed too much for the outcome to be desirable. Her late husband had been traditional in every sense of the word, and modern life would undoubtedly drive him insane.

Therefore, it was perhaps for the best that he remained dead, even if it meant living the rest of her life with regret.

She came to the end of one block and stood before the pedestrian crossing, trying to stay composed in the face of an aimless future.

******

A tour bus emblazoned with their company's logo, Destination Tokyo, was waiting for them after a morning spent leading visitors around the famed Meiji Shrine and explaining its history.

She had been partnered with a junior employee named Mayumi for this particular shift. Mayumi was twenty years old and had been with the company for no less than a few months, which went a long way to explaining why the younger woman followed her lead like some clueless puppy.

Speaking of which, dogs were perhaps the animals she loathed most of all. In her younger years, the mere sight of one would scare her so much that she'd revert to her original form and nearly blow her cover.

Nowadays, her feelings toward them were closer to disdain than fear. She found their subservience to mankind to be most perfidious, especially when other intelligent species were killed and eaten at an alarming rate.

She was jolted out of her thoughts when Mayumi expressed her desire to return to their set-off point early to have some quiet time.

"Sure. Let's do a headcount."

The two greeted the driver as they stepped onto the bus, then counted the passengers twice to make sure nobody was missing.

Soon after, they were on the road again, with her in one front seat and Mayumi in the other, while the people behind them chatted quietly.

Mayumi turned to her and made another suggestion. "Kumiko, why don't we put on a cassette? I think the passengers will like it."

"I don't see why not. I'll ask the driver."

She slowly stood up from her seat and opened her mouth to speak, but it became clear that he'd overheard their words by how he gestured toward the cassette deck.

She took a tape at random and slid it into the slot before pressing play. The song's catchy introduction was one she'd be able to recognize anywhere and, after sitting down, began to tap her feet in time with the rhythm of Sad Jealousy by The Checkers.

******

As if fate was toying with her, she encountered Mr. Kimura once more while walking up the stairs to her apartment. Even worse, his stiff posture suggested that he'd been expecting her for quite some time.

"Miss Takahashi..." he spoke up, relaxing his body the moment she walked by. "Did I ever tell you about the time I fought in Indonesia?"

The smell of sake wafted in her direction and made it evident that he'd been drinking. Perhaps that was why he couldn't recall where he'd been stationed during the Second World War, so she decided to take advantage of his impaired memory by speaking her mind.

"Indonesia? I thought it was the Philippines..."

Mr. Kimura hiccuped and reeled back against the wall. "Does it matter? They're the same to me."

Kumiko wrinkled her nose in disgust before saying what she'd wanted to say for so long. "You're a pathetic old geezer. Looking at you makes my stomach turn."

It seemed like her words had little effect on him, judging by how he lost his balance and sprawled to the floor to begin dozing away. Kumiko considered kicking him in the chest but ultimately decided that her insult had been revenge enough for his obnoxious behavior.

She retired to the safety of her apartment and made sure to lock the door, telling herself that Mr. Kimura would be fine again in the morning. It had been a tiring day, and she couldn't wait to treat herself to aburaage, which was her favorite food to snack on.

Afterward, she planned to curl up with an English picture book or watch a late-night program on television. Then, right before bedtime, she would light a stick of incense to honor her late husband and allow it to burn, all the while remembering the flames that had reduced his flesh and bones to ashes.

They said that time healed all wounds, yet in her case, it seemed like the scars lingered as a reminder of what could have been.

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Author Notes:

- Hideki Saijo was a Japanese singer who was quite popular during the 1970s and early 1980s. He was known for his flamboyant and energetic performances. 

- The best way to describe abuurage is as a fried tofu pouch. It is said to be the favorite food of kitsune.