Steam rose from the hot spring pool.
Shiro lay beside the pool, his tail slowly sweeping across the ground.
Suddenly, his ears twitched.
It was a very, very faint sound, broken and intermittent, like something was crying.
He lifted his head and stared toward the back of the courtyard.
The sound came again.
Shiro stood up, hesitated for a moment, then turned and ran toward the sound.
He crossed the stone path beside the hot spring, went around a row of bamboo, and ran to the wall at the end of the backyard.
The sound was clearer now.
It was coming from behind the wall.
Shiro looked up at the wall. It wasn't too high. A faint blue glow rose from his paws.
Shiro ran up the wall, climbed over the top, and jumped to the other side.
Behind the wall was a narrow alley, with several old wooden boxes and a broken bamboo basket piled there.
The sound was coming from behind the bamboo basket.
Shiro walked over and poked his head in.
It was a puppy.
Its fur was gray, dirty, and covered in mud and bits of grass. It was curled up into a ball, its mouth slightly open, making weak whimpering sounds.
Shiro moved closer and gently touched its ear with his nose.
The puppy trembled, opened its eyes a crack, and when it saw Shiro, it whimpered and tucked its legs in tighter.
Shiro backed up two steps, looked at the puppy, then looked back at the wall. Then he ran up the wall again.
In the hot spring pool...
Shin-chan sank a little deeper into the water. The hot water reached his chin, and the towel on his face had slid crookedly to one side.
Uchiha Toru opened his eyes and glanced at him, then closed them again.
Shiro rushed out from behind the bamboo and ran to the edge of the pool, circling twice around where Shin-chan was soaking.
"Woof!"
Shin-chan didn't react.
"Woof woof!"
Shin-chan mumbled vaguely, "Shiro, stop messing around..."
Shiro ran behind his head and pawed at his shoulder.
Shin-chan twisted his shoulder. "Shiro... hot springs feel so nice... You should soak too..."
He reached out to grab Shiro, wanting to pull him into the pool.
Shiro stepped back and dodged his hand.
"Woof woof woof!"
Shin-chan finally took the towel off his face. "What is it...?"
Shiro ran to a rock beside the pool, wagged his tail hard at Shin-chan, then ran two steps toward the back of the courtyard. He stopped and looked back at him.
Shin-chan blinked. "What are you doing?"
"Woof!"
Shin-chan yawned and was about to slide back into the water.
A black line seemed to appear on Shiro's face.
He looked left and right, then rushed over, grabbed the towel Shin-chan had placed by the pool, and ran off with it.
"Shiro." Shin-chan abruptly sat up, splashing water everywhere. "That's my towel."
Uchiha Toru got splashed in the face. He opened his eyes and expressionlessly wiped his face.
Shin-chan had already climbed out of the pool with a splash. Barefoot, he stepped onto the stone path and chased after Shiro, leaving drops of water all along the way.
Shiro ran for a while, then stopped and looked back at him. After making sure Shin-chan was following, he continued running.
Shin-chan chased him to the backyard wall and saw Shiro running up it.
"Shiro, where are you going?"
At the top of the wall, Shiro turned back with the towel in his mouth, barked at him, then jumped down.
"Shiro, that's outside." Shin-chan clumsily climbed onto the wall and peeked down.
Then he saw the gray, dusty puppy curled up in the narrow alley.
Shiro stood beside it, placed the towel on the ground, then nudged the puppy's ear with his nose.
Shin-chan jumped down from the wall, still dripping wet. A breeze blew past, and he shivered.
The puppy's breathing was very, very shallow. Its belly rose and fell so faintly that it was almost impossible to see.
Shin-chan reached out and gently, very gently, touched its head.
"You're hurt."
A thin whimper came from the puppy's throat.
Shin-chan crouched there and suddenly remembered the fish from last time. Then he placed his hand on the puppy and closed his eyes.
After a while, a green light began glowing beneath his palm.
The puppy's body trembled slightly.
Within the green light, the torn flesh slowly closed bit by bit. The puppy's breathing deepened, and the rise and fall of its belly became more obvious.
Shin-chan kept his eyes closed, a fine layer of sweat appearing on his forehead.
The green light brightened for another instant, then slowly dimmed.
Shin-chan's hand slipped from the puppy's body, and he plopped down on the ground. "So... so tired..."
The puppy stood up, shook out its fur, then pounced onto Shin-chan's leg and rubbed its head against his belly.
Shin-chan picked up the puppy and held it in front of him.
"Are you better now?"
The puppy licked his nose.
"As long as you're better." Shin-chan put it down, then suddenly remembered something and looked down at himself. "Oh no. I'm not wearing clothes."
Shiro carried the towel over and placed it on his lap.
Shin-chan looked down at the towel, now wet from Shiro biting it, then sneezed.
"Achoo."
Uchiha Toru's voice came from the other side of the wall.
"Shin-chan?"
"Over here, over here," Shin-chan called.
After a while, Uchiha Toru climbed over the wall. He had already changed into his clothes, his ninja tool pouch with him, though his hair was still wet.
He looked at the dripping-wet Shin-chan, then at the gray puppy.
"What happened?"
"It was hurt." Shin-chan pointed at the puppy. "I healed it."
Uchiha Toru was silent for a moment.
"When did you learn how to do that?"
Shin-chan thought about it. "When I saved a fish last time."
Uchiha Toru looked at him, then shook his head. "Go back and put on your clothes first. Otherwise, you'll catch a cold."
Shin-chan lowered his head and looked at the puppy.
The puppy was looking up at him, its tail wagging quickly.
"Toru."
"Mm?"
"Can we bring it back with us?"
Uchiha Toru hesitated for two seconds. "Let's ask Mr. Kosuke first."
Shin-chan bent down and picked up the puppy. The puppy burrowed into his arms and stuck out its tongue to lick his chin.
Shiro wagged his tail beside them, looking up at the gray puppy in Shin-chan's arms. He barked once, as if saying hello.
By the hot spring pool, Maruboshi Kosuke froze for a moment when he saw Shin-chan come back naked, holding a dog.
"Uncle." Shin-chan ran over and held the puppy up in front of him. "Can I take him back?"
Maruboshi Kosuke shook his head and refused. "No."
Shin-chan didn't lower his hands. "Why?"
"We can't bring it back to Konoha." Maruboshi Kosuke stood up from the hot spring pool. "But we can help find a family for it here."
"Here?"
"There are many people in town who like dogs. Plenty of them keep dogs too."
Shin-chan looked down at the puppy in his arms.
The puppy was looking up at him, tongue hanging out, panting happily.
"Wash up first and put on your clothes." Maruboshi Kosuke came out of the pool and wiped the water off himself with a towel. "Then we'll go ask the owner."
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 70 Chapters Ahead of Others!