IWSBSB 07

Chapter 07

Two days after I went to the home center, the puppy’s enclosure arrived. I’d been advised there that a customizable enclosure was better than a fixed cage, so I went with that. As I knew from the start, I couldn’t haul it home on my bicycle, so I arranged for delivery. I messaged Mana-san, and she replied that she’d be bringing the puppy over tomorrow, just as we had planned. I assembled the enclosure in the empty space in the living room and tidied up to prepare for the new little guy.

The next day, a little after 1 PM, Mana-san and her aunt arrived with the puppy.

”Inamori-kun, isn’t he adorable? He’s smart and friendly, too, so I think he’ll get used to you in no time, even if you’ve never had a dog before.” Mana-san spoke with a bright, formal tone; this was the pattern, I realized, because her aunt was right there. Her aunt, whom I learned was named Kawaguchi-san, was Mana-san’s father’s sister.

”Nakanishi-san, thank you for introducing me to such a lovely dog,” I replied, trying to match her formality. “I think he’ll definitely help ease my loneliness.”

”He seems like a gentle person, which is wonderful,” Kawaguchi-san replied, giving me a warm, reassuring smile. She then asked to see the space where I’d be keeping him.

”This is absolutely perfect. If you let him play in the yard on nice days, he won’t get stressed. You’ll need to take him for a walk once a day, but you should probably wait until he’s settled into his new environment.” I thanked her, saying I would keep that in mind. I also exchanged contact information with Kawaguchi-san in case any problems popped up.

”Inamori-kun, have you decided on a name yet?”

”I have a few candidates, but I thought it would be better to meet him first before deciding for sure,” I admitted.

”Well, tell me when you decide!” Mana-san and Kawaguchi-san watched the puppy for a little while longer before they left. As her aunt was walking out the door, she leaned in and said, “Please support Mana-chan¹,” which completely confused me—I couldn’t quite grasp what she meant.

The instant Mana-san and her aunt were gone, the puppy became restless. I supposed that was only natural; it was his first time in a new place. More importantly, I had to give him a name, and fast. I decided I’d choose a name he liked, one he would actually respond to. I had a feeling it might have come from a scene in my dad’s favorite manga, but I couldn’t be sure…

I tried a few popular names: “Leo, Mugi, Noah, Roy…” He didn’t react at all. I decided popular names were out—too many dogs would have them.

”Pochi, Hachi, Punch…” Nope, those didn’t work either.

”Tom, Will, Brad, Greg, Bogey.”

He let out a little, happy woof.

Humphrey Bogart, huh? Isn’t that a bit old-fashioned for such a cute little dog? I decided to try a few more classic names, just to be sure.

”John, Paul, George, Ringo, Bogey.”

”Woof!” He barked again, with conviction.

It seems Bogey it is. He’s such a cute dog, but he has the tastes of a cool, handsome, classic actor. It made me realize just how much I really loved all the music and films my dad had liked.

The very next day, a little after lunchtime, Mana-san came by with homemade sandwiches.

”Did you pick a name?” she asked, a soft smile playing on her lips.

”I named him Bogey,”

”Why Bogey?”

”Because he responded when I called out that name.”

”Really?” she wondered aloud, a skeptical look on her face.

”Want to test it out? Roy, Leo, Mugi, Bogey.”

”Woof!”

”See? I told you.”

”That must have been a coincidence, don’t you think?”

”Alright, let’s try again. Pochi, Chibi, Punch, Ma-na…”

I looked over at Mana-san, and she was already staring right back at me, her eyes wide.

”I’m not supposed to answer that! I’m not a dog! Hiro-kun, you’d say something like that? It’s completely unexpected! Ah, wait a minute, did you decide to start calling me ‘Mana’ without the ‘san’ and that was your way of testing it…?”

”It-It wasn’t like that! It was just a joke, or maybe I just got carried away, I don’t know…” I stammered.

”Bogey thinks so too, right?” Bogey wagged his tail and stared intently at Mana-san.

”See? Bogey agrees! Since you said it, Hiro-kun, it’s decided. If you don’t call me Mana, I’m not making you any more of my special cooking.” Watching Mana-san’s expression—one I never got to see at school—was truly fun. I didn’t hate the way she was aggressively pushing closer to me, like she was capturing everything I was. But, I can’t help but feel she’s got me wrapped around her finger², too.

From then on, Mana came to visit every single day. Seeing Mana play with Bogey was adorable. Through Mana, Bogey started to grow attached to me, and my everyday life became happier.

”You know, if you acted like this at school, people wouldn’t think you were such a weirdo…”

”I just don’t know how to. Mitsuhiko says I have this ‘don’t approach’ aura. Besides, my hobbies don’t match up with anyone’s, and I don’t feel like forcing myself to fit in.”

”That sounds cool when you put it that way, but you’re not going to make any friends, you know.”

”I don’t need to force myself to make friends…”

”Then… what about me?”

”Mana-san… you just aggressively pushed your way in, so…”

”Agh, you used ‘san’ again! Hiro-kun, you really are weak to pressure, aren’t you?” Mana gave me the side-eye, her expression a mix of playful annoyance and triumph.

”It’s not everyone… just…” I trailed off.

”So, it’s only okay because it’s me? Well, I’m fine with that!” Mana’s face lit up with happiness. It was the truth—it wasn’t unpleasant because it was Mana. These back-and-forth, almost flirtatious exchanges continued daily, all in front of Bogey.

My life changed drastically with Bogey’s arrival, and I was enjoying a peaceful stretch of days. It was at this perfect moment that an incident occurred.