Stepping out of the school.
Asura galloped all the way towards the city he frequented, like a playful child, squandering his youth in play, his mind filled with thoughts of what to do.
"Boom shakalaka..."
On the road, a sports car was blasting loud music. The speed limit on this sparsely populated mountain road was 80, but the owner of this car was driving at 110, seeking the thrill of speed.
In the passenger seat sat a rather sexy woman. Her hair cascaded in waves over her shoulders, a cigarette dangled from her lips, and her head swayed unconsciously to the dynamic music. She wore a red off-the-shoulder dress that reached her thighs, her eyes hazy.
The man in the driver's seat held the steering wheel with one hand, a cigarette in his left, seemingly inhaling something intoxicating. His face was flushed as he shouted passionately, "Yeah! Screw studying, I've got money to burn!"
"Knock knock knock!"
The glass of the window emitted a rhythmic, crisp sound, as if someone were knocking. The man glanced over in confusion, then as if he had seen a ghost, muttered:
"No way?! Someone's riding a dog and keeping up with my sports car!?"
Natsu Hiraku was currently knocking on the window of the speeding car, shouting, "You're speeding, please slow down. You're going to cause an accident like this."
"Damn it!"
The man muttered inwardly, stubbed out the cigarette in his left hand, gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands, and floored the accelerator. The sports car roared, its speed climbing to 130.
Feeling the car rapidly pulling away, Natsu Hiraku patted Asura's shoulder and shouted, "Can you catch up?"
"Woof! (Of course!)"
Asura looked at the receding sports car, scarlet Cursed Energy flaring around him, and then chased after it even more vigorously, like a dog chasing a fleeing cat.
Inside the sports car.
The woman gradually regained consciousness as the car suddenly accelerated, asking in confusion, "What's wrong?"
"N-nothing, I must have been seeing things."
The man swallowed, comforting himself inwardly, I must have been seeing things from smoking too much. How could a dog be going 110, carrying a person?
"Knock knock knock!"
"Your speed is too high, please pull over slowly and return to the normal speed limit for this road."
The sudden sound almost made the man wet himself. This time, he didn't even dare to look at the window and just slammed on the brakes, shouting, "Am I seeing things in broad daylight?!"
The now-sober woman looked at the rapidly increasing speed, her expression turning tense, and shouted, "Slow down! Slow down! The car will lose control if you keep driving like this!"
As they rounded a corner, a stone the size of a quail egg was run over, causing the car to lose control.
A normal driver would likely have been fine, even having time to react and swerve. But this car had already reached nearly 170, leaving no room for thought. The car flew off the road, plunging straight into the woods beside it.
"Woof woof, woof woof woof! (Master, the car is gone.)"
Asura also slowly stopped, looking at the tire marks on the ground and the broken trees by the roadside. Then, a violent explosion echoed from the woods.
"..."
Hearing the explosion, Natsu Hiraku was speechless. He had merely encountered a speeding vehicle and kindly reminded the driver. Now, the driver wouldn't need any more reminders and was heading straight to heaven...
Although he knew everyone in the car was dead – after all, even Asura couldn't keep up with that car, its speed was unimaginable, and then it exploded, leaving almost no chance of survival – Natsu Hiraku still jumped off Asura and commanded:
"Go see if there's anyone alive. If there is, save them."
Receiving the order, Asura charged into the woods.
Natsu Hiraku took out his phone and dialed the emergency number. After all, his current blindness made him a burden. He had Cursed Energy, but he wasn't familiar with the world of the blind, nor did he want to step into it.
A moment later, the call was answered, and a woman's voice came from the phone: "This is the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, how can I help you?"
"I saw a car accident on the way to Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College. I'm currently rescuing the people inside, please hurry over. Yes..."
After a brief explanation, Natsu Hiraku hung up. He had made the call, and now he just had to see if anyone was alive inside, though the probability was low.
He sighed helplessly, "Sigh, isn't it better to obey the law? Why drive so fast? Now look, who knows when I'll be able to drive again. Luckily, I only ride a dog and don't drive, it's too dangerous."
In the forest.
The out-of-control car had crashed into a massive tree. The driver's side was completely destroyed by the tree, and red bloodstains could be seen on the ground.
The woman in the passenger seat, with her seatbelt on, seemed unharmed, but she was dazed by the shockwave of the explosion, her mind blank, her vision blurred, seeing only a fiery red.
If no one came to rescue her, she would be burned alive by the fire within five minutes.
She whispered, "It hurts so much, is anyone going to save me?"
"Clang! Clang!"
Loud noises echoed in her ears, rousing the drowsy woman from her stupor. She struggled to open her eyes, only to see a blurry figure in front of her.
Asura was tearing at the car door, his pupils scarlet. He had just heard someone calling for help from inside and, according to his master's orders, he had to save her.
With just three tugs, he ripped off the jammed car door, unbuckled the seatbelt, and then bit the woman's hand, pulling her out of the car to show off to his master.
Along the way, he saw the crushed remains of the person in the driver's seat, but he only glanced at it, not paying it any mind, as his master only wanted him to save the living.
A minute later, Asura brought the still-living woman before Natsu Hiraku and then sat on the ground, wagging his tail.
Natsu Hiraku knelt, touching the woman's wrist to check for a pulse. But after checking, he felt it was insufficient. If she was bleeding, wouldn't she bleed to death?
Facing Asura, he asked, "Where is she bleeding from?"
Asura glanced down and saw the woman in front of him was covered in red. He said, "Woof woof! (It's all blood!)"
"..."
Natsu Hiraku was speechless. He knew the dog's intelligence still needed improvement, so he didn't ask further. Instead, he reached out and began to feel around, a last resort.
After all, from an outsider's perspective, he looked like a hooligan looting a corpse right now...
As he felt around, he realized something was wrong. The woman's hand bones were too thin, as if she hadn't finished developing. She looked quite young.
Natsu Hiraku continued to feel around, muttering inwardly, "There's blood seeping from her forehead, but it's not serious. Her back of the head is fine, and there are no wounds on her neck."
"Cough, cough, cough! Next, next..."
After searching, Natsu Hiraku confirmed the wounds on her body. Her forehead had some scrapes that had already scabbed over. Her thigh had been cut, but it wasn't serious. It was just a superficial wound, and he wasn't sure if there were any internal injuries.
Now, all they had to do was wait for the police.
In less than ten minutes, the sirens of police cars and ambulances sounded simultaneously. Natsu Hiraku lay on top of Asura, waiting. The woman lying on the ground... no, more accurately, the girl, showed no signs of waking up.
The three police officers in the leading patrol car saw the child waiting by the roadside and quickly stopped. They put on their caps, opened the car doors, and got out.
Several medical personnel also emerged from the ambulance following behind.
Natsu Hiraku stood up and faced the approaching group, saying, "Hello, the girl lying on the ground is the injured party."
"Okay."
One officer took out paper and a pen and walked over, while the other two companions headed towards the nearby woods. The medical personnel behind them ran over with first-aid kits.
Natsu Hiraku and Asura were taken to the side to be questioned.
The officer asked, "Was this car involved in an accident, or what happened?"
"Speeding, and I'm blind, so I couldn't see anything." As Natsu Hiraku spoke, he took off his sunglasses, opened his eyes, and waved his left hand in front of his face a few times.
The officer looked at Natsu Hiraku's sightless eyes and said apologetically, "Is that so? I'm sorry, kid, for asking so directly. Uncle has one more question: how was the girl rescued?"
"My Asura rescued her. He's a Tibetan Mastiff, very strong. He's my guide dog now."
As Natsu Hiraku spoke, he patted Asura, who was squatting beside him.
"Uh... a Tibetan Mastiff as a guide dog..."
The officer paused, his hand holding the pen. It was the first time he had heard of a Tibetan Mastiff being a guide dog. Which dog training institution in Japan had trained it? It was quite absurd.
"Ahem!"
The officer cleared his throat and continued, "Could you please tell us your name and address? We'll take over from here, kid."
Natsu Hiraku replied, "Okay, my name is Natsu Hiraku. I currently live at Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical College. My hometown address is..., I won't be going back anytime soon."
"Alright, got it. You can go now, kid."
The officer nodded and waved for Natsu Hiraku to leave. Natsu Hiraku put on his sunglasses and nodded. Riding on Asura, he commanded in his mind, "Walk slowly, don't use Cursed Energy."
"Woof woof! (Okay, Master!)"
Watching the man and dog leave, the officer's worldview was shattered. Tibetan Mastiffs were known for their ferocity. It was already outrageous for one to be so obedient and a guide dog, but it could also carry a person?
Once he realized they were alone, Natsu Hiraku patted Asura's shoulder, signaling him to speed up. It was already past 3 PM. If they didn't hurry, it would be night, and there wasn't much fun to be had at night.
"Awooo~!"
Asura howled and began to speed up, scarlet Cursed Energy covering his body. His tongue lolled out as he experienced the thrill of speed.
Natsu Hiraku held tightly onto the dog leash, like riding a horse, though the bouncing was a bit painful. He had to use Cursed Energy to protect himself.
Entering the city, Natsu Hiraku walked down the street, holding the leash. Asura led the way, drawing a 100% turn rate.
"Look, look! What a big dog! What breed is that? It looks so well-behaved, and it's a guide dog! Honey, should we get one too?"
Facing his wife's cooing, the man felt immense pressure. He seemed to know what kind of dog this was but wasn't sure. He took out his phone and searched, then made a comparison. His face grew even more grim, and he said with some difficulty, "W-wife, this dog... we can't get one."
"Why?"
The man swallowed and said, "This is... a Tibetan Mastiff! One of the fiercest breeds. I don't know how this young man trained it, but if we got one, we'd have a dismemberment case in minutes."
The woman stopped talking when she heard the consequences. She just looked at it with awe and inwardly complained, "Kids these days are so intense... raising a Tibetan Mastiff..."
Wherever Asura passed, people within ten meters would make way. At this moment, his presence was no less imposing than a lion's. If it weren't for the teenager behind him holding the leash, they might have already called the police and fled.
Asura surveyed his surroundings and smelled a particularly delicious scent. He barked at Natsu Hiraku, "Woof woof woof! (Master, I want to eat!)"
"Takoyaki? Let's go."
Natsu Hiraku also smelled the aroma in the air and, led by Asura, walked over.
"Whoa, what a huge dog!"
The stall owner almost dropped his stall and ran when he saw the dog, half his height, approaching. But Natsu Hiraku called him back in time, "Don't be scared, he won't bite. He's my guide dog. Can I have five orders of takoyaki?"
"This... is that so... Your guide dog is really special, young man..."
The takoyaki vendor wiped the sweat from his forehead and began skillfully making the takoyaki.
Natsu Hiraku just stood there waiting, but Asura seemed impatient. Smelling the enticing aroma, he drooled.
Natsu Hiraku could only gently tap his head, signaling him to wait at ease. This made the uncle beside him feel a chill in his heart, but upon realizing nothing was wrong, he gradually relaxed. As if making small talk, he asked:
"Kid, what breed is this dog? How did you raise it to be so big?"
"Tibetan Mastiff. I usually just feed it cow bones and beef, and it's quite friendly, just needs improvement in intelligence."
"Tibetan... Tibetan Mastiff, huh? Tibetan Mastiffs are good, sturdy eaters."
The uncle chuckled a few times and said no more. They were clearly from different worlds. He handed over the five portions of takoyaki he had made and said, "That'll be 3000 yen."
"Wait a moment."
Natsu Hiraku took out a 10,000 yen bill from his pocket and handed it over, saying, "Keep the change."
Looking at the 10,000 yen bill in the young man's hand, a hint of greed arose in the uncle's heart. He muttered to himself, "He's blind anyway, and this dog scared me too. Why not take an extra 2,000 yen as compensation? Yes, it's compensation, I'm not taking any more."
"Alright, please wait a moment."
The uncle took the 10,000 yen bill, handed over the five portions of takoyaki, then pulled out two 2,000 yen bills and one 1,000 yen bill from his pocket, handing them over and saying, "That's 7,000 yen."
Natsu Hiraku lowered his head and looked at Asura. His previously kind face gradually turned serious. He turned back and said, "Uncle, do you want to exchange it for a new one?"
"This money is new. Kid, you can touch it."
The uncle looked at the serious expression on the young man's face and felt a bit uneasy. This kid is blind, isn't he? If he could tell by touch, I'd admit it. But he doesn't even try to touch it. Looks like he's used to being cheated, trying to show off. Sorry, I'm not timid. Who knows where I'll be selling tomorrow.
Although Natsu Hiraku was blind at the moment, it didn't mean Asura was. He couldn't read, but he could count!
He could still distinguish a few numbers.
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