Chapter 185, Seventy-Threeth Cycle (15)
The puppy didn't even know if it was a month old. It was a tiny little ball of fluff, its once furry body now wet, shivering and huddled together, covered in rain and mud.
So it wasn't until the puppy thrashed around on him a few times that Rei Furuya noticed the injury to its tiny paws. He turned to look at the door that had been scratched earlier, where there were wet mud spots and a little red blood.
Rei Furuya's expression changed instantly: "Hello, you're injured again?"
"Woof..." Harlow drooped his ears guiltily.
Rei Furuya paused in his steps as he walked back, then simply used his other hand to pull out an umbrella and took the dog out.
"Woof?" Harlow wagged its tail nervously and tried to bury its head in his arms.
"It's alright, I'll take you to the vet first." Furuya Rei reached out and patted the puppy's head. "I won't abandon you."
He didn't know how many hardships the puppy had gone through to find him, how many injuries the puppy had suffered, and the puppy couldn't speak.
All he can do now is keep it company, comfort it, and take it to the vet for a checkup.
Hello is too small now.
*
"It's a white Shiba Inu..." the veterinarian exclaimed, asking as he examined the dog, "Is it a stray?"
White Shiba Inus are rare, or rather, out of place.
In the industry, they are directly referred to as disqualified dogs. White Shiba Inus are not recognized by the World Canine Organization and cannot participate in breeding or competitions. It is not surprising that they are rejected and become stray dogs.
The most common breeds of Shiba Inu on the market are red and black. He hasn't seen anyone bring a stray white Shiba Inu to the animal hospital in a long time.
The doctor tried to explain tactfully, "Although the hospital can help contact adoption agencies, the chances of it being adopted are probably a little small..."
“It’s okay,” Rei Furuya said. “I’ll take care of it.”
The doctor paused for a moment, then turned to look at him, meeting a pair of gentle purple eyes filled with determination and seriousness—it was no joke.
"I feel a strong connection with it, and I will take good care of it from now on." Furuya Rei smiled, still holding the restless puppy's paw in his other hand to comfort it.
The doctor couldn't help but smile and softened his voice, saying gently, "Since you've decided to raise it, why don't you think about what name to give the little one now? We'll be registering it later."
Without hesitation, Furuya Rei said directly, "Hello, I'll call you Amuro Hello."
"Woof!" Haro, whose name was called, immediately looked up and barked, its tail wagging wildly. If the doctor hadn't been holding it down, it would have jumped into Furuya Rei's arms for a kiss and a rub.
The doctor couldn't help but laugh: "It seems you two are indeed destined to meet."
After the check-up confirmed that there was nothing seriously wrong, the hospital gave the wet puppy a hot bath and dried it off. And so, a fragrant, fluffy white puppy reappeared.
"It's nothing serious, the paw injury isn't severe, no bandaging needed, but remember to keep the wound dry," the vet carefully instructed. "It's probably only a month old and hasn't been weaned yet, so it's best to feed it milk for another two weeks, then pick a date to come in for its vaccinations..."
After carefully noting down the doctor's instructions, Furuya Rei bought a bunch of pet supplies, first stuffing the bags into the car, and finally leaving the hospital with the little dog that had been staring at him the whole time.
It was already dark, the rain was still falling, and the air was incredibly humid, but they were in high spirits.
"We met on a rainy day like this in the beginning, didn't we?" Furuya Rei smiled, opened the umbrella with one hand and leaned it on his shoulder, carefully carrying the white puppy in his arms as he walked into the rain.
"Woof woof woof!" Harlow barked happily, as if responding to his words.
"Alright, alright, be good, sit still." Furuya Rei opened the car door, secured the basket and the puppy inside to the passenger seat with seatbelts, and then walked around to get into the driver's seat.
The white Mazda started up and gradually drove away from the hospital, carrying the person and the dog inside.
"Hello, let's go home," Rei Furuya said with a smile.
"Woof!" Harlow barked happily.
*
It felt like a long-awaited joint trial.
Rei Furuya sat on the sofa with Haro in his arms, his phone propped up on the table, a video call playing on the screen showing all the members of Team Sakura.
Matsuda Jinpei spoke first.
"Rei Furuya, you actually have a pet? And it's a puppy that's still nursing? Are you serious?"
The fact that he called him by his full name was enough to show his shock and seriousness.
It's not that it's strange for Rei Furuya to keep a pet, but given his overly serious personality, he shouldn't have kept a pet while undercover, especially a small dog that needs to be taken out for walks frequently.
This isn't a big problem, but it's really not something Rei Furuya would do.
“Harlow isn’t just any ordinary puppy,” Rei Furuya explained earnestly. “Harlow is a police dog.”
"Woof!" The little white puppy stood tall with its chest out and back straight, its eyes firm, and it was very... adorable.
"Pfft..." Miyano Akemi couldn't help but laugh, then praised earnestly, "Very cute."
Morofushi Kagemitsu and Hagiwara Kenji were also laughing. Sawada Hiroki's eyes sparkled as he seemed to really like the puppy. Date Wataru, on the other hand, was a bit serious and asked thoughtfully, "Furuya, are you planning to train it as a police dog?"
Rei Furuya couldn't help but laugh too, then stopped joking and explained seriously, "Hello's situation is a bit complicated. Simply put, it should be like me, reborn from the very beginning of the future."
These words struck like a thunderbolt, leaving the group, who had been half-joking, stunned and momentarily speechless.
Rei Furuya, holding the puppy, continued to explain: "Haro has memories of his past life, remembers all the commands, and is very familiar with me. He came to me on his own when he was just a month old. I have confirmed that he was reborn like me and has complete memories."
The group remained silent, staring incredulously at the puppy in the video, its chin raised and tail wagging wildly; even the pixelated Noah's Ark's expression was garbled.
Rei Furuya, without accidentally touching Haro's injured spot, gently raised its two paws to greet everyone in the video: "Haro and I are very destined. At first, I didn't really intend to adopt it, but I ran into it a few more times. It even deliberately injured itself to keep following me so I could heal its wounds... I had no choice but to give in and adopt it."
The group: "..."
Those who already knew Rei Furuya well instantly understood why, because it was exactly the same as when Rei Furuya deliberately got injured as a child and went to Dr. Elena for treatment. No wonder he softened and admitted defeat.
Rei Furuya's feelings were also very complicated. He was excited and happy, but there was also a hint of showing off to his friends about his dog. He never thought that he would be able to introduce Hello to his friends one day.
"I wasn't joking when I said Harlow was a police dog. He's very smart, and has a keen sense of smell. He's helped me solve cases before. He can keep up with my running training speed, learns all training commands quickly, and is very gentle and kind. He even takes care of Kazami when he's too tired. Even though he doesn't like celery, he'll force himself to eat it because I'm feeding him. Harlow is a bit naughty sometimes. He'll drag a chair onto the refrigerator, open the door, and steal ice cream. He'll even use his strength to make the refrigerator door bounce back and close. He'll throw his trash in the bin to destroy evidence and avoid familiar surveillance cameras..."
Matsuda Jinpei was completely bewildered: "Wait, wait? Zero, are you sure you're raising a police dog and not a canine demon that's become sentient???"
Matsuda Jinpei had long since developed a great sense of tolerance for this unscientific world, so he was not at all surprised that monsters had appeared now.
But he was still greatly shocked by what Furuya Rei said.
Everyone was shocked. If it weren't for Furuya Rei's serious expression and the puppy in his arms nodding and puffing out its chest as if it understood perfectly, they would have thought Furuya Rei was just teasing them.
It was rare to see them make such expressions, so Rei Furuya couldn't help but laugh, his expression even a little smug.
“I’m not kidding, Harrow really is that smart,” he said.
*
Rei Furuya's initial smugness quickly turned into major distress.
At six o'clock in the morning, he opened his eyes in bed and saw a fluffy little dog sleeping close to him.
This little puppy, barely a month old, should be sleeping soundly, but as soon as he opened his eyes and gently lifted the blanket, before he even got out of bed, Harlow woke up alertly and almost instinctively scrambled over to him.
Rei Furuya immediately reached out and caught the white ball of fur that rolled over. He originally wanted to scold it, but when he met those round, wet dog eyes that had regained consciousness, all his anger vanished.
"Woof..." Haro's white ears were pressed back into an airplane shape.
Rei Furuya sighed helplessly and gently rubbed the puppy's head: "Honestly, don't rush around like that next time. What if you fall and get hurt? Remember, you're still small and can't take a fall."
"Woof!" Harlow's ears perked up instantly, and it obediently and affectionately clung to his feet, even keeping an eye on the blond youth while eating.
Rei Furuya thought of the "abandoned cat effect," which applies to puppies as well.
The puppy can't speak and can't answer overly complicated questions. Rei Furuya doesn't know what the world after his death is like, how long Haro waited for him, or how Haro was reborn and regained his memories.
But the puppy was clearly traumatized and now that it had finally seen him again, it didn't want to be separated from him for even a minute.
Last night, even while he was taking a shower, he had no choice but to put the puppy, which kept scratching and whining outside the door, into a waterproof box and bring it inside, placing it on the bathroom sink.
Fortunately, Harlow is mostly obedient. As long as he is with him or can see him, he will obediently lie on the basket and not move. In the end, he was so tired that he fell asleep.
Haro now seems completely unable to leave Furuya Rei, and even wakes up crying from nightmares at night, needing to snuggle up to him to confirm his presence before he can fall back asleep.
However, it's impossible for Rei Furuya to take an injured puppy with him when he goes out on a mission.
Especially since tonight is his first official appearance in the game, showing his true face to Conan Edogawa. The case is also very important, so Rei Furuya can't possibly miss tonight's banquet.
But Harrow is really smart, and sometimes that kind of smartness can be a real headache.
As soon as Rei Furuya put on his coat, it immediately stood up alertly.
As Furuya Rei started walking out, it blocked the doorway, tilting its head back and barking at him with a fierce yet pitiful expression.
"Woof!" The little dog's voice almost cracked, clearly mixed with unease and panic, as if it was worried that its owner would not return again and might accidentally die in some dangerous place outside that no dog knew or could reach.
Rei Furuya squatted down to be at eye level with the puppy, gently stroking its head as he softly said, "Hello, I have to go out. I'll be back tonight. Be a good boy and wait for me at home, okay? I promise I'll be back on time this time and I'll never leave you behind again."
Harlow shook its head vigorously, stubbornly blocking the doorway and preventing him from passing. Tears were still streaming down its face, and its overly emotional and heartbroken state even caused its little body to tremble.
Jianggu Ling: "..."
Rei Furuya sighed, "I'm really defeated by you."
What else could he do? He couldn't bring himself to just lock the puppy up alone at home.
Rei Furuya reluctantly picked up Haro, wiped away his tears, and comforted him. While soothing the little dog who was clinging to him and sobbing, he dialed the phone.
*
12 noon.
Trojan Horse Apartments.
After a long struggle, Rei Furuya finally managed to leave the house.
Zhu Fujing sat cross-legged on the floor, trying to relax his body to appear as harmless as possible, and tentatively reached out to the dog that was watching him warily.
"Hello, Haro, I'm Hiro." Morofushi Kagemitsu introduced himself to Haro with a smile.
The hand didn't reach out directly, but stopped in front of the puppy.
Harlow had calmed down a bit now. Hesitantly, he leaned forward and sniffed his fingers. His previously fierce eyes suddenly lit up.
"Woof!!!"
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