Off The Leash

Chapter 2 — Off the Leash

There she was. More beautiful than ever before, and most importantly, she was safe.

My Michelle.

I knew I had saved her from the crash, but I’d still been worried sick she might’ve been hurt. Every second after it happened, that was all I could think about.

But she was standing there. Breathing. Unharmed.

All the pain I’d gone through was worth it.

My tail wagged with excitement.

“Miche—”

“Bro, why are you shaking your tush?” someone laughed.

I turned and saw a guy standing there. I had no idea who he was, but honestly, I didn’t care.

“Michel—”

“Okay, dude, I actually can’t even watch that anymore.”

He laid his hand on my shoulder.

“Who are you?” I growled, pushing his hand away.

“Dang, dude, that hurts.” He shook his head. “We were assigned roommates, remember?”

“Roommates?” What was this guy going on about?

“Wow, you really don’t remember me?” He clicked his tongue. “Derrick. The dashingly tall, incredibly athletic, and most importantly handsome one.”

“Ringing any bells?”

“Nope.”

Derrick’s shoulders drooped.

“Oh… okay,” he muttered. “Well, anyway, who was that girl?”

“Girl?” Who was he talking about—

Michelle.

I hurried to look where she had been standing, but it was too late.

She was gone.

I couldn’t believe I’d missed my opportunity to be reunited with her. I was so close, but I lost my shot, all because of him.

“So, was she your crush or something, bro?”

“Of course not,” I snapped. “She’s my owner.”

Derrick’s jaw dropped, his eyes glued to me. Did I say something weird?

“So that’s what you’re into.”

Into? Whatever he meant, this could work. It’d be a lot easier to find Michelle if I got another human to help me.

“She’s my owner, and I’m her dog.”

“Okay… you’re sharing a little too much now—”

“No, listen!” What was he not getting?

“I got run over while we were on a walk. Then I woke up in whoever’s body this is!”

I expected him to laugh at me again, but he didn’t. Instead, he looked me up and down. Then he met my eyes.

“Sooo… quick question.” His eyes were still locked onto mine. “Was it a truck that hit you?”

“What?” Why did that matter? “I mean, I’m not sure, but it could have been—”

“You were isekai’d!” he shouted.

“Isekai’d?”

“I’ll explain. Just follow me.”

“Okay…”

Derrick led me through the university grounds. We ducked and dodged through the crowds lining the sidewalks.

Now that I was getting a closer look, this place was even bigger than I’d thought. Each path led to a different building, all of them much larger than Michelle’s apartment had been. The lawns surrounding them looked so fun, all covered in bright green grass and tall trees.

—Wait. Green?

I could see green now.

Man, being human was weird.

“We’re here,” Derrick said.

We stopped in front of another building. This time, the door had two names printed on it.

Derrick.

And one other.

Sean?

Could that be this body’s name?

Derrick opened the door and we walked in. Instantly, a deep, damp scent flooded my nostrils, strong enough to make me grateful my sense of smell wasn’t as strong as it used to be.

“Ah, sorry about that. I haven’t gotten to doing laundry just yet.”

“It’s okay…” I said, my face scrunching up anyway.

The room was similar to Michelle’s apartment. A large living room with doors leading off in different directions. A small kitchen was attached to the side.

The main difference?

This place was a wreck.

Trash spilled across the tables and counters. Dishes towered in the kitchen sink. Dirty clothes crept out from under one of the bedroom doors like they were trying to escape.

Could this guy really help me—

Suddenly, Derrick pulled a string. A chart dropped from the ceiling. Then another. And another. He scrambled around the place, dragging chalkboards and cabinets from his room, clothes and scent trailing in behind him.

Finally, Derrick sat down, holding a pen and paper in his hand. His eyes glowed as he stared at me.

“Now, tell me everything!”

“Everything?” He looked more excited than I did when I saw a tennis ball. “About what?”

“About you getting isekai’d, obviously.”

“I still don’t know what that means.”

“Oh right… you’re a dog.” His grin widened. “Well, you’re in luck, because I’m an expert.”

Oh good…

“So basically, getting isekai’d is when you die and then get reincarnated into a different world, or in your case, a different body.”

“Reincarnated?”

“In simple terms, it’s when your mind shifts to a new body after death.” He pointed at one of the charts. “Like this.”

The chart showed a poorly drawn human lying dead on the ground. Something floated out of his body and into what looked like a strange blue blob.

Yeah, this made no sense.

“So, I died and somehow ended up in this guy’s body?”

“Exactly. But something’s weird about your case.”

“What would that be?”

“Well, usually you wouldn’t be reincarnated into an already living body.” He scratched his head. “And last time I saw him, Sean was definitely alive.”

So that was his name.

“Well… I did wake up in a doctor’s office.”

“Ah, that’d explain it. He must’ve gotten into an accident.” His excitement dimmed.

“Oh, I’m sorry—”

“Welp, that’s a bummer.” His excitement flared again. “Barely knew him anyway.”

Derrick was really a strange guy.

“So let me get this straight. You were that girl’s dog, you got run over, and now you want to reunite with her as a human?”

“Yeah! Exactly.” Finally, we were on the same track. “So when can we tell her?”

Derrick shook his head.

“Uh, we can’t, bro.”

“Why not?” What now?

“Because, dude, if some guy just went up to her and claimed to be her dead dog, she’d freak out. Duh.”

“But I know everything about her. She’d believ—”

“Yeah. Definitely not.” He started writing on one of the boards. “That’s called stalking, man.”

“But—” Actually, I guess he could be right this time. I mean, throughout all our time together, I had always been a dog. Would she really believe me if I told her it was me?

“Fine. Do you have a better plan?” I didn’t like it, but now Derrick was my only hope.

Derrick’s grin grew even wider.

“Of course I do!” he exclaimed, revealing the writing on his board.

The Power of Love

“Obviously, the answer to getting Michelle to believe you is to make her fall in love with you!”