what happens to mitsuba when kou dies?
its something they've discussed extensively. kou would like for him to eat his body, assuming he can access it, so that he can give him one last good meal. mitsuba cries to entire time but who is he to deny the love of his life that final selfish wish?
teru shows up to collect mitsuba a day or so later and the revulsion is intense. he can hardly stand to look at him. but kou asked teru to take care of mitsuba should he die. so thats exactly what teru does.
at first, its very much a human - pet situation. teru sets out food and goes to work. he comes home and hopes that mitsuba is still there. sometimes, he wonders if it'd be easier if he let mitsuba run off. they certainly dont have a lot of love for one another.
little by little, he comes to look forward to stepping through the door to find mitsuba waiting on the genkan for him. he's always melancholy, a sour look on his face that only abates when teru offers him some of his leftover mcdonalds from dinner.
teru learns to cook for mitsuba's sake, because he cant have the little rat dissolving due to his own neglect. as much as teru wants to say its entirely for kou, they both know he's grown attached.
they form a perfect little unit, two grieving people who need each other more than they can admit.
