1
Mrow…clink, clink…mroow. The sound reverberated down the dim alley. I would have just looked past it but I wondered and you know the quote about curiosity and a dumb cat. And I was one idiotic cat. I looked down the alley, being at the opening on a sidewalk littered and a musty smell invading my nose. I went over to a black metal bench nearby and decided to look and see if I had to be the one to risk my neck.
People thronged around Kouyou as he pulled the thin gray sweater and mentally checked of that if it was what he thought it was if he would be able to take care of it. The 'it' of course was a cat. After all, how many things did you know that went 'meow'? His dark brown eyes looked at the people nearby, some in neatly pressed tasteful (and sometimes not so tasteful) suits, others in normal clothes. One thing in common with the various people, no one wanted to help what was in the alley. Kouyou sighed and stood up; he wasn't going to stay and sit if an animal was hurting, or for that matter, if anything was hurting. Taking a deep breath Kouyou walked in the alley. About halfway through the small alley he heard the clinking faintly and knew it was near the end of the dead end alley. He climbed over random rotting trash and trying to not step in anything that might squish, he moved forward. The clinking stopped as he got near but Kouyou knew it had come from a half collapsed box and gently lifted it up to see a medium sized cat with a large clump of dried blood on the thigh of its right leg, the cat had a small black leather collar with a small bell. The clinking was from the chain wrapped around the cat and digging into its' blond fur.
"Ne little one, do you mind?" Kouyou asked as he slowly reached down after setting box aside. The cats' brown eyes stared hazily at him. 'Do cats have brown eyes?' Kouyou wondered as he lightly tried to untangle wincing as the cat bit his wrist. Kouyou paused and stared at the cat, wincing slightly but knowing the chain needed out. "It needs out little one." The cat mewed as it set its' head back down and let Kouyou untangle the chain, it wasn't easy as there was dried blood and scabs attached to it. Kouyou winced as he pulled away the chain, it was longer then he thought it was. When it was finally off the cat Kouyou, against better thinking, pulled of his sweater and gently wrapped the cat up in it, running to the vet.
The vet had just entered the room to see Kouyou crouched near the cats head telling it things you would tell a child to keep them calm. The vet sighed.
"This is your cat I presume?" the vet said washing his hands and putting on latex gloves, the latex snapping slightly.
"Um, it…is now?" Kouyou said hoping he wasn't a mean vet. The vet stared at him them laughed slightly. Kouyou childishly pouted. Here was this cat in pain, and the vet won't help it because he didn't own it? What the heck? The vet pulled out a paper from a metal desk and handed it to him. "What-"
"Just fill it out. I'll say you bought him from a friend." The vet smiled slightly like he didn't want to show much emotion and went to cleaning the wounds as Kouyou looked at the paper. "I'm guessing you just found him, correct?"
"Yeah, he was hurt and no one was helping him." Kouyou said offhandedly as he looked at the paper filling out what he could. "Why do cats get shots?" Kouyou said looking confused. The vet threw out a pile of stained red gauze.
"Cat's get diseases, and just like dogs and other animals that get near humans, we give them shots so they don't pass it to us. And they stay healthier. But this cat seems to be perfectly healthy." The vet picked up the cat carefully and set it on the scale and murmured to it calming the cat down. "Did you decide on a name?" Kouyou handed the paper to the vet who took it and looked at the top. "You haven't then. Hmm. Well I'll fill out the medical part. Do you want to just give him his shots now?" Kouyou looked at the cat and shook his head.
"I don't think he's strong enough to have them. Can I come back later?" Kouyou asked moving to pet the cat softly. "I think I want to call him Akira but is that a good name?" the vet laughed completely now.
"It's your cat. Akira is a perfectly fine name." the vet started wrapping gauze around the cat's torso and front legs, covering the wounds. Kouyou sat staring into the cat's eyes. "I have never seen eyes that color though." Kouyou wasn't paying attention. The cat was staring at him unblinkingly his eyes seemingly almost human-like. The vet shrugged and filled in 'Akira' for the name and medical information. The cat had gotten up slightly before falling from being weak. Kouyou picked him up and held him gently and looked at the vet.
"What do I feed him? He's so weak." Kouyou lightly ran a finger down the middle of Akira's head looking at the vet with a grin as a slow purr started up. "HE LIKES ME!" Kouyou smiled and the vet chuckled at the kid-like behavior of the grown man…with no sweater on. The vet left the room coming back in with a black button-up shirt he kept for when a patient ruined the shirt he wore. Kouyou turned slightly red when he realized that he didn't have a skirt on, only the light blue jeans that he had threw on this morning with his thin sweater. He had had a sense of needing to do something and went for a walk. He pulled out his long layered honey brown hair from under the collar. "So little one…" the cat looked up as if he knew Kouyou was talking to him and laid his head back down after a second. "What do I feed him?" he asked again as the vet finished up. The vet stood nearby and stared at the cat.
"You seem to be the type to forget easily so I'll write it down." The vet said easily and after a second handed Kouyou a paper.
Awakening to slight mewing Kouyou looked to Akira, before noticing the food bowl had gotten empty. Getting up with a yawn he filled the bowl but Akira didn't stop mewing. Pushing back his long sleep mussed hair he crouched down and scratched Akira's chin slightly. Akira's eyes closed slightly and leaned into the touch. Kouyou laid down and curled slightly and continued the motion resting his head on his arm, watching Akira.
"The vet said to let you rest and heal Akira, so you have to stay there for the rest of the week ok?" Kouyou murmured as he scratched. He had owned Akira for a week already; he was hoping the wrappings could come off at the end of the week. Akira just looked pitiful with the white bandages breaking up the surprisingly soft and sleek blond fur into patches. Kouyou laid his head nearer to Akira and started petting him gently, careful not to hurt him. The purring started up almost immediately, the soft sound lulled Kouyou back to sleep sighing softly. After a moment Akira shakily stood up and plopped back down curling against Kouyou's chest.
Kouyou woke a short time later, having turned to his back in his sleep he stretched without moving, raising his arms slightly he stretched more and cracked his neck. His left hand scratched at his neck, setting his hand on his chest Kouyou felt soft fur and smiled and raised his head. Akira sat on his chest with his tail twitching, one brown eye was half open watching him. Kouyou suspected that it had opened at the first sign of movement. He chuckled and wrapped an arm around the cat as he sat up.
"Bad boy. Your supposed to stay in your bed." Kouyou said setting him in his lap. Akira knocked Kouyou's hand with his nose. "I guess you're one of those affectionate cats huh?" Kouyou tapped Akiras' nose lightly. "Today you get your shots then I, regretfully, got to go back to work." Kouyou smiled as Akira fell asleep, gently he set him in a carrier sitting nearby. Kouyou picked up the container and tucked it safely under his arm.
"Ne kitty kitty. Come here kitty." Kouyou sighed as he looked over, Shiroyama…again.