He hadn't noticed when she plopped down on the other end of the bench he was occupying, because of a combination of the horrible weather and lack of sleep – the latter being because of both the upcoming exams and Shigure's random Mabudachi Trio gatherings –, and payed no mind when her light, fliterring laughter filled the damp air around them, obviously amused at her situation.
He did notice, though, when a stray cat decided to take refuge inside his jacket, despite the plastic overhang that shielded the three from the rain. Usually he would have shooed the cat away in annoyance, but seeing as neither he nor the cat had the energy to do much, he ignored it.
"Do you like cats?" she asked, noticing the kitten that had curled up beside him.
"No," he replied, hoping the girl would go away.
"Liar!" the kitten accused, though to everyone but him it just sounded like a meow.
"I think you do," the girl replied in a teasing tone, with a smile similar to that Arisa Uotani wore when taunting him "It's impossible not to love cats," she added, leaning over to pet the cat, who purred even louder and nuzzled her hand. He stiffened at her close proximity, scooting over to the edge of the bench with what little energy he had.
"You'd be surprised," he muttered, wondering why he chose to acknowledge the girl.
"Cats are amazing, and anyone who doesn't realize that is a fool. Why would anyone hate cats?"
"Yeah! We're adorable ninjas, what's not to love?" the kitten mewed.
"They're selfish, lazy, have anger problems, ruin everything, can't take care of themselves, and they're stupid," he snapped in reply, naming just a few of the insults he'd heard from his relatives.
"Bullshit," the girl replied "Cats aren't any more selfish than your average human. And they're only lazy if you pamper them, otherwise they're very active and social beings. Furthermore, cats don't have anger issues. They have very strong senses of survival and are very defensive, but they don't have the quick tempers everyone claims they do. As for not doing anything and ruining everything, aren't babies the same way? Obviously cats can take care of themselves, seeing as they originate from the wild, and hunt and poop and whatnot without being told to. See my phone?" she waved the device in the air "I've had this for three years, and my cat for five. This phone obviously isn't ruined. And as for the last and biggest offender, cats are definitely not stupid. If cats were stupid, would the ancient Egyptians have worshipped them as gods? No. If cats were stupid, they wouldn't be the amazing creatures they are. This morning my cat accidentally scratched me," she traced the outline of the unbandaged scratch subconsciously ", and immediately licked the wound as if it were her own hand – err, paw. If cats were stupid, my cat wouldn't follow me everyday to school, go home, and then meet me outside of school every day. If cats were stupid, this little kitten wouldn't have known that your coat would keep her dry and warm. If cats were stupid-"
"I get it!" he growled "You think cats are great!"
"Someone needs anger management classes," she murmured.
"What was that?" he demanded, trying to calm himself down.
"Nothing!" she replied, holding her hands up in defence with a small smile
"But I don't think cats are great, I know it. If they weren't, would they even be able to understand the concept of love, let alone feel it and return it?"
"She has a point," the kitten meowed up at him with big eyes.
He glanced at the girl, mentally rolling his eyes. Of course, he could tell by her appearance that she was foreign. So, of course, she didn't know about the zodiac or the stories about it. Her loose blonde curls and vibrant blue-green eyes -even brighter than Tohru's, he'd noticed with mild amazement- made it apparent that she was French, or maybe German like Momiji. Possibly Russian? He pushed the thought out of his head, thinking 'why the hell does it matter?'.
He muttered a quiet "shut up" to the cat, who stuck her tongue out at him and jumped into the girl's lap.
"So what makes you hate cats so much?" the girl asked.
"Didn't I just give you an answer?" he replied with an aggravated question of his own.
"Yeah, but those weren't your answers."
"How the hell do you know that?"
"I can sense these things," she replied with a shrug, though her tone of voice confirmed his suspicion that she wasn't happy about it.
"What, are you psychic or something?" he asked, wondering if she was anything like Saki Hanajima.
"I guess. I mean, that's what people call me. To be honest I think of myself as more of a freak. And no, as far as I know I can't read dempa waves like Hanajima-san can."
"What the hell! Don't read my mind!"
"I can also see your aura and, if I hug you, know every little detail about you. See? Total freak here."
"I don't hug."
"Me neither," she replied with a shrug. Her bright teal eyes looked upwards, noticing that the rain had let up a bit "Lucky you, you don't have to talk to this creep anymore," she smiled, though she was on the verge of laughing at the thought she'd voiced.
"Stop reading my mind!"
"Sorry, you were practically screaming that one!" she let out another flittery laugh, scooping up the kitten as she stood. "It was nice meeting you," she gave a small, awkward wave before turning on the heel of her ratty hi-tops and walking away.