Disclaimer: Mirage of Blaze is the creation of Kuwabara Mizuna Sensei. I am but one of the grateful many she allows to play in her sandbox.
Author's Note: This piece is a a sequel of sorts to Clear Skies, Strange Fires. It has been sitting for far too long in the back burner, it's probably a little burnt. Maybe a lot. So please bear with me and feel free to add some salt and pepper.
The title is taken from the name of a logic puzzle.
Dedication: Dedicated with love and warm Seasons Greetings to the MOB Community.
Midnight Trains and Dangerous Crossings
The sound of a ruckus, punctuated by the loud clatter of metal against marble floor, rumbled from within the room where two people were supposedly waiting.
"Come back here, you son of a... no that isn't quite right... you bratty little... you!" the slightly deepening voice of a 17-year old young man echoed from behind the closed door.
"Careful, Kagetora-sama!" another voice, that of a young woman, called out the warning.
"Haruie, behind you!"
"Ouch! Why you..!" high-heel booted feet pounded across the carpet. "Grab him! Grab him!"
"Oof!" Something solid and wooden landed on the floor with a thunk.
Naoe Nobutsuna, standing outside his own apartment, frowned. He was late. As a Possessor, he had been granted magnificent powers. Warping through time and space and Tokyo traffic were, unfortunately, not among them.
The clock at the lobby had just chimed midnight. A few doors down the hallway have apparently already opened and closed with obvious rebuke at the racket. Undoubtedly, there would be complaints banging at his door in the morning.
But that was the least of his concerns for now. His hand moved instinctively to the gun he usually carried at his side. He could not sense any spiritual activity; hence the problem could require a more earthly weapon. He made sure that the safety was still on, tucked it back in its holster, and sincerely hoped he didn't have to use it. He carefully strafed the wall, keycard in his other hand.
"He's heading towards the door!" Haruie's voice seemed muffled.
"Hey!" More running.
Naoe flung the door open. A damp ball of black and white fur shot past his feet and scampered down the hallway, with Takaya and Haruie at its heels.
"What's going on?"
Haruie screeched to a halt, sheepishly turning to look up at the tall man standing by the door. "Er… Good evening, Naoe," Haruie managed, through a tangled mass of damp hair and damp towel across her face.
Takaya scooted past them, glanced out a perfunctory, "Oh hi, Naoe!" before bolting out the door in hot pursuit of the incongruous ball of fluff darting across the hallway. With a determined lunge, he grabbed the evasive creature before it reached the stairs. "Gotcha!" The creature squirmed and yowled in protest as Takaya turned back towards the apartment."Ow! Don't do that!" Takaya yelped as eight little claws swiped at his arm.
"You can put him down, Takaya-san," Naoe said calmly, and Takaya bent down to settle the creature on the floor.
The creature, which turned out to be a cat, albeit a rather wet and bedraggled one, turned to face them.
"Come here," Naoe's voice had that familiar edge of command. Takaya blinked in astonishment and very nearly obeyed, just managing to stop himself in time, when he realized Naoe was talking to the cat.
The cat raised its head indignantly. It sat on its hind legs, tail curling around itself. Golden feline eyes stared at the tall man as if in contempt. Naoe stared right back at it, folding his arms across his chest. After a few moments, the cat stood up and, very much in the manner of a queen facing the enemy firing squad, it padded sedately back, pointedly walking past Naoe and into the open doorway. A tail swatted petulantly against Naoe's pants leg leaving damp swathes.
Back inside, the living room was a mess. A chair had been knocked down to the floor; a metal basin had just about finished clattering down beside it. A trail of damp spots originated from the small guest bathroom. Naoe coughed slightly, his mouth twitched in amusement. "You've met him, I see."
He led Takaya to a nearby sink. "I will see to your wound, Takaya-san." Takaya snatched his arm away as Naoe turned the water on directly over the scratches on his arm. Naoe firmly grasped the young man's wrist and pulled it right back.
"I didn't know you had a pet, Naoe," Haruie said, shaking out her hair. She moved around the room, straightening up here and there."Hey!" The cat shook itself out sending water droplets everywhere.
"He's not a pet. More like a guest that invites itself in." Naoe finished off the treatment with a generous wad of antiseptic cream. Takaya finally wrested away, blowing vigorously at the wound to reduce the sting. "All done," Naoe condescended as Takaya glanced back at him in annoyance, albeit grateful.
"It's possible that his former owners used to live here," Naoe continued, nonchalant. "Cats are particularly loyal to their house."
As if to prove the point, the cat leapt on top of a low coffee table with territorial familiarity and glared back at them.
"Do you happen to have a hairdryer for this little guy here?" Haurie asked half-jokingly as she cautiously approached the cat once again, proffering the towel.
"His things are in the dresser behind you. Bottom drawer." Naoe looked down at the cat and gestured to the padded top of the dresser. The kitty leapt on it expectantly.
You actually have a hair dryer for the cat? Haruie thought incredulously, rummaging in the aforementioned drawer and coming up with a hairdryer and a clean, though obviously well-used, grooming brush.
Haruie plied the brush as the hair dryer whirred loudly. The cat mewled in complaint and moved away, nudging against Naoe's arm.
"Like this, Haruie," Naoe said, taking up the brush and moving the dryer a few inches further. He stroked the cat's fur diagonally and down to its sides. "Most people rub him the wrong way. Rather literally. Took me a while to figure him out." The cat stood patiently throughout Naoe's ministrations, turning its head obligingly so the brush could reach the sides of its neck, lifting its paws, one after the other.
Takaya quickly closed his mouth when he realized it had dropped open. Naoe handed the brush to Haruie who eagerly repeated the little demonstration.
Bathed, blow-dried and brushed down, the cat finally seemed more sociable.
"My, my, my, looking very handsome, aren't we?" Haruie crooned, plying the brush once more with flourish. Indeed, it really was a beautiful creature with silky black coat and white-gloved paws. A patch of white fur ran down from its throat to its belly, all the way to the underside of its graceful long tail. Golden eyes, with a hint of green seemed to smile up at Haruie. It mewed softly.
"You're welcome." Haruie giggled, petting the small creature.
The cat nudged Naoe's hand shyly. Naoe scratched it affectionately between its ears, then continued to rub it down its back, his hand moving in long firm strokes. The cat stretched contentedly on the padded table, purring softly. It mewed, as if in request, and Naoe laid his hand flat on the table. With the quick patter of soft feline feet, the cat climbed up his arm, and all the way up to Naoe's shoulder. It wriggled around a bit then settled down on a comfortable spot. Naoe raised a hand to hold it in place and the cat snuggled against him, eyes closed in kitty bliss.
"I didn't know you were a cat person, Naoe," Takaya murmured absently. He had moved closer, his hand reaching out to touch the soft black fur.
"Oh, I am," Naoe answered in a low, controlled voice, his attention apparently upon the purring black-and-white creature. "Temperamental tigers with golden eyes are a particular weakness."
Takaya thought that he ought to protest something about that statement, but since he couldn't really figure out what, he wisely kept silent. "So what's his name?" he asked instead. There was a hoarseness in his throat. Cat hair, probably.
"He doesn't have one. At least none that I gave him. I am not his master, after all, or even his original companion."
The cat had clambered down Naoe's shoulder and padded across the room towards its bowl. Both men watched it as it daintily picked at its food.
"Do you mind it very much that you aren't?"
"No," Naoe's voice had softened. "We both already know what we are to each other."
Haruie had wisely disappeared into the kitchen for a mop. And maybe a cup of tea. And maybe a sandwich or two.
-END-
Authors Note: I have a cat just like that.