This one wouldn't leave me alone. And I mean, it Wouldn't Leave Me Alone. Then my muses got in on the act, and they Wouldn't Leave Me Alone. So, here ya go.
The Koneko
Psycho Chick
Disclaimer: *sobs* They're not mine, all right?!
Dedication: To Maybe, my fluffy Fat-Boy; Oliver, my Baby Blue Eyes; Rubs, my Little Girl and Flash, the wimpiest, scaredest most chicken-shit cat I've ever met.
To: Angel. You little bitch.(Said cheerfully and with a smile. That cat hates me.)
For: Tiger, who's better suited for the name "Panther" or "Violent Bastard"
It was night when she was dropped off, but it was morning when she was found. After several hours of shivering against the wall, daylight peaked over the horizon, making her squint. She wasn't made for the day any more than her young body was made to be alone.
She heard loud heavy noises, then something made a startled noise. Glancing up, she noticed the huge something blocked the sun. There was a low rumbling sound, and then she was being lifted up!
"Ow, fuck!"
Fujimiya Ran, occassionally still called Aya by about fifty girls and his four co-workers, looked up from opening the Koneko no Sumu Ie's shutters to stare at the taller man.
The blond was cursing more than usual, and he seemed to be hopping up and down while flinging his hand around like mad.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" the red-head finally asked, as his friend continued to do an impromptu dance around the sidewalk.
"Damn cat!" came Yoji's voice, as he did a little spin.
An elegant red eyebrow was raised, when Yoji finally stopped moving his feet, only to keep moving his hand, as it flew through the air.
"Get off!"
If the hand would stop moving, Ran decided, he would be able to see whatever had Yoji dancing around like a lunatic, so with the movements of a snake, his own hand lashed out, catching Yoji's wrist.
This plan backfired, however, because while the hand stopped moving, it seemed to have a rubber-band effect on the body, because it was twisting around in place of the hand.
Finally, after doing an awkward dance with the older man, Ran grabbed the small ball of fluff on the end of Yoji's finger, and pulled.
"ITAI!!" was yelled loudly, making a few still-sleeping birds take wing, and a few dogs howl in sympathy.
Ran dropped the whimpering man, holding the kitten by scruff of its neck.
It was glaring at him, bright blue eyes narrowed in what Ran was surprised to see almost a mirror of his own usual expression.
"....cat...." was murmured below him, and Ran glanced down at his fellow assassin.
"It's a kitten," he almost smiled. "The fearless Kudou Yoji was taken out by a kitten."
"*You* feel those teeth!" Yoji snapped. "They hurt! And the stupid thing wouldn't let go!"
"You scared it."
"It bit me!"
Shaking his head, Ran grabbed Yoji by his uninjured side and pulled up. "Get up. The Horde will be here soon. Do you want them to see you crying like a little girl?"
"Only if they're over eighteen and willing to tend my wounds," Yoji grinned.
Ran let go.
Ken was just opening the cash register as Ran walked through the door, holding the now silent kitten firmly against his chest.
"Do I want to know why Yoji is crumpled on the sidewalk, after you seemed to wrestle a brillo pad from him?"
"It's bigger than a brillo pad," Ran countered, holding up the kitten to show Ken.
"Sugoi!" Ken grinned, leaning forward to stare at the kitten. He made no move to touch it, however, realizing the narrowed blue eyes meant death. "She kinda looks like you."
"How do you know it's a she? And what do you mean, it looks like me?"
"Well, she's got the Fujimiya death glare goin' on there. And she's got blue eyes."
"All kitten have blue eyes," Ran responded.
Yoji walked in then, cradling his hand to his chest.
"What's this?" he asked. "You haven't killed it yet?"
Ken's eyes widened, and even Ran looked a little surprised.
"And why would I do that?" the red-head finally answered, staring at the taller man.
"Well, she's obviously feral, and feral cats have a reputation for never being tamed. And she bit me."
"Like you haven't had worse wounds," Ken snorted.
"Yes, but you can't get rabies from a bullet," Yoji retorted.
"I doubt she has rabies," Ran said softly. "If she has anything, it'll be worms."
Yoji screamed and ran out of the store to their upstairs apartment, intent on cleaning his wound out.
Ken met Ran's eyes, and his shocked expression turned into a grin when he saw the faint amusement in the purple orbs.
By the time the second rush of girls had gone to school, the kitten was underneath a hamper, sleeping peacefully in an old shirt of Ran's, having gobbled up a quarter of a pint of milk, and bitten three of Ran's fingers, and attacked Ken's leg.
Yoji had finally made his appearance, to the delight of a number of the girls. Which suited Ran just fine. All the flirting had been giving him a head-ache.
Now he was sitting at the kitchen table, eating his lunch, trying to read the newspaper, but his eyes kept straying to the grey ball of fluff curled up in his cast off shirt.
After managing to make it to section 1b, Ran finally gave up on the paper, folding it up and setting it on the counter.
Leaning forward slightly, he rested his chin on his hand, and watched the young cat sleep.
As Ken waved off three more girls --How *do* they make it here and back to school on just their lunch break?-- he sighed. Lunch hadn't been that busy, considering, and he had sent Ran off to eat an early lunch, after getting a promise that Ken could have his own solitary lunch.
But when he burst through the kitchen door, he was met by Ran, a look of almost content on the stern face, as the kitten purred softly against his chest.
"Awww," Ken cooed. "Should I get a camera?"
The glare of death was instantly in place, but it was somehow negated by the cute and cuddly grey fluff snuggling into his shirt.
"Is lunch over?"
"Yeah," Ken answered, opening the fridge to pull out what was left of the pizza from the night before.
Sitting across from Ran, he munched quietly on the pizza for a minute, before grinning.
"You gonna keep her?"
"I don't know. Probably not. We can't exactly have things to tie us down, and a cat is a big responsibly."
"Says the man who looked after his sister in a coma for how many years?" was the dry retort.
"Totally different," Ran said loftily. "What should I call her?"
"I thought you weren't keeping her."
"Well, I can't just keep calling her Kitten," was the reasonable answer.
"How about Fluffy?"
"What about Killer?" Yoji commented, making his way into the kitchen. The redhead had been right; Yoji's bandages had been the topic of much speculation among the girls, most romantic things that made the other two Weiss members sick.
"Oh, shut up," Ran told the blond, no venom whatsoever in his voice.
"Yeah, is the big bad ladies-man afraid of an itsy bitsy fluffy little kitty?" Ken snickered.
"Watch it, Hidaka. I don't see you going anywhere near it."
"Her," the other two men responded.
"And she's sleeping," Ken continued. "Who'd want to wake such an innocent little thing?"
"Me," Yoji sneered. "But that would piss Ran off, so never mind."
The front doorbell opened, and Ken stood. "I'll go."
"Yeah, me, too," Yoji muttered. "Anything to get away from sleeping beauty, here."
When Omi came home from school, he brought with him another large group of girls, replacing the ones that Ken, Ran and Yoji had just managed to shoo off.
"What in the world--?" was the first thing out of his mouth, when he saw Ran holding up a now playful kitten.
"Ran's in love," Yoji commented dryly.
"Ooooohhhhh!!"
The sound started low, but by the time the Horde entered the store, it was almost ear-deafening.
"It's a kitten!" "Oh, Aya, it's so cute!" "Adorable!" "Sweet!" "Precious!"
The most quiet, shy, anti-social and violent of the Koneko's employee's eyes widened in a comical panic, as he was surrounded by dozens of girls ranging from eleven to eighteen.
Yoji snickered from his corner. "You'd think he *wanted* the attention," he stage-whispered to Omi, who almost smiled.
Hours later, when the shop was closed, and everyone, including Aya-chan, was upstairs, Ran presented the kitten to the entire group, as one.
"This is Tenshi," he announced. "And she's staying."
His imouto let out a sigh of happiness, as she pounced on the kitten, who had been busy trying to rearrange Yoji's shoelaces, much to his chagrin.
"Tenshi?" Yoji asked, an incredulous look on his face, "Why not Youma? Or Akuma?"
"Yoji, hidoi!" Omi scolded. "She's just a kitten!"
"But she'll get bigger."
"And more angelic," Aya-chan sighed.
Ran met the taller blond's eyes, his own purple stare saying that if his imouto was happy, then, guess what? The cat wasn't going anywhere. She'd spent too long in a coma, missing out on the things that all other girls took for granted, and he'd be damned if she'd miss out on--
Yoji looked away, effectively cutting off the typical rant in mid sentence.
"Fine," he almost growled. "She stays."
Four happy smiles, and a slight smirk from Ran was his reward.
Ken was baking cookies. What's more, he was baking them as a surprise for Aya, even though the girl was going to be led to believe that Omi had made them.
"That boy's got it bad," he murmured to himself. "Too bad Ran is going to object the instant he finds they've been on a date."
Sometimes, the redhead was way to protective of his sister.
She was lying in wait. The giant who smelled of outdoors was in the food place, playing on the place she couldn't go.
At least, the place she wasn't *allowed* to go.
Ken mixed the eggs into the rest of the liquid ingredients. He lost himself in the rhythmic churning of the mixer, waiting for the right time to add the other liquid ingredients, before the dry stuff.
She was closer. He didn't suspect a thing. She would teach him for banishing her from the food place.
Ken was startled out of his reverie when a huge bang was heard behind him. Spinning around and dropping into a crouch, Ken stared at the kitten, who had a silly little cat-grin on her face, as her blue eyes slitted in pleasure at the feel of the flour between her toes.
She quickly stood when he did, shaking off the flour in her fur, adding to the mess she'd managed to spread through out the kitchen in just one short move.
"Ne, Ken?" Yoji's voice came from the doorway. "Why are your pants covered in flour?"
Ken looked up at his teammate and snarled. "Oh, shut up."
She was banished. Again. After the smelly one had laughed himself sick, watching the outdoors one and herself, she had been dipped in water, much to her chagrin, and toweled none to gently by the nice-smelling one.
Giving her leg one more indignant lick, she made her way up the stairs. She had learned, after a week of the plant-place, that if she made it up to the fourth step, someone, anyone, would come along, pick her up, and carry her to the top.
Ditto for when she wanted to go downstairs.
And there he was, right one time. The serious one gave her a slight smile, as he brought her to his face.
"Going up?" he asked. She didn't know what that meant, but because everyone said that when they picked her up, she as getting an inkling.
At the top of the stairs she squirmed to get down, and the serious one chuckled.
"Down you go, Tenshi."
Meowing happily, she ran to the one closed door in the entire hallway. Reaching up, she scratched at the door. She wanted *in.*
There was another low chuckle, and the serious one knocked slightly. "Omi?" he called. "Tenshi wants in."
He pushed the door open, and she bounded into the room.
"Hey, Tenshi," the young one said. He was laying on his stomach, something long in his hand, moving it over white flat things. With a meow she scrambled onto his sleep-place, to roll around on his flat white things.
"Tenshi!" the young one yelled. Blast it, cat!"
Her eyes widened when his hand reached forward, and she jumped at his fingers, holding on with all four paws and her teeth, gnawing on his fingers.
"Ow! Tenshi!"
She was deposited on his back, with a firm "Stay there."
.....but then, he was telling a cat to stay.
Even before his hand was down, Tenshi was up and running around, playing with the pencil, with the cords on his jacket, with his hair....
"Tenshi!"
Again with the banishment. Shooting a dirty look at the door she'd just been shoved out of, she turned to bound down the hall. There. It was the only opening she wasn't allowed in. Granted, it was the smelly ones room, but still....
Squaring her shoulders in kitty determination, Tenshi snuck quietly through the open door. Wrinkling her nose in disgust, she almost turned tail and ran from the cacophony of smells that hit her senses, but was caught by the box of things lying on the floor.
Batting at the little squares wasn't as fun as it had seemed, however, and she soon gave up on them, after trying to eat one and getting a funny taste.
Tenshi gave the bad tasting things a nasty kitty-glare, before stalking off to find another toy to play with.
And boy, did she find it.
It was smooshy, it was gooey, it felt absolutely delightful between her toes, and everytime she jumped on it, more smooshy nice-smelling stuff came out.
"What the hell--?"
It was the smelly one. Uh oh.
"Neko!"
Ken heard Yoji shout, and heard a few things slam. Wincing, he added another cup of chocolate chips to the cookie batter.
He'd given the floor a cursory sweeping, and dusted his pants off, but had left the general mess for until all the cookies were done.
The blond appeared at the bottom of the stairs, kitten in hand.
"I go up to grab my keys," he announced, "And look who was in there, playing with my..." he paused slightly, and Ken noticed a faint blush crawl over the taller man's cheeks. "...stuff."
"Well, your...*stuff* left her all oily," Ken frowned, as he took the kitten from the older man. "And smelly. Like....strawberries?"
"Gottagobye!"
The brunette watched the other man run out the back door. "Weirdo," Ken muttered. He grabbed a paper towel and wiped the kitten's paws off, pausing before he threw away the towel.
Could it be--? No, not Yoji. Not the ladies man.
She could still smell the smooshy stuff, and she thought back with disdain that the outdoor smelling one hadn't gotten between his toes.
It didn't taste good at all, she decided, but it had to be cleaned up.
With a final lick, she stretched and sauntered back into the kitchen, settling herself by the door.
This was where the big people left from, when not using the other opening.
But one smelled of flowers and smelly dirt and other people, and this one smelled of outside, and outside was where she wanted to be.
So she was waiting for it to open, so that she could see the outside again.
And she waited.....
And waited.....
And the serious one came down and fed her, and she ate, then waited, and the girl came down and tried coax her upstairs, but she ignored her and waited.
And waited.
Then finally, she heard footsteps outside, and the door was opening, and she was on her feet and through the door before the light was even on.
Outside
She was outside!
Yoji yawned widely when he came downstairs. He had afternoon shift, so he wasn't worried about sleeping in, but when he got to the kitchen, he saw Omi frantically opening and closing cupboards, calling for the kitten.
"What's the matter?" he asked, grabbing a cereal box.
"Tenshi's missing," the young man replied. "And Ran was frantic this morning, so I promised to look for her, because it's his shift, and he couldn't miss it."
"You could have traded," Yoji suggested, trying to imagine a frantic Ran. It wasn't working very well.
"You know Ran," Omi replied dryly. "Help me look?"
Yoji shrugged. "She hates me. You know that. She'd run the other way if she heard me."
Omi paused, then nodded.
"You have a point."
"Of course I do," Yoji grinned. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go out for breakfast. This cereal is months old."
Putting the box back on the shelf, Yoji sauntered out the door, in search for a restaurant that served breakfast at eleven in the afternoon.
He wasn't sauntering, however, when he walked back into the kitchen, face drawn in grim lines.
"Omi. I found the cat."
It was a small burial, held during the lunch hour. Ken had dug the hole and Yoji had put her in a towel in a shoe box, but it was Ran who actually put her small coffin into the ground.
It was an odd funeral procession that day, with the tears free-falling down Omi's face, Ken letting a tear or two go down, and even Yoji sighing unhappily, allowing himself to be sniffly, after the thought of Asuka.
Ran, however, was stoic, not saying anything, not shedding any tears, just staring at the box.
'I saved Aya,' he thought to himself. 'But I couldn't save this little one.'
**Owari**
Note: Ran names the kitten Angel, and Yoji asks if instead, they can name her Demon, or Nightmare.
Another Note: Almost everything that happened with the kitten and Weiss happened to my family and my own cats.(Hence the dedications at top) I just meshed different cats' stories into one for Tenshi here.
The Koneko
Psycho Chick
Disclaimer: *sobs* They're not mine, all right?!
Dedication: To Maybe, my fluffy Fat-Boy; Oliver, my Baby Blue Eyes; Rubs, my Little Girl and Flash, the wimpiest, scaredest most chicken-shit cat I've ever met.
To: Angel. You little bitch.(Said cheerfully and with a smile. That cat hates me.)
For: Tiger, who's better suited for the name "Panther" or "Violent Bastard"
It was night when she was dropped off, but it was morning when she was found. After several hours of shivering against the wall, daylight peaked over the horizon, making her squint. She wasn't made for the day any more than her young body was made to be alone.
She heard loud heavy noises, then something made a startled noise. Glancing up, she noticed the huge something blocked the sun. There was a low rumbling sound, and then she was being lifted up!
"Ow, fuck!"
Fujimiya Ran, occassionally still called Aya by about fifty girls and his four co-workers, looked up from opening the Koneko no Sumu Ie's shutters to stare at the taller man.
The blond was cursing more than usual, and he seemed to be hopping up and down while flinging his hand around like mad.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" the red-head finally asked, as his friend continued to do an impromptu dance around the sidewalk.
"Damn cat!" came Yoji's voice, as he did a little spin.
An elegant red eyebrow was raised, when Yoji finally stopped moving his feet, only to keep moving his hand, as it flew through the air.
"Get off!"
If the hand would stop moving, Ran decided, he would be able to see whatever had Yoji dancing around like a lunatic, so with the movements of a snake, his own hand lashed out, catching Yoji's wrist.
This plan backfired, however, because while the hand stopped moving, it seemed to have a rubber-band effect on the body, because it was twisting around in place of the hand.
Finally, after doing an awkward dance with the older man, Ran grabbed the small ball of fluff on the end of Yoji's finger, and pulled.
"ITAI!!" was yelled loudly, making a few still-sleeping birds take wing, and a few dogs howl in sympathy.
Ran dropped the whimpering man, holding the kitten by scruff of its neck.
It was glaring at him, bright blue eyes narrowed in what Ran was surprised to see almost a mirror of his own usual expression.
"....cat...." was murmured below him, and Ran glanced down at his fellow assassin.
"It's a kitten," he almost smiled. "The fearless Kudou Yoji was taken out by a kitten."
"*You* feel those teeth!" Yoji snapped. "They hurt! And the stupid thing wouldn't let go!"
"You scared it."
"It bit me!"
Shaking his head, Ran grabbed Yoji by his uninjured side and pulled up. "Get up. The Horde will be here soon. Do you want them to see you crying like a little girl?"
"Only if they're over eighteen and willing to tend my wounds," Yoji grinned.
Ran let go.
Ken was just opening the cash register as Ran walked through the door, holding the now silent kitten firmly against his chest.
"Do I want to know why Yoji is crumpled on the sidewalk, after you seemed to wrestle a brillo pad from him?"
"It's bigger than a brillo pad," Ran countered, holding up the kitten to show Ken.
"Sugoi!" Ken grinned, leaning forward to stare at the kitten. He made no move to touch it, however, realizing the narrowed blue eyes meant death. "She kinda looks like you."
"How do you know it's a she? And what do you mean, it looks like me?"
"Well, she's got the Fujimiya death glare goin' on there. And she's got blue eyes."
"All kitten have blue eyes," Ran responded.
Yoji walked in then, cradling his hand to his chest.
"What's this?" he asked. "You haven't killed it yet?"
Ken's eyes widened, and even Ran looked a little surprised.
"And why would I do that?" the red-head finally answered, staring at the taller man.
"Well, she's obviously feral, and feral cats have a reputation for never being tamed. And she bit me."
"Like you haven't had worse wounds," Ken snorted.
"Yes, but you can't get rabies from a bullet," Yoji retorted.
"I doubt she has rabies," Ran said softly. "If she has anything, it'll be worms."
Yoji screamed and ran out of the store to their upstairs apartment, intent on cleaning his wound out.
Ken met Ran's eyes, and his shocked expression turned into a grin when he saw the faint amusement in the purple orbs.
By the time the second rush of girls had gone to school, the kitten was underneath a hamper, sleeping peacefully in an old shirt of Ran's, having gobbled up a quarter of a pint of milk, and bitten three of Ran's fingers, and attacked Ken's leg.
Yoji had finally made his appearance, to the delight of a number of the girls. Which suited Ran just fine. All the flirting had been giving him a head-ache.
Now he was sitting at the kitchen table, eating his lunch, trying to read the newspaper, but his eyes kept straying to the grey ball of fluff curled up in his cast off shirt.
After managing to make it to section 1b, Ran finally gave up on the paper, folding it up and setting it on the counter.
Leaning forward slightly, he rested his chin on his hand, and watched the young cat sleep.
As Ken waved off three more girls --How *do* they make it here and back to school on just their lunch break?-- he sighed. Lunch hadn't been that busy, considering, and he had sent Ran off to eat an early lunch, after getting a promise that Ken could have his own solitary lunch.
But when he burst through the kitchen door, he was met by Ran, a look of almost content on the stern face, as the kitten purred softly against his chest.
"Awww," Ken cooed. "Should I get a camera?"
The glare of death was instantly in place, but it was somehow negated by the cute and cuddly grey fluff snuggling into his shirt.
"Is lunch over?"
"Yeah," Ken answered, opening the fridge to pull out what was left of the pizza from the night before.
Sitting across from Ran, he munched quietly on the pizza for a minute, before grinning.
"You gonna keep her?"
"I don't know. Probably not. We can't exactly have things to tie us down, and a cat is a big responsibly."
"Says the man who looked after his sister in a coma for how many years?" was the dry retort.
"Totally different," Ran said loftily. "What should I call her?"
"I thought you weren't keeping her."
"Well, I can't just keep calling her Kitten," was the reasonable answer.
"How about Fluffy?"
"What about Killer?" Yoji commented, making his way into the kitchen. The redhead had been right; Yoji's bandages had been the topic of much speculation among the girls, most romantic things that made the other two Weiss members sick.
"Oh, shut up," Ran told the blond, no venom whatsoever in his voice.
"Yeah, is the big bad ladies-man afraid of an itsy bitsy fluffy little kitty?" Ken snickered.
"Watch it, Hidaka. I don't see you going anywhere near it."
"Her," the other two men responded.
"And she's sleeping," Ken continued. "Who'd want to wake such an innocent little thing?"
"Me," Yoji sneered. "But that would piss Ran off, so never mind."
The front doorbell opened, and Ken stood. "I'll go."
"Yeah, me, too," Yoji muttered. "Anything to get away from sleeping beauty, here."
When Omi came home from school, he brought with him another large group of girls, replacing the ones that Ken, Ran and Yoji had just managed to shoo off.
"What in the world--?" was the first thing out of his mouth, when he saw Ran holding up a now playful kitten.
"Ran's in love," Yoji commented dryly.
"Ooooohhhhh!!"
The sound started low, but by the time the Horde entered the store, it was almost ear-deafening.
"It's a kitten!" "Oh, Aya, it's so cute!" "Adorable!" "Sweet!" "Precious!"
The most quiet, shy, anti-social and violent of the Koneko's employee's eyes widened in a comical panic, as he was surrounded by dozens of girls ranging from eleven to eighteen.
Yoji snickered from his corner. "You'd think he *wanted* the attention," he stage-whispered to Omi, who almost smiled.
Hours later, when the shop was closed, and everyone, including Aya-chan, was upstairs, Ran presented the kitten to the entire group, as one.
"This is Tenshi," he announced. "And she's staying."
His imouto let out a sigh of happiness, as she pounced on the kitten, who had been busy trying to rearrange Yoji's shoelaces, much to his chagrin.
"Tenshi?" Yoji asked, an incredulous look on his face, "Why not Youma? Or Akuma?"
"Yoji, hidoi!" Omi scolded. "She's just a kitten!"
"But she'll get bigger."
"And more angelic," Aya-chan sighed.
Ran met the taller blond's eyes, his own purple stare saying that if his imouto was happy, then, guess what? The cat wasn't going anywhere. She'd spent too long in a coma, missing out on the things that all other girls took for granted, and he'd be damned if she'd miss out on--
Yoji looked away, effectively cutting off the typical rant in mid sentence.
"Fine," he almost growled. "She stays."
Four happy smiles, and a slight smirk from Ran was his reward.
Ken was baking cookies. What's more, he was baking them as a surprise for Aya, even though the girl was going to be led to believe that Omi had made them.
"That boy's got it bad," he murmured to himself. "Too bad Ran is going to object the instant he finds they've been on a date."
Sometimes, the redhead was way to protective of his sister.
She was lying in wait. The giant who smelled of outdoors was in the food place, playing on the place she couldn't go.
At least, the place she wasn't *allowed* to go.
Ken mixed the eggs into the rest of the liquid ingredients. He lost himself in the rhythmic churning of the mixer, waiting for the right time to add the other liquid ingredients, before the dry stuff.
She was closer. He didn't suspect a thing. She would teach him for banishing her from the food place.
Ken was startled out of his reverie when a huge bang was heard behind him. Spinning around and dropping into a crouch, Ken stared at the kitten, who had a silly little cat-grin on her face, as her blue eyes slitted in pleasure at the feel of the flour between her toes.
She quickly stood when he did, shaking off the flour in her fur, adding to the mess she'd managed to spread through out the kitchen in just one short move.
"Ne, Ken?" Yoji's voice came from the doorway. "Why are your pants covered in flour?"
Ken looked up at his teammate and snarled. "Oh, shut up."
She was banished. Again. After the smelly one had laughed himself sick, watching the outdoors one and herself, she had been dipped in water, much to her chagrin, and toweled none to gently by the nice-smelling one.
Giving her leg one more indignant lick, she made her way up the stairs. She had learned, after a week of the plant-place, that if she made it up to the fourth step, someone, anyone, would come along, pick her up, and carry her to the top.
Ditto for when she wanted to go downstairs.
And there he was, right one time. The serious one gave her a slight smile, as he brought her to his face.
"Going up?" he asked. She didn't know what that meant, but because everyone said that when they picked her up, she as getting an inkling.
At the top of the stairs she squirmed to get down, and the serious one chuckled.
"Down you go, Tenshi."
Meowing happily, she ran to the one closed door in the entire hallway. Reaching up, she scratched at the door. She wanted *in.*
There was another low chuckle, and the serious one knocked slightly. "Omi?" he called. "Tenshi wants in."
He pushed the door open, and she bounded into the room.
"Hey, Tenshi," the young one said. He was laying on his stomach, something long in his hand, moving it over white flat things. With a meow she scrambled onto his sleep-place, to roll around on his flat white things.
"Tenshi!" the young one yelled. Blast it, cat!"
Her eyes widened when his hand reached forward, and she jumped at his fingers, holding on with all four paws and her teeth, gnawing on his fingers.
"Ow! Tenshi!"
She was deposited on his back, with a firm "Stay there."
.....but then, he was telling a cat to stay.
Even before his hand was down, Tenshi was up and running around, playing with the pencil, with the cords on his jacket, with his hair....
"Tenshi!"
Again with the banishment. Shooting a dirty look at the door she'd just been shoved out of, she turned to bound down the hall. There. It was the only opening she wasn't allowed in. Granted, it was the smelly ones room, but still....
Squaring her shoulders in kitty determination, Tenshi snuck quietly through the open door. Wrinkling her nose in disgust, she almost turned tail and ran from the cacophony of smells that hit her senses, but was caught by the box of things lying on the floor.
Batting at the little squares wasn't as fun as it had seemed, however, and she soon gave up on them, after trying to eat one and getting a funny taste.
Tenshi gave the bad tasting things a nasty kitty-glare, before stalking off to find another toy to play with.
And boy, did she find it.
It was smooshy, it was gooey, it felt absolutely delightful between her toes, and everytime she jumped on it, more smooshy nice-smelling stuff came out.
"What the hell--?"
It was the smelly one. Uh oh.
"Neko!"
Ken heard Yoji shout, and heard a few things slam. Wincing, he added another cup of chocolate chips to the cookie batter.
He'd given the floor a cursory sweeping, and dusted his pants off, but had left the general mess for until all the cookies were done.
The blond appeared at the bottom of the stairs, kitten in hand.
"I go up to grab my keys," he announced, "And look who was in there, playing with my..." he paused slightly, and Ken noticed a faint blush crawl over the taller man's cheeks. "...stuff."
"Well, your...*stuff* left her all oily," Ken frowned, as he took the kitten from the older man. "And smelly. Like....strawberries?"
"Gottagobye!"
The brunette watched the other man run out the back door. "Weirdo," Ken muttered. He grabbed a paper towel and wiped the kitten's paws off, pausing before he threw away the towel.
Could it be--? No, not Yoji. Not the ladies man.
She could still smell the smooshy stuff, and she thought back with disdain that the outdoor smelling one hadn't gotten between his toes.
It didn't taste good at all, she decided, but it had to be cleaned up.
With a final lick, she stretched and sauntered back into the kitchen, settling herself by the door.
This was where the big people left from, when not using the other opening.
But one smelled of flowers and smelly dirt and other people, and this one smelled of outside, and outside was where she wanted to be.
So she was waiting for it to open, so that she could see the outside again.
And she waited.....
And waited.....
And the serious one came down and fed her, and she ate, then waited, and the girl came down and tried coax her upstairs, but she ignored her and waited.
And waited.
Then finally, she heard footsteps outside, and the door was opening, and she was on her feet and through the door before the light was even on.
Outside
She was outside!
Yoji yawned widely when he came downstairs. He had afternoon shift, so he wasn't worried about sleeping in, but when he got to the kitchen, he saw Omi frantically opening and closing cupboards, calling for the kitten.
"What's the matter?" he asked, grabbing a cereal box.
"Tenshi's missing," the young man replied. "And Ran was frantic this morning, so I promised to look for her, because it's his shift, and he couldn't miss it."
"You could have traded," Yoji suggested, trying to imagine a frantic Ran. It wasn't working very well.
"You know Ran," Omi replied dryly. "Help me look?"
Yoji shrugged. "She hates me. You know that. She'd run the other way if she heard me."
Omi paused, then nodded.
"You have a point."
"Of course I do," Yoji grinned. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go out for breakfast. This cereal is months old."
Putting the box back on the shelf, Yoji sauntered out the door, in search for a restaurant that served breakfast at eleven in the afternoon.
He wasn't sauntering, however, when he walked back into the kitchen, face drawn in grim lines.
"Omi. I found the cat."
It was a small burial, held during the lunch hour. Ken had dug the hole and Yoji had put her in a towel in a shoe box, but it was Ran who actually put her small coffin into the ground.
It was an odd funeral procession that day, with the tears free-falling down Omi's face, Ken letting a tear or two go down, and even Yoji sighing unhappily, allowing himself to be sniffly, after the thought of Asuka.
Ran, however, was stoic, not saying anything, not shedding any tears, just staring at the box.
'I saved Aya,' he thought to himself. 'But I couldn't save this little one.'
**Owari**
Note: Ran names the kitten Angel, and Yoji asks if instead, they can name her Demon, or Nightmare.
Another Note: Almost everything that happened with the kitten and Weiss happened to my family and my own cats.(Hence the dedications at top) I just meshed different cats' stories into one for Tenshi here.