Author's Notes: I've had similar ideas to this kicking around for years. Obviously I'm not the first person to think of guardians watching over people, but I thought I'd try it out. I wasn't even planning on making this a story: it was supposed to be a one-shot, but it got slightly bigger in my mind, so I'm gonna split it up as it goes. I wholly believe in the power of puns.
Yazawa Nico was tired. It wasn't newsworthy at this point, but she was reminded of it by her slowly-closing eyelids. There wasn't time to sleep, though: she hadn't even gotten home yet.
It was important for Nico to keep her energy up. After all, she needed to work to support her family, not to mention go to school and be the cutest girl on the planet. What a exhausting existence she led, truly. So she stopped at the store on her way home and bought an energy drink. They weren't something she bought very often, but she thought she'd indulge herself today. Taking a long, much-needed gulp of the liquid, she walked out of the store, only to be halted by a very strange sight.
Now, normally a cat wasn't 'strange'. After all, there were plenty of cats in the world, and Nico had seen more than enough cats in her lifetime. However, she couldn't remember seeing one with red fur. Looking down at her drink, she wondered if it had been spiked. She had to have been hallucinating. Cats couldn't be red, right? Yet there it was, sitting on the sidewalk and staring at her. It was unnerving. Maybe someone had dyed the feline's fur; that was a possible explanation. Now she felt bad for it. Still, she couldn't spend all night staring at cats: she had a family to get home to. Giving a small wave to it, Nico began walking home.
There was a presence following her, she could feel it. Her heart began to beat faster in nervousness, but the curiosity was too powerful. Taking a deep, calming breath, Nico whirled around to find... that cat following her. "Eh? Are you following me?" The cat just stared up at her, making Nico feel dumb for asking it a question. "What am I doing? I'm talking to a stupid cat." Chiding herself for further wasting time, she turned back around, only to let out a small yelp when she felt a furry paw slap her ankle. Jerking her head down, she could've sworn the cat was shooting her a very annoyed glare. She had never seen an animal with that kind of expression before. "What do you want, food? I don't have anything for you, ya freeloader." That earned her another slap, claws sheathed.
She should have just walked away, but something compelled her to watch as that strange look fell from the cat's face and was replaced with something she could have sworn was hesitation. Finally, and to her great surprise, it leaned in and gently nuzzled her ankle. A small smile formed on her face despite herself: she had never seen anything so awkwardly affectionate. "Do you want to come home with me or something?" There was no answer - of course there wasn't - but it made no moves to leave, so Nico took an experimental step forward. It moved as well, and began to match her step for step as she walked. Looks like that answered her question.
"Alright, ya furball. I guess I can take you in. Don't think I have a bunch of food for you though, because I don't." Ignoring the third slap upon her tired ankle - how did the freakin' cat know it was being insulted? - Nico continued her trek home, the scarlet feline in tow. She had no idea how to explain to her mom that she just adopted a cat.
Toujou Nozomi had a soft smile on her face. It was an acquired art form, and she was a master at it. She enjoyed smiling, even if her emotions didn't always agree with such facial contortions. If she seemed happy, that could make others happy, and that was enough for her. A slight breeze tickled her skin as she swept the dust and leaves from the shrine steps, making sure it would be nice and clean for any nighttime visitors. While cleaning the part of the walkway that led to the shrine, a thought occurred to her: she had never prayed here.
It wasn't due to disbelief or laziness, it had just never happened, nor had she ever realized that it hadn't. Was there even a point, though? What would she wish for? She tried to push the thought from her mind as she continued to work, but it kept intruding upon her brain, until she realized that her broom had swept across the same cleaned section of concrete six times now. Sighing softly, she decided to just go up there and do it. One wish, one prayer, and she could concentrate fully on her work. A smile returned to her face as she walked back up the steps.
Standing at the shrine, eyes closed and hands clasped in prayer, Nozomi didn't know what to wish for. She did believe in the wishes that came from those who made their way here to pray, and she wholeheartedly embraced the spirituality of it all, but she was a conduit, not a receiver. At least, that's how she saw it: she was to help guide people to fulfill their desires, but not to have such things for herself. Perhaps those thoughts would cripple the mentality of most people, but Nozomi understood that this must be her destiny. Who was she to question the almighty power of fate?
Still, with her mind clouded by thoughts and memories she tried to push down and away, one thought made its way to the forefront. By herself at the shrine, she could give in, just this once. Just this once, she would allow herself this one selfish wish. Her lips moved wordlessly as she prayed, knowing no one would see her. 'I wish I didn't have to go home alone tonight.' Eyes open, she looked down at her clasped hands, then laughed softly, letting her arms fall to her sides. Now she could say that she had officially made a wish at the shrine she overlooked, and now she could put that out of her mind and get back to work. The only thing that stopped her was the fact that she, contrary to what she believed, was not the only living thing there.
Nozomi's eyes widened as she noticed something she could have sworn had not been there before: a cat, standing elegantly on the railing on the stairs, maintaining perfect balance and unblinking eye contact. Its fur was yellow; no, that didn't do it justice. Its fur was a brilliant blonde, and she was captivated by its grace. Yes, it was just a cat, but there was something about it that drew Nozomi towards it. As if realizing this, the cat jumped off the railing, landing smoothly upon the ground and sauntering over to the frozen girl, weaving its way between her legs and letting out an almost commanding meow.
"You... you're... so cute!" Nozomi squealed with delight as she leaned down to pet the cat, which arched its back in delight at her soft strokes across its back. She had never seen a feline be so forward with a stranger, but that didn't matter to her. It made her feel special. After a few more strokes across its back, Nozomi stood up and smiled sadly. "Sorry kitty, but I need to finish up here." Reluctantly turning away, she grabbed her broom from where she'd left it and went to finish sweeping.
It didn't leave. Nozomi was pleasantly surprised to find her feline friend hanging around as she swept, as if it was actually interested in what she was doing. That made her work that much more bearable, though it was a bit distracting to keep petting the blonde feline every so often, but the contented purr it let out warmed her heart. The sun had just about set by the time she was done, distractions aside, and she had a feeling that once she left, her feline friend was sure to follow. Once again, her assumptions were correct, as she didn't even reach the stairs before it was upon her, pawing at her leg and looking up at her.
"Aww, do you want me to carry you?" At her words, it meowed happily, and she smiled, a much wider smile than before. Reaching down, she gently picked the cat up, giving no resistance like a normal stray would. 'Then again,' she thought as the feline curled up in her arms with another content purr, 'this is clearly no normal cat.' No, it certainly wasn't a normal cat, and for tonight at least, it was hers. That big smile never left her face the entire way home. Maybe the Gods were watching her.
She was going to do it. This time would be it. No more would she hide behind her own shyness. Her heart was racing on its own accord as she took copious amounts of deep breaths, steeling herself for the task ahead. The cruel mistress of shyness had kept her friendless up until now, but she was in high school. It was time to break out and be someone! Of course, there were only so many people who she had facsimiles of conversations with, but this was the closest she would get: a nice girl she had talked to at the local shrine. Well, it wasn't quite a conversation as much as mutual greetings, and she wasn't even sure if the girl had heard her quiet, nondescript hello, but this was what she'd build off of.
Nerves had taken control and forced her to hide inside the arcade until the sun had already set, but now she stood at the bottom step, ready to take the plunge, metaphorically speaking. Each step she took was slow and careful, practically shaking at the prospect of initiating conversation with someone. When she reached the top, and she looked around the area, she didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed that there was no one there. All Koizumi Hanayo knew was that she didn't have the confidence to try another day. With a small sigh, she headed back down the stairs.
She should have already been home, but instead she sat on a park bench and looked up at the stars. No clouds were there to obscure their light, and it was a very pretty sight. Anything was better than reliving her own personal embarrassment. At least no one had been there to see it and wonder what she was doing there. Another soft sigh escaped her lips as she played with the hem of her skirt. Nobody else but her would bother coming to the park this late at night. No sounds reached her ears but the occasional chirp of a cricket, and the loud meow of a cat. 'Wait...'
Hanayo nearly flew off the bench at the sight of an orange tabby sitting right next to her, with what would appear to be the cattiest smile on its face. Once she'd gotten over the shock, she just stared at the cat, which was meowing at peace-shattering levels. She wondered if this was someone's cat, or just a stray, but then why was it looking up at her so expectantly? With a shaking hand, she reached down and gently began to pet it, rewarded with much quieter purrs from the cat.
"D-do you want something to eat?" Looking at the cat's neck, she noticed that there was no collar adorning it, so it would appear that this one was a stray. At the mention of food, it jumped onto Hanayo's bag with a loud meow, pawing at the zipper keeping it closed. "H-hey! Wh-what are you doing?" The cat didn't seem to be listening, continuing to try to grab at the zipper, and despite not having a good reason for doing so, Hanayo grabbed it instead and slowly unzipped her bag. "Th-there's no food in there- Hey!"
Now there was a cat in her bag. It was smiling at her, in a way that was freaking her out, but she didn't want to force it out of her back. She didn't think it would scratch her, but she wasn't positive about it. "C-come on, I have to go home now." The cat wouldn't budge, seemingly determined to make its new home in her bag. With her third sigh in such a short period of time, she decided to just hoist the bag up and carry the cat with her. It wasn't like there was too much harm in that; the cat sure seemed happy enough with this turn of events, admittedly events that it had kickstarted. Besides, she had always wanted a pet. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.
Everybody who was sad had a reason for being sad. At least, that's how she thought it was. Yet there she was, sitting in bed and feeling sad for no reason. Wrapping her arms around her legs, she hugged herself and wondered just what exactly was wrong with her. There was nothing physically wrong with her, and she certainly didn't feel ill. Her parents were kind, school was going well, and she never had to want for anything. That sounded like a great life, but despite acknowledging that, Minami Kotori still felt very sad.
Talking to people was pretty easy for her, and she had quite a few friends, or at least what passed as a friend, but she didn't feel... well, special. All her friends were talented, or driven, or just exuded confidence. She, alas, was none of those things. She didn't really have anything going for her. It was like she was just a faceless person, living in the shadows of her bolder, happier friends. It was hard not to think about it, if the soft tears rolling down her cheeks were any indication.
The one thing that could break her from her unhappy reverie was a knock on her door. As soon as she stood up though, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes, she realized that the sound didn't, well, sound like the door. It sounded like the... window? Walking over towards the window instead, Kotori's eyes widened as she saw a big, fluffy, orange dog lying on its back in her yard, seemingly dazed. Had that thing jumped into her window? Wanting to make sure it was okay, she practically ran out of her room and out of the house.
By the time she got outside, the dog was already back on its feet, and once it saw Kotori standing there, it ran over and pounced on her, causing her to squeal in surprise as she fell to the ground, groaning as the energetic canine stood on top of her, barking loudly. "H-hey there." She had no idea how to react to this, nor did she have the strength to push the huge dog off of her. Eventually it got the hint and rolled off of her, allowing her to sit up and catch her breath.
"Well aren't you full of energy?" Kotori laughed softly, followed by a squeal when she felt its wet tongue run across her cheek. "Eek!" There was no shame on the canine's face, just a dopey, happy look, its tongue lolling out. "Did you... try to get through my window?" The dog bounded over to the window and put a paw on it, whining softly. Kotori suppressed another laugh; this dog was absolutely adorable.
"Next time," she put her hand on the dog's head and guided it towards the front door. "Please knock on the door instead." As if understanding, the dog barked and slapped at the door with a paw. It certainly was an obedient dog, if a bit too wild. Before she could say anything else, the front door opened again and there stood her mother, looking down in surprise at her daughter and her new companion.
"Kotori? Was that you, then?" Blushing slightly, Kotori nodded.
"Sorry, mom. I was just teaching this dog to knock on the door instead of the window."
"Uh huh... And where did you find it, exactly?"
"Right outside my window." Kotori pointed to the exact spot it had been before it had barreled her over. That part she could leave out. "It's so adorable, though. Can I keep it, mom? Pleeeease?" She clasped her hands together and gave her mother the best pleading eyes she could muster.
Her mother pretended to think about it, rubbing her chin in thought. "I don't know, Kotori. A pet is a big responsibility-"
"I can do it, mom! I'll be the best dog owner in the entire country!" Her mother laughed as she placed a comforting hand upon her daughter's shoulder. She had been convinced.
"Well, if you truly believe so, then so do I. Take good care of your dog now, Kotori."
Kotori's smile was nearly blinding, and it made her mother's heart swell with pride. "Thank you, mom! Thank you thank you thank you! Ohh, I have to think of a name, and we need to go to the pet store, and-" She went on like that for awhile, only stopping to acknowledge her mother's request that the dog stay outside until it was properly trained. Kotori hated to leave it outside all night, but when she looked out her window before bed, it was standing right there, that same goofy but lovable expression on its face. Feeling confident that her new pet wouldn't bolt away in the night, she closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep, sleeping surprisingly well.
Author's Notes (2): You may have noticed one member missing. Well, that's because odd numbers. Seriously though, she'll be in the story. Just not in the guardian/charge way. You may have also noticed that one of the four is breaking the whole 'purrfect' pun mode here. That has a simple enough explanation in chapter two. Such a rebel, really.