DISCLAIMER: Prince of Tennis and its original plot and characters are owned by Takeshi Konomi-sensei and the studio who made the anime. Moreover, a shorter version of this story is originally published on my account at Quotev. Feel free to drop a visit!
Karupin's often ignored.
Of course, he would be. He's a cat after all. Ryoma might have considered him as part of the family, but Karupin knew better. He may not have the rationality of human beings, nor does he possess their supposed advanced analytical skills to weigh evidence. But his natural instinct as a four-legged creature taught him things humans would never be able to master.
His sharp hearing, for instance, could decipher sounds behind soundproof doors, normally inaudible for the human ears. Just like one summer when a taller guy with black, spiky hair visited their home. Karupin sensed Ryoma's slight discomfort when the other guy said something so he decided to trail them up to his owner's room.
And his sharp, cat senses was right. Ryoma did feel discomfort. A proof of it would be the audible weird noises he's making along with the equally weird murmurs from their visitor. Karupin wanted to barge in the room, but apparently, the force of his scratches against its wooden built isn't enough to push the door open. With a curious tilt of his head, he left the place.
And it didn't end there.
One time he followed Ryoma to school, only to get sidetracked along the way. Not that he was a bit worried. He's a cat, and if he concentrates enough, he could easily trace back the direction they took using his sense of smell. However, Karupin did find the outside world too overwhelming. In his world, he only managed to recognize few faces - those primarily of the Echizen family.
But walking along the spacious place outside, Karupin realized that the world is such a vast place. There were so many people with so many faces; so many doors and so many windows; so many trees and so many corners.
He is a cat. And cats are known to have a short-term memory. Karupin might be witty but he's no exception to this biological fact.
He allowed himself to wander off the expanse of space before him, all the while ignoring the curious glances thrown away by people who wore the same uniform like Ryoma does. His cat brain deduced that since the clothing perfectly resembled those black and white outfit his owner wore every time he leaves the house, there's a higher chance that Ryoma's just around the corner.
He was right.
He did see few more familiar faces before he was spotted by that same guy who made weird noises with Ryoma before. He carried him home, back to his owner's arms. It was a long day for Karupin, and he learned a lot.
The outside world is amazing.
And he plans to explore more of it in the future.
SY: Cheers to those who love Karupin! Yup, and drop your reviews!