The young Okumura twins were walking by the river on the way home from their elementary school on a crisp autumn afternoon. They'd been arguing about which superpower was the best (Rin thought the power to fly was the coolest, but Yukio thought telepathy would be more useful), when a flash of orange caught Rin's eye. He looked over to see a young, thin tomcat peering out from the long grass by the water.
A wild smile crossed Rin face, "A cat!" he shouted running towards it, but Yukio caught him by the shoulder, "Careful Rin, you don't want to frighten him away!" his younger brother cautioned.
"Ok, ok! Don't worry. I'll be careful," he assured his twin, then cautiously approached the feline. "Hey buddy, c'mere." The cat took a couple steps back and crouched down further in the grass, unsure of what to make of this new encounter.
"Don't get any closer, Rin. You might scare him away. Let him come to you," his younger brother advised.
Rin looked discouraged, but followed his brother's advice. He crouched down in the grass and slowly outstretched his arm towards the timid cat and Yukio followed suit.
The young cat remained safely nestled in the grass for another minute then slowly approached the bothers. It took every ounce of self-discipline the older brother could muster to restrain himself from sweeping the cat up in his arms and hold him tight.
The cat approached Rin first since he was a couple steps ahead of Yukio. He eyed the brothers wearily then sniffed Rin's outstretched fingers and rubbed his head against the boy's warm hand. The boy squealed with excitement then gently rubbed the cat behind its ears.
"Aw, I think he likes me," he chirped, grinning from ear to ear. He continued petting the cat for a few minutes and gingerly picked him up. The cat was even lighter than he expected and as he got a closer look he noticed the cat was very thin. Rin could plainly see its ribs protruding from its side and shoulder blades jutting out from its back.
"Aw, he must be hungry. Do you have any of your lunch left?" Rin asked as he turned to face Yukio so he could pet the cat as well.
"No," Yukio said sadly. "And I don't have any money with me to buy something from the shops."
"Me either…"
Both brothers stared sympathetically towards the cat then suddenly a mischievous smiled flashed across the older brother's face. "I know where we can get some food."
"Oh no!" His younger brother replied, seemingly reading his twin's mind. "You're not thinking of taking him home, are you? Dad would never allow it!
His brother's broad smile grew even wider, "Who says Dad has to know?"
Yukio rolled his eyes. He hated when his brother got like this. He was constantly getting them into trouble, always thinking he could put one over on their father, but Shiro always seemed to know what they were up to. Despite all the times they got caught, Rin just viewed it as a challenge to do better next time.
"Please Yukio," Rin pleaded. "I can't do this without you."
The younger twin doubted they'd be able to sneak their new friend past their dad, but he knew that once his brother set his mind on something, there was no use in trying to talk him out of it. And unlike most of his brother's schemes, this one seemed worth whatever punishment might be in store for them.
He looked at the starving cat then at his pleading brother. Then took an exaggerated sigh and pushed his glasses against the bridge of his noise. "Fine," he said defeated.
Rin smiled wide and gave a little jump for joy before running over to hug his little brother.
"Thank you Yukio! You're the best brother ever!"
The brothers took off for the monastery with the feline nestled safely in Rin's arms. They were so eager to get their kitty fed, they made it back to home in less than 10 minutes. "Ok, so you go in to grab the food and I'll stay here with Tiger."
"You named him?!" Yukio groaned. "You know we can't keep him, right?!"
"Of course I know that! But he still needs a name, doesn't he? What else am I supposed to call him?!"
"All right, fine. You can name him whatever you want," the younger twin conceded. "But why do I have to go in? You're the sneaky one. I think it would be best if you went in instead."
"Fine," Rin sighed, gently handing over the kitty to his brother. "Just keep an eye on him, okay? I'll be back soon."
Rin entered the home through the back since that was the one closest to the kitchen. He cautiously opened the door and poked his head through the doorway. When he saw that the room was empty, he quietly closed the door and tip toed through the kitchen. He loved moments like this. He relished the feeling of sneaking around the house while the rest of the occupants completely oblivious to his presence- it made him feel like a spy. He and Yukio would often sneak downstairs for late night snacks or eavesdrop on his father's conversations with members of the clergy. He always thought it was great fun!
He opened the fridge and searched for something the kitty would like. Chicken? Cheese? Milk? Do cats really like milk or is that something they show in cartoons? Maybe he should just grab a little of everything just to be sure. He loaded up his arms with everything he thought his new friend might like then made a break for the back door.
I hope this will be enough for him. He's awfully skinny. Maybe later I can-
"Hey, where you going Rin?" a cheery voice came from behind him.
Rin froze in place, Oh no! Why him?! Why now?! He was so close!
"H-hey Dad. Yukio's been helping me with my math homework out by the garden and we were starting to get hungry so I thought I'd bring us some snacks."
Shiro looked down at the armful of food Rin was carrying. It wasn't the typical goodies they chose to munch on.
"So raw chicken is your idea of a snack?"
"Hey, how'd that get in there?" Rin laughed nervously, then set the packaged chicken back on the counter. "Well, I'll see you later Dad."
"Hold on there, kiddo! If you eat all that you two won't have any room for the awesome meal I cooked!" his father declared proudly, twirling a wooden spoon in his hand.
"But Daaaad, we're hungry!" Rin protested.
"Well, then you'll have plenty of room for my beef stew. Now out, out, out!" his father nagged shooing Rin away with the spoon. "Dinner will be ready in 10 minutes, even you can hold off until then."
Rin sighed and laid his armful of food back on the counter, but before leaving he took a moment to pocket a few hunks of chicken from the leftover yakisoba they had eaten the other night while his father's back was turned.
He returned to the backyard where Yukio and Tiger were waiting for him and gave the cat the small morsels of food he managed to salvage from the kitchen.
"That's all you brought?!" Yukio chided when he noticed the scant among of food Rin had brought back with him.
"Hey, I did the best I could! Dad was already in the kitchen making dinner. I'm lucky I made it out of there with anything!" speaking of his encounter as if he were soldier returning from battle.
The kitten had devoured the chicken in a matter of seconds then nudged Rin's hand with his nose, searching for more.
"What do we do now, Rin?"
To be honest, Rin really didn't know what to do. It would be getting dark soon and if their new friend ran off while they were eating dinner they'd never be able to find him. And it didn't look like the little guy could stand to go many more days without food.
"Why don't we bring him up to our room, just until dinner's over. We can wrap up some leftovers in a napkin and give it to him."
"Do you think that'll really work? What if Dad catches us?"
"It's worth a try. We just gotta be really quiet. I'll hide Tiger under my shirt, just in case he sees us, then as soon as we get to the staircase, we'll run up as fast as we can and keep Tiger in our closet until dinner is over."
The boys cracked open the front door and checked the hallway to make sure no one was around. When they were sure the coast was clear, Rin slowly open which gave as loud creak as he pushed it open inch-by-inch.
"Just open it!" Yukio yelled in a harsh whisper, knowing the sound of the creaking door would attract much more attention.
They boys walked gingerly across the old wooden floors, which they were certain had never been so loud until this very moment. They had just made it to the bottom of the stairway when they saw their father pass by to set the table in the dining room Should they try to sneak by, leaving them exposed for a longer period of time, or just make a break for it for it and hope their father wouldn't notice? They chose the latter and dashed up the stairs as fast as their little feet could carry them.
They hadn't even made it halfway up the stairs before their father poked his head out from the entryway, "Whoa, whoa, boys! What's your hurry? Dinner'll be ready soon."
"Ok Dad, we'll be down soon." Rin replied quickly and continued to sprint up the stairs, not daring to look back in case their dad noticed the odd budge under his shirt.
Once they were safely in their room, Rin slammed the door shut and gently pull the kitten out from under his shirt. "That was close," he mumbled.
"No kidding," his younger brother agreed, "but what are we supposed to do if Dad comes up here?"
Rin didn't get a chance to answer before there was a knock on the door, "Boys, are you in there?" their father bellowed.
"No!" Rin yelled nervously then quickly hide the kitten in the closet. Yukio smacked his palm against his forehead and shook his head. For as much as his brother fancied himself to be stealthy and clever, he always cracked under pressure around his dad.
"There must intruders in my house!" the old man bellowed as he pulled open the door. "Be gone villains!" he shouted in mock fury and charged into the room. He hoisted Rin and Yukio up over his shoulders and spun them around several times before plopping them down on Yukio's bed. The boys couldn't help but giggle, momentarily forgetting their concern for the tiny creature in their closest.
"Do you surrender ruffians?" Shiro boomed.
"Never!" Rin shouted, wrapping hid arms around his father's neck and preparing to go for another spin.
Shiro lifted the small boy over his head and began to spin him around the room when they hear a shrill meow from the closet. "What was that?"
"Yee-ow!" Yukio rolled over in mock pain. "I think I'm getting a stomach ache. Yee-ow," he cried, trying his best to imitate the cat.
"A stomach ache, huh? Guess you won't be able to have some of my awesome beef stew tonight," Shiro sighed, "but you know, I think I have just the thing to cure a stomach ache, some of my delicious leek and cabbage soup. Be right back."
Rin watched their father walk back down the stairs then we he was safely out of earshot, Rin slammed the door and whipped around to face Yukio. "A stomach ache?! That's the best you could come up with?! Now we'll never get rid of him." They knew from past experiences that their doting father wouldn't leave until Yukio ate every single bite of soup. He believed it could cure any ailment and forced it down the throats every time the boys were sick. It didn't work, but the boys pretended that it did so they wouldn't have to eat it anymore.
"You were the one playing helicopter with Dad. All the noise probably frightened him," Yukio retorted, as he gently took the kitty out of the closet and stroked it softly.
"Well it's still mostly your fault, but I'll let that go for now," Rin declared matter-of-factly, earning him another eye roll from Yukio. "We need to get Tiger out of the house before Dad comes back."
Yukio nodded and held the kitten snuggly against his chest. Rin cracked the door open and took a quick peak down the hallway, "The coast is clear. Let's go!" Rin lead the way with Yukio following closely behind.
"Hello boys," a smooth voice called from behind them. Their eyes widened and their bodies froze in fear then slowly turned around to face their adversary. The ajar door of their bedroom swung forward to reveal their father's brazen figure towering over them, crossing his arms and smiling smugly. "Who's your friend?"
BUSTED!
The boys knew there was no getting out of this. They've been busted my the priest many, many times before, and the one lesson they learned above all others was that lying or running away would only make their punishment worse. So instead they took a deep breath, held tightly to each other's hands, and explained everything to their father.
Their father had taken it much better than they'd expected. He spent so much time laughing at the boys' foolishness that their story took almost twice as long to explain. When the brothers finished, their father simply smiled and tousled their hair.
"All right, all right. I can see I've tormented you enough, what do you say we get this little guy fed, huh?" he said leading the brothers into the kitchen.
"Thanks Dad!" Yukio said cheerfully. "So does this mean we're not in trouble?"
Shiro gave a hearty chuckle and grinned, "Oh no, you're definitely in trouble, but we'll worry about that later. Right now it's dinnertime!" he said enthusiastically, as he led the boys and their newest house guest into the kitchen where they enjoyed a delicious cabbage-free meal and through a series of pleads and promises convinced their dad to make their dinner guest a permanent member of the family.
A/N: Just a short little story to help get me in the mood for writing again. I love doing these pre-series stories because little Rin and Yukio are too cute for words! ^_^ Seeing them grow up was one of my favorite parts of the series. I hope you enjoyed the story. If you did, please leave a review- it's the fuel that keeps me writing! :) Thank you for reading!