Mochi
It was a morning ritual, between Hiro and Mochi, to wake each other up when Hiro's alarm went off. Every morning on the first beep of that contraption that pulls Hiro from dreamland and into the cool morning air, that ball of fluff would waddle into the room and jump on the bed, purring as loud as the cat possibly could without breaking himself and help Hiro wake up. In return, Hiro would pet the cat until the seventeen year old was awake enough to function then he would get up, get Mochi a treat while also filling the little food bowl; aside from Cass giving the cat donuts, Hiro was also part of the reason the cat was so fat.
But it was different this morning.
Mochi didn't come into the room, didn't meow until the teen arose, didn't beg for his treat and breakfast, didn't bite Hiro's ear when the tired boy tried to sleep in.
Mochi didn't come into the room.
"Hey, 'Dashi?" Hiro stumbled into the café his older brother was taking the role of running while their aunt was out of town for a baking convention.
The twenty-four year old, who moved out of the little apartment and into his own two years ago turned and smiled at his little brother, who was finally taller than Tadashi's shoulders. "Hey, little bro. Hang on a second." The young adult turned back tot the older gentleman he was serving, handing over a to-go coffee cup and a Lucky Cat bag. "Have a nice day." Tadashi gave the man a smile.
The customer thanked the oldest Hamada male before making his way out of the café.
"What's up?" Tadashi face Hiro, who stood in the doorway from the storage room. "Why do you look out of sorts?"
Was it that obvious that Hiro's morning did not follow his daily ritual?
"Have you seen Mochi?" The teen asked, a slightly worried expression on his face.
His older brother shook his head. "I actually haven't even been up there today, so, no. I haven't. He didn't wake you up?" Even Tadashi knew of their morning routine, secretly slightly jealous of the fact that even though him and their aunt cuddled with Mochi the most, the first person the cat wanted to be with everyday was Hiro.
A wild mop of hair bounced when Hiro shook his head. "No, and I can't find him."
Tadashi look behind him when the bell above the door rang through the air, multiple times as a small group of customers filed in. "I'll take a break in a little bit and help you look for him if you still can't find him, okay?"
Hiro nodded and disappeared back upstairs to look for their beloved calico.
"Mochi." He called out the second he closed the door. "Mochi, bud, where are you?" He got down and started looking in every little nook and cranny he was sure the cat could fit into, even check some places he was a hundred percent sure the cat wouldn't ever be able to crawl into but checked anyway.
After another twenty minutes, he was starting to get frantic.
"Mochi!" Hiro sighed in relief when he found the cat on the windowsill, hidden behind the thick curtains and the living room chair. No wonder he didn't see the cat. He went over to pet the still asleep cat but stopped and let his hand hoover over Mochi when he noticed something peculiar and worrisome.
Mochi wasn't moving.
"Mochi?" Hiro asked quietly and gently. "Wake up you fat cat." He tried to joke, hand still not touching the cat, but he will forever deny the fact that his voice cracked when he came to an upsetting conclusion.
"Hey, did you find him?" Tadashi's voice floated through the air as he climbed the stairs.
Hiro didn't answer, just sat on the arm of the chair.
"Hiro?" Tadashi looked around the room until he found his brother on the chair. "What's wrong?" He noticed the devastated expression on his little brother's face.
The younger Hamada motioned behind him but avoided the elder's eyes. "He won't wake up."
Tadashi froze for only half a second, standing next to Hiro before leaning over the teen to double check. He jumped a bit when he felt the younger's arms wrap around his waist as Tadashi moved the curtain a little bit to be greeted with what looked like a sleeping Mochi, but upon further inspection confirmed his suspicion that their cat was not just sleeping.
He pulled his hand back and Hiro closer into a real hug. "I'm sorry." He sighed into his young brother's wild hair.
Hiro made a noise in the back of his throat that was a mix between a whine and a whimper. He pulled away, still avoiding his brother's eyes. "I'll get a box." He muttered and started walking toward the closet under the stairs.
"Get his blanket too." Tadashi looked toward their cat. Gently, he ran his fingers in between Mochi's ears, the Calico would always purr the loudest when someone pet him there. Part of him really hoped that the cat was just sleeping and just needed someone to pet him to wake him up. And even if the cat were sleeping, if someone had petted him, he'd immediately start purring.
But Mochi didn't do that.
He just stayed exactly as he was, curled up, his eyes stayed closed, and he didn't purr, he didn't breathe.
Tadashi turned his attention to Hiro as he came back from upstairs, Mochi's favorite blanket to curl in in his hand. The seventeen year old opened the closet under the stairs and dug around for a box. They typically kept a few boxes in the closet in case they ever needed them.
And it unfortunately came in handy today.
Hiro shuffled back into the living room, handing the blanket to his brother and unfolding the box as Tadashi unfolded the paw print decorated piece of fabric. Out of the corner of his no doubt bloodshot eyes, Hiro watched Tadashi reach over and pull Mochi into the blanket, securely tucking the worn cloth around the cat. Hiro held the box in his arms as Tadashi ever so gently placed the covered cat in the box; the younger Hamada quickly dropped a catnip mouse next to Mochi.
Tadashi raised an eyebrow.
"So he won't get bored." Hiro muttered.
Tadashi nodded. "Anything else?"
Hiro scurried to where Mochi's food and water bowl were and grabbed the rest of the kitty treats, the treats he didn't get to have that morning.
Tadashi closed up the box before they walked down to the garage-turned-lab to grab a shovel and headed out to the small back yard. "Where do we want him?" Tadashi asked his little brother quietly.
Hiro shrugged. "Where ever." He sniffled and looked down at the box.
The twenty-four year old looked around the small space, trying to find the perfect place. "How about in between the tree and the bird feeder?" Mochi loved sitting in the window in the living room, where he was, and watching the birds fly from the tree to the bird feeder. A number of occasion they small family would hear the cat 'chatter' toward the birds and attempt to swipe at them if they flew too close to the window, of course the only thing the Calico got was a paw-full of window and air.
Hiro nodded slowly, shifting the box in his arms as Tadashi started digging.
Twenty minutes later found the two boys standing in front of a freshly dug and filled pet grave. Hiro usually refused to cry in front of people, even his brother, but he did let tears fall when Tadashi hugged him.
"I'm going back to bed." The teen muttered against Tadashi's shoulder.
The older Hamada sighed. "Do you need anything?"
Hiro shook his head. "Should probably call Aunt Cass though."
The two brothers started walking back inside the garage.
"Do you want me to call her?" The older brother offered as he placed the shovel back in its spot by the door.
Hiro shook his head.
"Alright, well, if you need me too-" Tadashi's voice tapered off.
The younger nodded, knowing where the elder was going. He hugged Tadashi one last time, not letting go for a good minute or so before pulling away and making his way toward the stairs.
"I'll be in the café if you need me." The twenty-four year old announced even though he knew Hiro knew he'd be there all day.
Hiro nodded and continued up the stairs.
He stared at his phone for who knows how long. He dialed his aunt's number multiple times to give her the horrible news, but couldn't bring himself to his the call button. Every time his finger would almost tap the screen, he'd tear up and not trust his voice long enough to tell his aunt.
This was going to break her heart, especially since she hadn't seen Mochi in two days. She's had the cat since as long as Hiro could remember, even before he could remember. Cass had pictures in some old albums from when Tadashi was a baby, an only child, and a kitten sized Mochi was beside him, the two curled up on a chair or something, both taking cat naps.
This news was going to devastate her. And Hiro really didn't want to be the one to tell her this and have that happen.
There was a knock on the wall in the doorway to the room. Tadashi stood there with a bowl of fruit in his hands. "Hey."
"I can't call her." Hiro suddenly said, pulling his arm over his face as he lay in bed, phone still in his hand.
Tadashi sighed and sat at the edge of Hiro's bed. "Here." He held the bowl out of his little brother. "I'll trade you; you give me the phone, and I'll give you this."
Hiro hesitated but ultimately dropped the phone into his brother's hand and grabbed the bowl of fruit.
"You eat or stare at it, whatever you want to do, and I'll go down and call her." Tadashi gave the game plan.
"I'm gonna take a shower." The younger mumbled as he popped a blueberry into his mouth before he stood up and walked into the bathroom.
Tadashi gave a sad smile toward the door his younger brother just walked through and stood up to head down into the kitchen.
"Hey, Hiro." Cass's chipper voice greeted Tadashi when he called her.
"It's Tadashi." He told her.
"Is something wrong? Is Hiro okay?" She quickly jumped to the worst-case scenario.
Is Hiro okay? That was a hard question to answer. "Well," He began but got cut off.
"What happened?!" She asked.
"Aunt Cass, Hiro's fine, he's taking a shower." The Hamada male told her. "But, uh, I do have some news to tell you." He hesitated. "Bad news."
She didn't say anything at first. "What is it?" She asked quietly.
He took a breath. "Um, Mochi, uh, passed away." He stumbled over his words.
Her end of the line was quiet for a long moment. "Is Hiro okay?" She was more concerned about her youngest nephew, knowing that him and Mochi had a special bond.
"He's pretty upset, he's the one who found him." Tadashi told her.
"Oh the poor thing." She exhaled.
Tadashi leaned against the counter. "We buried him between the tree and the bird feeder, with his blanket and his catnip mouse and Hiro dropped in the treats he didn't get to give him for this morning." He told his aunt.
"He always did want to catch those birds." Cass commented, trying to keep her voice from wavering.
"Maybe now he will." He added.
"Yeah, maybe he will."
I'm so sorry that I wrote this. I just lost my cat, my writing buddy, my hairy baby yesterday morning. And I just… just had to write this. I kept Tadashi alive because I didn't want too much sadness in this.