I walked with my head, ears, and tail down. The wind blew cruelly at me, making my fur blow back. I shivered and kept walking, mewling in sadness. My spiky black fur fell into my eyes as another gust of wind blew at me. I growled in annoyance. I sat down on the snow-covered ground and licked a paw to bring it down over my ears. "Aww. Here, kitty, kitty, kitty," said a soft voice from behind me. I spun around, my fur fluffed up in surprise. A young boy, about the age of sixteen, beckoned me to him. His cerulean eyes were glowing with warmth and curiosity. I flattened my ears slightly as he took a small step closer. "C'mon, boy. I'm not gonna hurt you," he said making small kissing sounds. I took a tentative step towards him. He smiled encouragingly and made more kiss noises. I padded towards him hesitantly. He opened his coat slowly, offering the warmth within it. I forgot my caution and ran towards him. He caught me in his arms and snuggled me to him. I purred softly as the warmth seeped into my cold fur. The boy grinned at me in happiness. "Well now, I'm not that scary am I?" he said walking down out of the alleyway. I purred a bit louder and nosed his chin. He looked down in surprise. I licked his cheek cautiously, as a way of saying thanks. He blushed and grinned. "Ahahaha, you're welcome," he said. I laid my head on his shoulder in relief. The young teen stopped suddenly in front of a small train station. I cowered in his coat at all the bustling people. "It's okay, kitty. You're safe with me," he whispered. I mewed and peeked over his collar, only my black nose and golden eyes showing. "Excuse me, sir. I need one ticket to Land of Departure please," he said to a man behind a glass window. The man looked up, his face as expressionless as a rock. "Name," he asked his voice booming. I squeaked in fear and ducked my face back into the boy's coat. He patted my spiky head and spoke in a clear, somewhat shaky voice. "Ventus," he said. I looked up at him as he took the ticket from the man. Ventus stepped onto a train and sat down on an orange seat. He unzipped his coat, making me almost tumble onto the floor. I sunk my claws into his jeans to prevent me from falling. Ventus picked me up under my armpits and turned me to face him. "You need a name, don't you?" he said poking my nose. I sneezed and mewled in protest. Ventus tilted his head to the side in thought. "Hm. Midnight?" he said. I shook my head. "Nightmare?" Another shake of my head. "Raven?" I hissed at that one. "Well you need a name, kitty," Ventus said huffing in frustration. A man standing near us, obviously gothic, looked over. "Call him Vanitas. It means emptiness," he said. Ventus frowned and knitted his eyebrows together. I nudged his face and mewed in approval of the name. He looked at me in shock. "Seriously? Hmm well if you like it then you're name is Vanitas," he said. He then broke into a large grin. "Since I don't think you're empty, I will give you a nickname. I'll call you...Vani," he said kissing my head. I purred loudly and rubbed against his cheek. Curling up on his lap, I tucked my tail over my nose and fell asleep to the rocking of the train and the stroking of my fur by the hand of my new friend.
"Ven!" came a shout that shook me out of my slumber. A tall man and blue-haired woman came rushing towards us. Ventus smiled at them as they came closer. "Terra! Aqua! Look what I found. A poor kitty cat freezing his tail off in an alleyway," he told them. I peeked over his collar cautiously. The man, with brown hair that stuck up in the back, looked down at Ventus in disapproval. "Ven. That cat might have a disease," he said putting a hand on Ventus's shoulder. I growled in fury. 'I? A diseased cat? Absurdity!' I thought. Ventus pet my head to calm me. "He does not have anything wrong with him, Terra," he said pouting. The woman kneeled down and placed a hand on his cheek. "Terra is just worried about your safety, Ven," she said softly. I flattened my ears at her comment. 'The woman, as well?' I thought. Ventus brushed them off and unzipped his coat, catching me before I could fall. "C'mon, Vani," he said patting his leg. I followed, feeling somewhat exposed being out of his jacket. "Vani? What does that stand for?" Terra asked crossing his muscled arms across his broad chest. I lifted my chin and glared at him in pride as Ventus bent down to scratch my ears. "Vanitas. This guy on the train suggested it," he said. I purred in contentment as he scratched my back. I arched my back into his hand, purring loudly. Aqua smiled at us. "He certainly likes you, Ven," she said as I rubbed my side against his leg. Ventus grinned and stood up. "I hope so. Let's go, Vani," he said patting his leg. I padded after him, my tail held high.
We walked down a long hallway until we reached a large door. "This is where we stay, Vani," Ventus said opening the door. I leaped onto his bed, instantly curling up for sleep. "Oh no you don't," Ven said scooping me up. I meowed in protest. He carried me to a large room that had a huge steaming pool. I was set down far away from the pool so I didn't see Ventus undress and submerge himself in the water. I looked around for him in panic. I meowed in distress as I couldn't find him. I ran to the edge of the water and looked frantically. A spiky mess of blonde hair poked out of the water. "Ven?" came a deep voice from the other side off the pool. I looked up to see Terra, in nothing but a towel. I gagged in disgust. Terra glared at me and stuck up his middle finger. I snarled at him, unsheathing my claws. He laughed got in the pool with Ventus. Ven surfaced, breathing in the hot air. "Surprise attack!" shouted Terra, who snatched Ven from behind. Ventus yelped and struggled to get free. Laughing, Terra dunked Ven into the pool and brought him back up, making Ven choke out the water from his mouth. I bristled, and bared my teeth in fury. 'How dare he insult me then try to hurt my friend?' I thought. I stretched my claws as far out as they could go. "MRRROOOOWWWW!" I screeched. They stopped roughhousing and stared at me in shock. "Vani? Vanitas, it's okay. Terra was only fooling around," Ven said swimming over to me. I relaxed slightly as he put a wet hand on my head. "It's okay. Calm down," he said soothingly. I retracted my claws and let my fur go down slowly. "There's a good boy. Good Vani," he cooed calming my nerves. I purred and rubbed my face against his. "Ven. Are you seriously going to act like that cat is a person?" Terra said shaking his head. I snarled at him, my golden eyes blazing in anger. Ventus clicked his tongue and glared at Terra. "Yes because to me he is a person," he said pointedly. Ven then picked up a towel to wrapped it around himself. Terra watched as Ventus got out of the pool to dry himself. He licked his lips as he watched. I flattened my ears in disbelief and disgust. "MRROW!" I screeched. Terra shot his gaze to me, going from lustful to annoyed. "What's wrong with your cat? It's like he doesn't want me near you," he said. Ven turned as he tied the towel around his waist. "I dunno. Maybe he's just territorial over me," he said, picking me up. I snorted in Terra's direction and purred hard when Ventus laughed. He carried me to our room and placed me on the bed. I curled up on his pillow and sighed in contentment. This was my home now and I wasn't leaving anytime soon.