Akko skipped happily down the sidewalk as she headed back to the dorms. She'd done so well with practice! Professor Ursula seemed so excited for her! All was going so well; Akko couldn't be happier!
"Argh, c'mere you lil –"
"Huh?" Akko looked up to see Amanda. Well, Amanda's leg. The girl was perched in a tree, squirming wildly at what seemed like nothing. "Amanda, what're you doing?" Akko asked, stepping up to the tree's base.
"Akko! Perfect timing!" Amanda sat up and held down a hand. "Get up here and sit on that branch!"
"Uh, OK?" Akko took the hand and let Amanda help swing her up onto the branch. Once up in the tree, Akko noticed a small orange and gray kitten with long fur. "Ah, a kitten!"
"Yeah, she's got barbed wire wrapped around her paw and she won't let me catch her!" Amanda explained. "Just distract her so I can snatch her," Amanda commanded, swatting at the cat.
"Right!" Akko made herself look smaller and presented a hand, lightly drumming her fingers against the branch. The kitten locked eyes on the hand and tracked her with intense interest.
"Gotcha!" Amanda lifted the cat up and held her against her chest. The two witches hopped out of the tree and Akko examined the kitten's foot.
"Oh jeez…looks like the wire got stuck in her leg, not just wrapped around it." She gently tugged the wire off and dropped it to the ground. Small pricks of blood surfaced, so Amanda wiped them away before setting the kitten down.
"All better, little girl!" the redhead announced. "Thanks, Akko."
"No prob!"
The two girls headed for the dorms, only stopping when a mew sounded from the bottom of the steps. Akko let go of the door handle and they both looked down to see the little kitten sitting at the bottom of the stairs. Once she noticed the girls looking at her, she let out a loud cry.
"Hey, go home!" Amanda said, waving her hands at the cat. "Go home; your mom is probably really worried!"
"Unless she doesn't have a mom?" Akko suggested.
"What do you mean?" Amanda asked. "She's a kitten!"
Akko picked up the kitten and turned her over, noticing the dirt across her tummy and paws. "She looks like she's about 6 weeks old, so she doesn't need a mom…but she's definitely underweight…I think she might've been abandoned."
"What?" Amanda looked taken aback. "But if she's a big enough kitten, shouldn't she be OK anyway?"
"In some ways…but I don't think she can hunt for herself," Akko went back up the steps to rejoin Amanda, only for the kitten to reach out a paw to the other girl.
"What's she doing…?" Amanda asked, leaning away from the cat.
"I think she wants you to hold her," Akko said with a giggle.
"I'm not a cat person!" Amanda insisted. Akko held the kitten out to her, and the baby simply mewed and cried out, stretching her paws toward Amanda. Eventually, she caved and took the kitten awkwardly, holding her on her back like a human baby.
Akko snickered and shook her head. "Not like that!" She helped flip the kitten back onto her belly, and the kitten curled into the bend in Amanda's arm. Soon enough, she was asleep.
"Now what do we do with her?"
"Let's go get her some food and we can deal with her in the morning," Akko suggested. They both watched the sun sinking down for a moment before heading inside and sneaking down to the kitchen.
"I kinda doubt they have cat food in here, Akko," Amanda hissed from where she kept watch.
"Hmm…oh! Here we go!" Akko snatched cans of tuna and chicken from the pantry. She tossed open the fridge door and grabbed some yogurt as well. Before running out, she took a small saucer to use as a plate. "Alright, let's go!"
Akko mixed the tuna with a bit of yogurt to make it softer before letting the kitten start to eat. The kitten scarfed the food down eagerly, taking no time to down half a can of tuna.
"Someone's real hungry," Amanda snickered from where she laid on her bed.
"She definitely liked that," Akko said, stroking the cat when she nuzzled into her leg. "Now for some water, baby," she cooed as she poor a bit of water onto the saucer. The kitten lapped it up quick enough to give herself the hiccups.
"Good going!" Amanda laughed, dangling a hand over the edge of her bed. The kitten came over and sniffed at her hand before swatting at the fingers. Soon enough, the kitten fell over and yanked the hand down to bite and lick. "Agh, hey!" Amanda took her hand back and cradled it. "What was that for?!"
"Someone wants to play!" Akko laughed. "…I've got an idea!" she squealed, popping up off the floor and startling the kitten.
"Care to share?" Amanda asked, placing her hands behind her head.
"Come on!" Akko took her hand pulled her to her feet, yanking Amanda out the door. The kitten followed, staying on Amanda's heels.
"Professor Ursula!" Akko called, knocking insistently on the door to her teacher's room. "Professoooooor!"
"Yes, yes, what is it, Akko?" Ursula appeared. "Amanda?"
"Can we have a few feathers?" Akko asked, cheery smile never fading.
"What on Earth for?"
"For a project!" Akko explained without missing a beat.
Then, there was a soft mew! from Amanda. "What was that?" Ursula asked.
"Uh…achoo! I think I might be, uh, catching a cold!" Amanda tried.
"…So anyway, about those feathers?"
"What're you doing with those, anyway?" Amanda asked as she watched Akko tie a piece of string around the four feathers they collected.
"Now it's a toy!" Akko announced, presenting the feather bundle happily. "All you have to do is wrap it around your finger and…" Akko laid the feathers on the floor and tugged them back slowly, pulling them ever farther away from the curious kitten. With a quick jerk of the string, the feathers flew across the floor, and the kitten pounced.
Akko ran the kitten around and around until she couldn't run anymore. Amanda snickered and sat up, slipping onto the floor beside Akko. "You're really good with her," Amanda said, watching as the kitten crawled onto her lap. Amanda laid a hand on her belly and made lazy circles with a finger.
"And yet she still likes you best," Akko snickered.
"I have no idea what I'm doing. Maybe you should keep her in your room for the night. Y'know, just so she doesn't die or something…"
"I don't think she'd be happy with just me, though. Besides, you obviously care about her," Akko said. "She'll be fine, just put down a blanket on the floor if you don't want her in your bed."
"I don't know…"
"Also, aren't we not supposed to have pets on campus?" Akko started, "It'd be an act of rebellion to keep her here…"
"…You drive a hard bargain, Kagari." Amanda sighed and scooped the kitten up, placing her gently on the bed.
"I'll see you in the morning!" Akko hopped up and headed for the door. She smiled when she looked back to see Amanda petting the kitten's cheeks gently. As much as Amanda didn't want to admit it, she liked that kitten.
