Keepsake

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"Come along now, Ienzo." The somewhat tall, blonde haired man said with an air of pretentiousness, his emerald eyes glancing back at the small boy following behind him with disinterest.

It was obvious to Ienzo that the older male – Even – had on his mind a great many different and fascinating things, but even so, Ienzo found the man's demeanour to be rather infuriating. Despite his inward disgust at the way he was being – and had been – treated, he continued along placidly with a nod of the head. So what if he'd gotten distracted by a bird – and the way the fluffy white cat lying in the grass remained unnoticed by it as it continued picking at the ground, presumably blissfully unaware of it's death to come?

The small boy's presumption had been indeed correct, evidenced by the loud, pained shriek that was suddenly cut off – silenced. Though, he remained unmoved by it, having seen the obvious outcome long before the ignorant bird.

"There y'are, ya pest!" Shouted a large, middle-aged man carrying a shovel within his grasp. He bolted towards the cat, rage tinting his dilated brown eyes. A loud thump and a short yelp could be heard before everything went starkly silent.

Ienzo once again stopped in his tracks. This outcome… he certainly did not foresee, and from the scent of blood reaching his nose, this gruesome outcome became apparent. He turned, wide, innocent blue eyes staring at the scene quite some distance away.

"Oh, a girl, are ya? Well, maybe now there'll be less of you to worry about!" The grubby man said, his voice naturally loud and carving through the air like a rusty knife, grating upon the ears of Ienzo. He scoffed, and as he turned around he caught sight of the small child, his brown eyes narrowing. "Whadd'ya looking at, boy?"

Ienzo stiffened, his eyes darting up to the intimidating male. He remained frozen for some reason, an odd feeling swelling up inside him. What it was he couldn't place; he'd never been good with recognising what emotion was confronting him at any given moment, and he'd always wondered if it were some kind of deformity.

Even grasped Ienzo's arm, startling him, causing him to snap his head up to the older male. "Must you get so distracted by every little thing, Ienzo? It was just a cat." Even tugged Ienzo along with him as he spoke, before finally letting go.

"She just wanted to live…" A slight frown creased Ienzo's face as he watched Even expectantly.

"She'd obviously been causing that man some kind of nuisance. There are a lot of stray cats wandering recently, and I suppose most people would think of them the same way." Even glanced down at Ienzo with raised eyebrows. "That their very existence is meaningless, and nothing but a nuisance needing to be eradicated."

Ienzo's frown deepened. "All because people were careless and abandoned them, they have to die?"

"That's what a lot of people think." Even nodded, crossing his arms over his chest.

Ienzo merely sighed in response, sensing that Even was beginning to get irritated with what he believed were useless sentiments. It practically radiated off him, it was difficult not to notice. This bought out more of the child within him, as he suddenly felt the need to irritated the older scientist more, even if only a little. "Do you?"

"Ienzo. Stop with the useless emotional sentimentalities about a mere cat." Even snapped, glaring firmly down at Ienzo.

With a nod, Ienzo allowed himself to fall into step behind Even once again, a thoughtful – albeit, satisfied – expression on his face. If that cat was a female, did she have kittens?

A soft mewl was heard to his left, causing Ienzo to glance towards the sound. Near the brick wall of a home sat a cardboard box, a small white kitten standing up inside it with its paws on the edge of the box. Upon closer inspection, Ienzo realised it had almost identical markings to its mother, though it had a slightly darker face, and its paws were splotched dark grey as well.

Upon even closer inspection, Ienzo realised he had stopped once more, and stiffened slightly as he prepared to be berated once more.

"Ienzo! What has gotten into you today?" Even had raised his voice slightly, and that alone was enough to signal to Ienzo that he probably shouldn't push him too much more. Even once again grabbed hold of Ienzo, gripping his bicep and pulling him along once more.

"Can I keep him?" Ienzo suddenly asked, wide eyes gazing innocently up at Even. He attempted to look his cutest, knowing Even was quite likely to fall for it, even the 'puppy-dog face' was merely a cheap parlour trick to get what he wanted. "Please?"

Even stopped, turning back to Ienzo, opening his mouth ready to offer another round of discipline. Though, he shut his mouth with a sigh.

A white, fluffy cat jumped up onto the desk, stalking across the cluttered surface. He stopped before the young male, whose head was lying upon the desk, silvery hair spread out around him. With a soft mewl; the cat leaned forward, nibbling upon the ear of its owner.

"Stop that, Ai." Zexion said, sitting upright and looking at his cat with a deadpan expression. "I've already fed you."

Ai meowed in response.

"Have I been neglecting you?" He asked, watching as the cat jumped into his lap and sat, back straight. "Well, if you'd stop making me dream about you, we wouldn't have that problem. I see enough of you there."

Ai once again meowed as he climbed up Zexion's black shirt and lie across his shoulders. His vivid blue eyes closed as he yawned.

Zexion shook his head slightly as he reached up and gently ran his hand along the cat's small head. He picked up the pen with his free hand and continued writing, a stray thought crossing his mind; they had turned out just like the mother cat, it seemed.

Nothing but a nuisance, and damned by their very existence.

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Oh, yeah. Authoress's note down here, because I'm trippy like that – like a boss.

I'll go away with my stupid pop-culture references now…

I feel this is very short, but it flowed… so I guess I shouldn't complain about the length. Hell, I'll be happy if you – yeah, you – even make it to the end of this…

Disclaimer: Much to my utter dismay, I don't own Kingdom Hearts or associated characters…