Chapter Two: Brother's Gift
A young man sighed as he exited the latest store; completely disappointed. His one companion sighed as the brunette mounted his stallion.
"Come on, Hashi. You know your sister isn't picky."
"I know, Toto, I know. It's just that…" the young man sighed tiredly as he and his companion lead their mounts down the street and out of the village. "When I found Yuki, she looked at me, and I just knew that she was the right cat for Haru. None of the cats I've seen have the same 'take me to your sister' look that Yuki had."
The dark man next to him sighed.
"Still, it's a lot of bother to worry about. Are you sure you didn't like the little gray one in the last village? After this, there's nowhere to look for a new pet before reaching home. What did Haru say happened to her cat again?"
Hashi laughed a little.
"She said that Yuki found a boyfriend and was going to live with him from now on. I suppose it's a good thing that the cat left, or we'd have been swimming in kittens in a couple of months."
Toto laughed.
"I could just picture Haru being a nanny to a litter of kittens. Good thing you didn't specifically tell her you'd be bringing her a kitten home, or we'd be in trouble."
Before Hashi could answer, he was interrupted by an angry meow and hiss to his right, on the other side of the bushes. Curious, Hashi dismounted and took a look. One eyebrow went up.
"What on earth are you doing, young man?"
The peasant boy suddenly looked up; distracted for a second. He paled at seeing the man's fine clothes, and stood up respectfully. A burlap bag in one fist was shifting around violently and hissing.
"I have three hungry siblings at home. Mama has a good recipe to make cats taste good."
Hashi's blood ran cold. His sister had always been more of the cat person in the family, but he had to admit that killing and eating them was beyond what the feline deserved.
"May I see the cat?"
The boy stiffened.
"He's mine. I caught him, fair and square."
"That may be true. I just want to take a look at him."
A little hesitantly, the boy came forward and opened the bag enough so that the young noble could look within. Hashi did so, barely seeing more than a moving shadow.
Suddenly, the cat managed to jump out of the bag, and latch itself to the front of the noble's tunic; meowing hysterically. Hashi yelped at the sharp claws, and tried to pry the cat off him.
But then the cat locked eyes with him. Brown eyes met green, and the world seemed to shift.
Blinking, Hashi smiled and wrapped the cat in a hug.
"You say you have three hungry siblings at home?"
"That's right sir. Can I have the cat back?"
"I have a better idea." Hashi fished out his purse, and dropped five gold coins into the boy's trembling fist. "Give these to your mother instead. I think I like this cat."
The boy stared at him, but clenched the coins in his fist like he was afraid that the noble would try to take them back. He bowed low in gratitude before running into the wood.
Turning back to his steed, Hashi did his best to soothe the cat in his arms.
"Shh, all's well. You won't be anyone's supper tonight."
The orange and cream cat seemed to understand what the man was saying, because he had stopped thrashing, and he had removed his claws from the front of the noble's clothes. Toto stared at him, incredulous.
"You've got to be kidding, Hashi. That cat attacks you, and you want to give him to your kid sister? He isn't even a kitten."
The cat seemed to freeze solid as the brunette remounted, still cradling the cat in one arm.
"I know, but… this is the right cat for Haru. I just know it." He looked at the state of the orange and cream fur as the two men began to gallop. "Admittedly, a bath and hot food is in order before I give him to her, but he'll do just fine."
At the mention of a bath and hot food, the cat started to purr, like he had understood the humans' chatter.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Hashi came through the doors of the washroom; his traveling cloak gone and the filthy cat still in his arms.
"Akya, do you have some hot water I can steal?"
The old maid looked at him, and then the cat. She sniffed disdainfully.
"I'm not washing that cat. I would have thought that you would have gotten the little lady a kitten, not a tomcat."
"I was planning on a kitten, but I like the look of this one. I'll wash him myself."
Shrugging, the lady turned to the stove and took down the boiling pot.
"Your skin, not mine."
Hashi looked at the cat, wondering how he was going to pull this off. Cats hated water, so maybe he should put on some thick gloves before trying to douse-
The cat jumped out of his arms, and put his front paws on the small tub while the maid was mixing the boiling water and soap with fresh water from the well, so as to get it the right temperature. Was it Hashi's imagination, or was the cat quivering with excitement? As soon as the woman withdrew her soapy hand, the cat neatly jumped into the water, getting himself completely soaked. Hashi watched in astonishment before laughing and rubbing the cat's fur, to help get rid of the filth.
'Haru won't believe this until she sees it.' "If you could, Akya; this cat's probably hungry. Can you warm up some meat for him?" Between Hashi's gentle hands, the cat started purring again.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Now warm, clean, and full, the orange and cream cat calmly sat down in the fancy box the kind man set him in.
"If you could stay silent before my little sister opens the box, I would really appreciate it. The lid's loose enough to that you can breathe and everything."
"Meow," the cat said with dignity, making the man laugh and scratch his ear one more time before placing the lid lightly over the box. The feline lay down, so that he wouldn't be jostled about when the man picked up the box and started walking in smooth long strides.
This was perfect. Be a companion to a little girl. The cat could hardly believe his luck. Although he hadn't really been around little girls very often, he knew they were very free with their affections, which meant that his little problem would probably get solved exactly a month from now.
Wait. He had been in this world too long to truly believe that it could be this easy, even after all these years. There had to be a catch somewhere.
The man stopped, drawing the cat's attention to a new sound, one that he hadn't heard in a while.
'Music!'
Someone was playing a lute. The feline hungrily listened as the notes drew closer, the man on the move again. Whoever the player was, he was good. He knew getting picked up by a landlord would be a good thing.
"Hey, sis. That's a newer song, isn't it?"
The beautiful music left off with a trill.
"It is. Do you like it?"
The cat froze in his box. Although he didn't know much about little girls, he knew enough to judge the owner of the voice to NOT be a cute little girl.
"I like all of your songs. Have you had lunch yet?"
"I was waiting for you, actually. Or for Muta to wake up, since his stomach is his wake-up call. I'm so happy you're home. What's in the box?"
The cat felt his encasement get lowered down, and make a soft landing, possibly a lap.
"Oh, just a little something I picked up for you on the way home."
The feline straightened his back as the lid began to shift above him. The lid came off, and he was suddenly drowning in the biggest pair of chocolate eyes he had ever seen.
'I was correct. This is definitely NOT a little girl.'
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Just out of curiosity, can anyone guess what fairytale this one's based off of?
