The sun had completely set and the moon now shun brightly over Karakura Town, Rika hugged her sweater closer to her body. Winter was fast approaching and it would only get harder for Rika to make her daily commutes to the clinic. On top of that, walking to school would be no easy task in the wee hours of the fall and winter days to come, either. Rika lived in the metropolitan area of Karakura so Kurosaki clinic was quite a ways off from her flat. About a forty-five minute walk to be exact. It was a good work out at least, besides, she was accustomed to having to walk everywhere by now.
"I need to get a car."
Rika had been considering purchasing a car for quite some time now. She could definitely afford it, working since the age of sixteen and saving practically every cent of gift money she had ever gotten since childhood had given the nineteen year-old quite a stash of disposable income. The only problem was her immigrant status in Japan. Would a foreigner with a Student Visa even be allowed to get a Japanese driver's license? Would having a Canadian driver's license be of any help? Sure, public transportation was always an option, but having a car would give Rika the more flexible sleeping hours she so desperately craved.
Rika checked her phone, it was 10:07 PM and the streets of Central Karakura were as busy as they were in the daytime. The route Rika took home every night was relatively safe but being a young women with such a small frame, it never hurt to be cautious. Rika didn't fear your average pervert or drunkard, she was very confident in her combat skills to keep her safe in such situations. What she did fear was being mugged at gun point, she feared being at gun point in general. She always carried a switchblade and stun gun with her but wondered if those weapons would be enough against something as powerful as a gun.
Rika was so caught up in her thoughts that she had failed to notice the sudden loud ruckus behind her. Without warning, something had run across her feet and turned into an ally. All Rika saw of it was a white streak, she stood there in a daze looking into the ally for a few seconds before she felt someone roughly shove her to the side.
"H-HEY!"
Someone else had managed to shove her and Rika slammed into the ally wall to keep herself from falling.
"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!"
As Rika composed herself, she saw the culprits were three boys. They all wore matching uniforms, Rika could tell they were Junior High uniforms. The boys all had their backs to her and they were snickering and laughing, they were surrounding something. Rika walked deeper into the ally until she was at a hearing distance.
"Hey, see if you can cut the tail off!"
"With what? All I've got are a pair of safety scissors."
"Guys! It's getting up again, kick it!"
"Hahahaha! Yeah! Kick it again!"
"I've got a lighter! Let's burn it!"
Rika rushed up to the trio and grabbed the kid in the middle by the color, forcefully pulling him back and shaving him away. Her eyes grow tenfold when she saw that what the boys had been planning to burn was a cat. Anger boiled within her stomach as she clenched her fists.
"What the hell were you brats trying to do here?!"
"Hey, fuck off lady!"
"Yeah, fuck off! We don't answer to bitches like you!"
Rika narrowed her eyes at the kid to her right and proceeded to grab his collar and shove him into the ally wall. As the boy squirmed, Rika's grip on him grew tighter.
"Now listen here you little prick, I don't give a shit if you answer to me or not but unless you want my foot shoved up your scrawny little ass GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!"
Rika dragged the boy along the wall until he hit a trash can and lifted him over it only to dump him onto the metal can. The boy had trouble getting up until the other two came to help him out. They ran away but not before cursing Rika with all they had to offer.
"OH PLEASE, IS THAT ALL YOU PUNKS HAVE?! Armatures…"
Rika immediately turned her attention back to the cat. It had a pure white coat, unfortunately the white was covered by filth and blood. Rika took in a sharp breath as she drew in closer and kneeled in front of the feline, looking for the cause of blood. The cat stirred as Rika came in closer, it let out an angry growl and tried to back up. Rika continued forward, closing in her hand.
"MURRHR!"
The cat roared as it swiped at Rika's hand which she quickly drew back. It seemed that this was all the cat could do before it collapsed in exhaustion, breathing heavily and eyeing Rika. Rika began to near her hand once again, much more slowly this time.
"Hey little fella, its ok. I won't hurt you, I just want to help."
She left her hand in the air, leaving a small space between her fingers and the cat. After a couple of minutes, the cat cautiously raised its head and sniffed her hand. It seemed to have approved of her scent because when Rika laid a finger on its ear, the cat didn't so much as budge. Rika sat up straight and unzipped her sweater. Placing her bag on the floor, she removed the sweater and placed in gingerly over the cat's body. Rika followed to pick the cat up, wrapping it up in the sweater which turned out to be no easy task. The cat hissed and squirmed, trying to break free until Rika managed to calm it down with soft coos.
"You need help ASAP. And I know just where to take you."
Rika grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder as she ran out of the ally, the cat safely snuggled in her arms.
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BANG! BANG! BANG!
Rika pounded on the door in front of her.
"Koga-kun! Open up, I know you're not asleep!"
Rika continued to pound for another minute before the door opened up a small portion. A young man with short, shaggy blonde hair and spectacles stood on the other side. He eyed Rika angrily.
"What is it now, Moreno? It's one in the damn morning! And where do you get off referring to me in such a friendly manner, huh?"
"Oh please, it's like 10:30. I need your help Koga-kun. Look!"
Rika pulled the sweater off slightly so Koga could see the feline inside. His face grew hard as he examined the cat. Its breathing had grown jagged. The blood had begun to seep into the fabric and pool around its side. Koga cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up.
"Go home, Moreno. Fill two tubs with warm water and gather as many wash cloths or towels as you can. Give me five minutes. I'll be there in five minutes. Make sure it doesn't stop breathing."
Rika nodded and turned towards the stair case right outside of Koga's door, climbing them as quickly and gently as possible. It was just her luck that her downstairs neighbor was a veterinarian. Once she reached her door, Rika rummaged through her bag for the keys and went inside. Her flat consisted of two bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen with a connected dining area and a living room. It was a little big for one person but at the time she leased it, there wasn't much else she had to choose from. Rika gently laid the cat on her couch as she went to turn on lights inside the flat. She grabbed the two largest bowls she owned and began to fill them with water while searching everywhere for spare cloths and towels.
About five minutes later, Rika heard a knock on her door and rushed to let Koga inside. He had his large medical briefcase with him. He instructed her to bring the bowls of water into the living room and put them on the coffee table. She did as was told and brought the towels as well. As Koga began to prepare the things he needed, he handed Rika a piece of paper.
"I need you to go to the store and pick these things up."
Rika looked at the paper and read cat bed, flea collar, cat brush, cat shampoo, leash, collar with a bell, etcetera and etcetera.
"What the hell is this…?"
"Things you'll be needing."
"Why…?"
"Moreno-san, what exactly did you plan to do with this cat after I treated it?"
"Um, well, I haven't thought that far yet…"
"Of course you haven't. That's why you need these things. It's also so you can get out of the way and let me work."
Rika felt her eye twitch. Koga sure was a blunt guy when it came to his profession. She shoved the paper into her jean pocket and placed her boots on. Koga had began to remove the cat from her sweater and place in onto a folded towel on the coffee table. She grabbed her bag once more and was about to head out the door.
"Oh, Moreno-san. Take a jacket, it's quite chilly out there."
"…Right."
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It had been about an hour and a half since Koga had sent Rika out. She had managed to find everything on his list at the twenty-four hour supermarket that was about three kilometers from her flat. All of the closer pet shops were obviously not twenty-four hours. If Rika had been debating earlier whether or not to get a car, it was freaking clear she needed one now. All her purchased items were packed into five bags and the cat food was definitely the one thing dragging her down the most. After making it back home, Rika placed the bags by the front door and approached Koga.
"He'll be fine. He had a gash on his side but I was able to stitch it up fairly easily and bandage him up. His left paw was broken so I mended it and wrapped it up as well. Other than that, it doesn't appear he has any other broken bones or ruptured organs. He's a strong cat, I'll give him that much."
"So a 'He', huh? Good to know. But um, what's that?"
The cat was now clean and his fur was once again white which made the weird teal markings underneath his eye finally visible. He let out a yawn and stretched himself over the clean towel underneath him. Koga adjusted his glasses.
"That's what I was wondering as well. He appears to be a Balinese cat but I've never seen a facial pattern like this before."
"Hmm, maybe someone dyed those patches like that?"
"Perhaps… Were you able to find everything on the list?"
"Oh! Yes, I was. But did it have to be that specific brand of cat food? The supermarket only had large bags and it was 4300 yen! I hope I get reimbursed for this."
"Moreno-san, that cat food is the best cat food to get a cat who needs as much nutrients and vitamins as possible to recover from bad injuries. And if you wish to speak about reimbursements, the simple operation I preformed here tonight would cost anywhere around 50,000 yen. That would not include the consultation or surgery prep and don't even get me started on house call fees."
Koga whipped out a writing pad and pen from his jacket.
"Would you like me to draw up a receipt for you?"
"Holy shit, Koga! I kid, I kid. You have no chill, bro."
"Right. Regardless, I want you to bring him in to my clinic tomorrow. I wish to make sure that he is well internally. I gave him a light anesthetic to help with the pain so you should have relatively little problems with him. Find a good place to set up the cat bed and place the food bowl near it. Give him water only, no milk! Change the bandage around his torso in the morning carefully and clean the area around his wound."
Rika made a note of all of Koga's instructions before seeing him off and wishing him a good night. After cleaning up everything, Rika decided to place the bed in her bedroom. She did as Koga instructed and laid the cat gently onto the fluffy white bed. The cat stirred a little and raised his head to look at Rika. Her dark brown orbs met his electric blue ones and Rika couldn't help but feel jealousy over this freaking cat who had more attractive features than hers.
"Well little one, looks like I'll be your new mommy for a while. Now, what should I name you?"
