Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Sorry it took me so long, lots of stuff has been going on. This chapter was based on a cute Neko!Spamano comic-ish picture I found on Deviantart. Little cuties, I swear.


It had been a few weeks since Lovino had run away. It was already closer to spring and the weather was getting much warmer. Spain had to leave for an extended voyage and left Belgium and Netherlands in charge of Romano and the cats. While he was gone, life went on as usual, except Belgium or Romano fed the cats. Antonio continued to teach Lovino the ways of the world in the meantime. With the warmer weather, Toni was able to go with Lovino into town, albeit he doesn't wander.

Today, however, the wind grew horribly chilly, so the cats stayed in. Antonio retired to his usual spot by the window, where the beam of the sun kept him warm until it set. Lovino played with a ball of yarn he 'borrowed' from Belgium's knitting basket. He chased the ball all the way into the kitchen, where he almost got wacked by a broom. He jumped and yeowled, startled. "Geez, watch where you're going, you stupid cat." His owner, Romano, scolded.

The kitten took no offense to his master's harsh words. For the first few days of living here, he was always feeling guilty and confused because, if he so much as meowed, his master would yell at him. He asked Antonio what he was doing wrong and Antonio assured him that Romano meant nothing by it. "It's just the way he is, gatito. He often says rude things, but he never means them. He reminds me of you, actually." Lovino told the older cat to go eat kitty litter for that comment, but after a few weeks, he saw what Antonio meant.

He learned to be more wary around Romano as well. The child was gentle, often stroking Lovino's head when the kitten settled down next to him, but he was extremely clumsy. You can hear something break in the household at least 3 times a day. Belgium often had to scold him. If Spain was home, he'd check for wounds before giving the child a lecture. So, if Lovino ever found himself in the same room with Romano and a broom, he knew to bolt. However, the way Romano was using his broom didn't suggest he was cleaning, as rare an action that was.

When Romano returned to whatever he was doing, Lovino snuck around to see what he was doing. He seemed to be hitting a small hole in the wall with the bristle side of the broom. Lovino watched him in confusion, wonder why the hell he was hitting a hole. Romano suddenly crouched, his maid dress stirring up some dust, and looked in the hole. "Uuggghhh dammit! Stupid jerk, come out already!" He yelled at the hole. Romano picked himself back up and turned to see his cat. He scowled at him. "You're a cat, YOU should be the one killing the mice. Why do I have to do your job? It's bad enough I do Spain's work for him!" Romano walked away grumbling to himself, dragging his broom behind him and almost knocking over a vase.

Lovino watched him go, feeling unbelievably clueless. Mice? What's a mice? What does him being a cat have to do with mice? He eyed the hole suspiciously. Is the mice in there? Cautiously, he walked to the hole and peered in. He could see lots of dust and little crumbs scattered around, but that's all and Lovino was sure his master wasn't referring to the crumbs. Lovino came closer and sniffed at it. His nose wrinkled at the smell. It was dank, dirty, and smelled like wet straw and poop. Disgusting.

"I'll bet Antonio knows what a mice is." Lovino wondered. With no time to waste, he left the room and went to where he last saw the bigger cat. Sure enough, his 'papa' was laying on the windowsill in the sunlight like the lazy blob of fur he is. Lovino rolled his eyes and jumped up to the window via the couch. "Antonio, you lazy bastard. Wake up." Lovino meowed. His demand fell on deaf ears. Lovino poked Antonio with his paw, but all Antonio did was stretch a little and continue napping. Lovino grumbled and started headbutting the cat in the stomach. Antonio let out a groan and grumble as he opened his eyes.

"Hola, Lovi. I was in the middle of napping. What's up?"

"I had a question and you were asleep, you bastard." Lovino huffed. Antonio smiled gently at the angry kitten and stretched his whole body with a yawn, almost knocking Lovino off.

"Ahh~ Lo siento, Lovino. What was your question?"

"What's a 'mice'?"

"Mice?" Antonio's ears perked up and he looked at the kitten seriously. "Where did you hear that?" Lovino was suddenly very interested at Antonio's reaction.

"Romano was whacking at a hole with his broom and saying I should be the one to hunt the mice, not him."

"A hole? Lovino, can you show me where it is?" Antonio got to his feet, still very serious. The cats hopped off the windowsill and made their way to the kitchen with Lovino leading. He took Toni to the hole and the bigger cat crouched right away to look into it. He sniffed at it, not reacting to the smell as much as Lovi did.

"So what is a mice? You never answered me, bastard."

"Not 'mice'. Mouse. I can only smell one, thankfully, but if it's a mother, we could be looking at more than one." Antonio looked at Lovino worriedly. "You know those rats we see in town?"

"Yeah. They're creepy. They always look like they want to eat me." Lovino shuddered. Every time he was in town with Toni, he sees them and freaks out. It embarrasses him, especially if other cats are walking by.

"Well, a mouse is like the rat's cuter cousin. They're not as dirty or as rude as rats, but they leave droppings and eat human food. This time of year, it's no surprise that one got in. As a cat, I have to chase them out or eat them." Antonio peeked into the hole.

"Does that mean I have to chase them, too?" Lovino wondered. Remembering the smell, he couldn't imagine eating them.

"Someday, when you're big enough, you'll be helping me." Tonio confirmed. "Hm, the mouse might've made a hole on the other side of this wall. No one has been in and out of the house, so the mouse could still be in here." He mused to himself and started walking out of the kitchen to the living room. Lovino bounded after him.

"Wait! Can I help you now? Can you teach me to catch a mouse?" Lovino has never felt so fascinated. Toni taught him more about the ways of being a cat every day, but never something as exciting as this. Learning to pee in a box was great and all, but it doesn't compare to hunting small creatures like a mouse.

"You can come with me, but it's better if you stay close and stay back when I try to catch it. I'm skilled at catching mice and one wrong move could force the mouse to hide somewhere I cannot reach." Lovino ruefully agreed and they walked along the wall to look for the second hole. They found one that was half behind a bookshelf. "Mice are attracted to any smell of food, so if it's not in the kitchen, it might've gone to the storage room." Lovino shuddered. He had been in the storage room once and got a face full of cobwebs. There was nothing there but tomato crates and some canned food, so the room isn't visited often during the winter.

The cats went back into the kitchen and through another door on the other side of the room that led to the laundry room. Through there, they came to the storage room door. Antonio looked worried when they saw that the door was left open. The bigger cat nudged it open and crept in, Lovino right at his heels. Antonio slid his paw under the door and pulled it shut before turning to the kitten. "If it's in here, we have it trapped now. You look over there and I'll go that way. If you see the mouse, just call me." Antonio darted away toward the left and disappeared behind a crate before Lovino could call out to him.

The younger cat grumbled and walked in the other direction, sniffing at the air and keeping an eye on all corners. A few times too many, he narrowly dodged a spider web to the face. One got stuck on his tail, though, and it was really bothersome. He wanted to complain, but Antonio said to meow only when he saw the mouse and he didn't want to look like a kitten crying bird. Plus, he wanted to prove that he could handle this. Being left alone to look for mice was a big responsibility and it meant Antonio trusted him. He did not want to screw it up.

However, it didn't mean much if Lovino didn't find the mouse, and so far, he isn't have much luck. He peeked in between boxes, under and around shelves, and even managed to climb onto a shelf and look around the jars left there. No mouse in sight. He found mouse droppings, which gave him hope that there was a mouse in here, but he had no luck spotting the real thing. Feeling annoyed, he headed toward the other side of the room to look for Antonio.

"Tonio?" He called gently when he got to the other side of the room and stopped dead at the sight. He was in one corner while Antonio was crouched in the other, tensed up and eyeing Lovino warningly. In between them was a small grey creature. It looked similar to a rat, but it was way smaller and slightly cuter. It was likely a fully grown mouse, since it was closer to Lovino's size. It seemed to have taken no notice to either cats, nibbling at a piece of moldy cheese. Lovino didn't dare move, Antonio's eyes warning him not to, in fear of scaring the little rodent.

Antonio knew he would have to act quickly now. He inched forward slightly and never took his eyes off of the mouse, his tail flickering madly. Lovino watched him with interest. Without thinking, he slowly sank into a crouch similar to Antonio's. Antonio blinked and momentarily lost focus to watch the kitten. Lovino started wriggling forward slightly, trying to get closer to the mouse just like Antonio was. He looked less like he was prowling and more like he was a worm.

Suddenly, the mouse turned its head and looked straight at Lovino. He froze completely stared at the mouse. Antonio sat there and watched, ready to pounce if anything happened. The mouse came closer, its little nose twitching as it sniffed the air, looking curious. It came closer and closer to Lovino, who was trying hard not to even breath. They were nose to nose for a moment when the kitten noticed that the mouse's eyes seemed unfocused and had a slight milky undertone.

Then the mouse put its paws on Lovino's face. He swallowed a yowl and stayed still, looking at Antonio for help. The cat just sat there, watching the mouse crawl up Lovino's face like it was a mountain or something, reach the top of the head, and start crawling down the kitten's back. Lovino was shaking slightly. So was Antonio, but for slightly different reasons. The mouse hopped off Lovino's rump and seemed to follow its nose to another crumb.

"Well, that proved my theory. That mouse is blind, probably born that way and doesn't recognize the smell of cats." Antonio noted, straightening up from his crouch and looking down at the kitten. "You all right, Lovi?"

"Nnng… nng…" Lovino shook all over before he finally let out a disgusted and traumatized cry. "I-It touched me! T-Tonio, you bastard, wh-why did you let it crawl on me like that? Euugghh it was so disgustiiiing!"

"Shh shh shh, it's okay cariño, don't cry." Antonio nuzzled the frightened kitten and let him cry and shudder for a while, one eye on the calm and unmoving mouse right behind him. Once Lovino was calm and grumpily dismissed Antonio, the older cat went over to the mouse and picked it up in his mouth. Thankfully, Belgium was in the room right next door, so a few scratches and the door was opened.

"A mouse? Oh, Romano was raving about one earlier. Good job, Antonio. Go let it outside." She beamed at the cats as they walked out of the room. Antonio quickly let the mouse free outside, where it bolted as soon as it was free of the prison. When he was back inside, he found Lovino batting his earlier-abandoned ball of yarn dejectedly.

"Something wrong, Lovi?"

"Mng." He grumbled, staring at the ground. "I wanted to be the one to catch that mouse, bastard. To prove that I can be a good cat."

"Silly gatito." Antonio chuckled and laid down next to the kitten. "You don't have to catch mice to be a good cat."

"But Romano said that I should catch mice because I'm a cat and you catch mice, so…" Lovino got flustered and pawed at the carpet.

"Lovino, you don't become a good cat because you chase mice. You become a good cat by being yourself and making yourself happy. We're not dogs. We don't serve anyone other than ourselves, with the exception of the ones we love." He nudged the kitten kindly and teasingly. "I think you're already on your way to becoming a great cat, mouse or no mouse."

Lovino ducked his head to hide the happy look his eyes were showing. "Thanks, Tonio."

"If you really want to, the next time we get a mouse in the house, I'll let you catch it." Antonio purred enthusiastically. Lovino couldn't hide his excitement this time. For a while, they played with the yarn and Antonio taught him a few basics on sneaking up on your prey, making little jokes at Lovino's little worming back in the storage room. Belgium later came to tell the cats that she set out food for them, and to take back her yarn.


Translations-

Cariño- darling

gatito- kitten

lo siento- i'm sorry


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