A short period of silence befell the group until Otoya's stomach growled. Shaking his head, Tokiya-cat mewled and nudged Otoya's arm, quickly tapping out a message.
[ you should get breakfast ]
"Ah, right!" Otoya stood up, keeping the laptop quickly before scooping Tokiya-cat up into his arms. "I'm getting breakfast with Tokiya. Do you guys wanna tag along?"
"Sure thing!" Natsuki agreed, picking up Shou-cat who yowled and pawed at one of his hats he was playing with. Laughing softly, the blond deposited the ginger kitten into the now-too-big hat, cradling both cat and hat in his arms. "Let's go, shall we?"
Masato nodded, standing up as well. Ren-cat was at the blue-haired boy's ankles, occasionally purring and rubbing against his roommate's legs and making it hard for Masato to walk properly without tripping. In the end, the young teen huffed and kicked Ren-cat away (very lightly mind you; as much as he disliked Ren, he liked cats, and Ren-cat was simply a test of his tolerance). The white cat merely sniffed, running over to Otoya's side instead and mewled pitifully, hoping to gain his sympathy.
"Aah, Ren, sorry, but I can't carry both you and Tokiya." The redhead smiled apologetically, missing the smug look on Tokiya-cat's face when Ren-cat sniffed again and padded over to Natsuki instead.
"Sorry, Ren-kun… Shou-chan's too squirmy and I have to keep an eye out for him in case he runs away again." Shou-cat mewled loudly, as if offended by that statement.
Dejected, the white cat slinked back towards Masato, mewling softly. The teen ignored him, walking quickly to catch up with Otoya and Natsuki, so Ren-cat was forced to walk all the way to the cafeteria.
"Kitties!"
"Oh my god, they're so cute!"
"Can we pet them, can we?"
"There's a tiny one, there's a tiny one!"
"The white one's so beautiful!"
The three boys blinked when a group of girls from their class suddenly crowded around them and started cooing over the cats. Surprised by the sudden attention towards him, Tokiya-cat tried to hide himself in Otoya's arms, mewling in annoyance when one of the girls tried to pet him. Shou-cat hissed a little, then relented, only nipping at fingers when they wanted to carry him. Ren-cat basked in the attention, purring and being highly affectionate with the girls when they picked him up for hugs and kisses.
"Ittoki-kun, Shinomiya-kun, Hijirikawa-kun, where did you find these kitties? They're so adorable!"
Masato was the first to speak before the other two spilled their secret. "They appeared in our rooms this morning," he explained, side-eying Ren-cat. "We don't know where they came from either."
"So lucky!"
"Have you given them names?"
"What are their names?"
The three boys looked at each other, then Natsuki quickly replied. "This is Mikan-chan!" He gestured to the tiny ginger in the hat, ignoring the indignant yowl Shou-cat made. "Mikan-chan's my cute little kitty!"
Otoya gave a sheepish laugh before looking down at Tokiya-cat, scratching him behind the ears. "A-ah, mine's Tokki. Have you given yours a name, Masa?"
Masato glanced at the white cat for a long while before deciding on a name. "… Muyou. [useless]"
"Eeeh, Hijirikawa-kun, that's mean!"
"But he's so cute, how can you call him that?"
The blue-haired teen sighed, shaking his head and glaring at Ren-cat when the latter started to mew plaintively. Immediately, all the girls fussed over him, and one of them pouted at Masato as she carried the cat and walked towards him.
"Hijirikawa-kun, you made the kitty cry!" She held Ren-cat up, right in Masato's face. "Say sorry to Shiro-chan now."
"…" Masato shot the smug-looking cat another death glare before he muttered an apology, turning away before the girls decided to make him do something else with Ren-cat.
It was then that Haruka and Tomochika turned up, curiosity drawing them towards the small group. When they realised what was happening, Tomochika laughed, clapping her hands to disperse the group.
"Okay, okay, that's all for now~" She laughed again when the other girls gave a collective whine, winking at the three boys. "We can play with them later, right boys?"
"Aah, right!" Otoya nodded, smiling at the other redhead. "They'll still be around, don't worry."
Haruka remained silent until the other girls left, then smiled shyly at the boys. "You have cats too?"
Natsuki tilted his head slightly. "Too? What do you mean by that, Haruka-chan?"
"Uhm, I have a cat too…" she replied softly, blushing and shaking her head afterwards. "Its name is Kuppuru. But, no one knows about it, except for Tomo-chan."
"Haruka's cat is black with pretty green eyes," Tomochika added on, ushering the group to sit at one of the tables. "It usually comes out at night though, so I don't get to meet it often. Maybe it'll be friends with your cats."
Otoya set the laptop down and turned it on, letting Tokiya-cat paw at it for a while before he noticed the inquisitive looks the two girls have him. Laughing sheepishly, he simply shook his head. "Tokki's a smart cat. He likes Tokiya's laptop."
"I see…" Tomochika peered closer at Tokiya-cat, brows furrowed as if thinking of something. She took a glance at Shou-cat in his hat, then at Ren-cat who was purring while Haruka petted him, and came to a conclusion that was very close to the truth.
"I dont know about you, Haruka, but don't you think their cats are like their roommates?"