Paper Flowers and Cat Whiskers

Eleven: Blame

Not sure why, but I think that over the years I really have been taking the best-paying jobs. Just saying, as mounds of salt fly past my face and rice bits decorate my face. Eve has her face buried into my back and Sven is under the table with his fedora covering his own. Today's observation: Train eats like a boar. Honestly, what else could wipe out two plates of rice in a minute and a half? He acts like he was starved for most of his life!

Willow dangles off the key around my neck, swinging it side-to-side. "Wee~" she cheers. "Wee~ Hey, Onee-chan! Do you think Ikuto-kun got this for Yoru to play with?"

Scratching a patch of tangled purple hair, I think. Willow understands this once my cat-eyes narrow at the counter and I no longer pay attention to the flying food. Honestly, Ikuto doesn't give jack-shit about sparkling things (unless there was something in his youth he has yet to tell me about). He also doesn't give Yoru stuff; Yoru usually just takes whatever.

Reminds me of one time when I was still in the allies. Ikuto and I were eating Udon bowls that Soko made (much to his protest). Willow was playing with a wristband that said 'nya~' because, well, it said 'nya~'. Yoru was staring at our Udon like a starved kitten (which, I will admit, was more likely than Train being starved). Eventually he noticed that Willow was using the wristband as a hula-hoop. Now enticed with new interest, he decided he would try it to. So, he tackled her, swiped the wristband, and started trying it himself. Of course Willow was not all too pleased with that and there began Cat War I. It stopped after a month when Ikuto and I got tired of the mini-water balloons, pins, and shockers.

"Hey!" Train bellows. I fall back in my seat in surprise. He stares at me as I sit, stunned, before getting to the point of why he scared the crap out of me in the first place. "Got any ketchup?"

A vein in my forehead turns into a massive, pulsating lump under my skin. "THAT WAS IT?!" I scream, startling a large portion of the customers around us in the Coffee Buck. "YOU SCARE ME HALF TO DEATH FOR-!" Chomp! "OW! Sam-I-am-a-hooker!" My hands clamp over my ears, whom of which are victim to Willow's surprisingly sharp teeth. "Willow, what was that-!"

She points to Eve, who is now squashed under me and quickly losing air. I jump off and her face regains its pinkish hue. Sven tugs her up so that she is at least sitting on the ground. Facing Train again, I am met with an amused rin. "Hehe, so I scared you, huh?" he chuckles, shoving a spoonful of rice into his mouth. "Kinda funny if you ask me."

"Well, nobody asked you if you found that funny," I snap. "Point is to not do that again before you cause someone to have a heart-attack…" I sit and the waitress brings me my glass of coffee (with extra milk) and a plate of eggs. "NO," I snap at Train as he puppy-dog eyes (or kitty-cat eyes?) my food.

He pouts a bit and scoots closer to me. "Just a little nibble?" he pleas.

My mouth opens so I can ask him what the definition of 'a little nibble' would be. It shuts, however, when Sven starts shaking his head like his (or my) life depends on it. This scares me into just keeping my trap closed and to start eating while pushing Train's head away from my food. He pecks my pulse as a bit of a joke, I know, but I punch him dead-on anyways. The waitress does not seem to mind it when we start fighting very much like Sven and Train on Thanksgiving.

After a few cuts and plenty of bruises, we are to be found back in our seats, Willow on my head while rolled into her little white ball of fluff. Seriously, she could be a cotton ball for crying out loud. Out of pure sadism, I pluck her off using my 'pinching fingers' as I like to call them and dip her back slightly in the coffee. "YE-OW!" she shrieks, zipping up and crashing into the ceiling. Willow falls into the coffee and does this again, but with my face.

"AH!" I fall back. The chair clatters on the floor as my back bruises even more with the collision with the ground. As I lie there and Willow is crying about 'how can Onee be so cruel' and 'my butt burns' (which, no matter what anyone says, is not something to announce to the general public), my phone rings. Great timing…I pluck it out of my pocket and hold it to my ear. "Trixie the sweeper, at your ser-"

"Where is it?"

…Ikuto? I sit up slowly, Willow shutting her yap and staring at me worriedly. I guess she can tell why I seem so stunned. "Ikuto? Where is wha-"

"The necklace. That woman said you were here yesterday."

I raise a brow. Really can't explain why, to tell the truth. He cannot even see me, so why bother? "I don't know what you mean. What necklace?"

There is a groan on the other end. "Stop it Trixie. Just tell me where it is."

"Dude, I don't have any necklaces!" I fib.

"But-"-Train starts, but Eve tapes his mouth shut with Duct Tape from a stranger's pocket.

My eyes roll. "Anyways, why would you have a necklace in the first place?"

"Don't dodge the question. Where is it, Trixie?"

Now it is my turn to groan. "If you ask me that one more time, Yoru is going straight up your-"

"Onee-chan doesn't know," Willow interrupts, now possessing my phone.

I blink before swiping it back. Damn flying midget…"Well, if you don't, who does?" he inquires.

The gears in my head turn as they try to generate a decent lie. "Hmm…Well, I do recall the window being unlocked…I had to lock it back up, so maybe someone went in and took it that way?"

"Don't be silly. My room is on the top floor. Only a flying person would-…" Ikuto falls silent.

Now I am worried. What conclusion did he come to? "…Ikuto?"

"…Thanks Trix. This was helpful." Click!

I hang up and sit back in my chair, saying nothing. Train, Sven, and Eve ask nothing of it either, which I find rather convenient. After breakfast (and my retirement fund being erased), Willow and I leave and wander around until we get to a park. Willow, being a cat, wants to play in said park. Me, being part cat, wants to do the same. In so, we both go and sit on a bench in front of a fountain, watching people walk by. Most of them, however, are fairly disappointing.

Some are tramps with too-tight or too-small clothes that show more cleavage than necessary and a lot of the whity-tidy region, which sadly lacks the underpants that are supposed to be there. Some are kids, whining and complaining to their parents about wanting ice cream. Then there are the bitchy teenagers yelling at their boyfriends about how it's over, or girlfriends, or visa-versa. Surprisingly, one girl stands out from all of the rest.

She has pink hair; it looks like bubblegum, I guess. Her eyes are gold, but a little red and swollen as if she has been crying. She bears a school uniform, but it seems to be a bit tricked out to fit her taste a bit more. Four characters revolve around her head, whining at her about something. The girl stomps over and sits on the other end of the bench, sniffling. "I don't get it!" she wails. "I didn't do anything!"

Willow frowns and looks at me. I shrug and motion to the girl. Willow floats over, being the sympathetic little fuzz-ball she is, and taps one of the characters (a blue artist with a spade on her beret) on the shoulder. "Is she alright?"

The character jumps and whirls around. "Whoa, another character!" a pink one cheers. Doesn't surprise me since she looks like a cheerleader…With a heart even!

"Hello-desu!" a green chef waves. This one has a club on her hat.

A yellow one with diamonds on her headband and what seems to be a singer's style flies over to Willow. "Hey. Who are you?"

Willow smiles and twirls around, giggling. "I'm Willow!" she exclaims. Then she remembers her purpose. "Again, is she okay?" She points to the girl.

All four characters frown and sit on the girl's head. "Amu-chan is sad…"…Amu? "Someone's blaming her for something she didn't do."

Oh shit. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. I speed up and rush over to a tree, dialing like wildfire and pushing the phone to my ear. It clicks, and I don't give Ikuto a chance to say 'hello?'. "IKUTO YOU SON OF A BITCH! HOW COULD YOU BLAME A LITTLE GIRL FOR STEALING A NECKLACE?!"

"…OW?!" Yoru replies back.

I'm dumbstruck. "…Yoru? Where's Ikuto?"

"AT THE PARK-NYA!" he yells back. "NOW IF YOU EXCUSE ME, I WILL CHOP OFF MY BLEEDING EARS-NYA!" Click!

I groan and shove my phone away, yanking the necklace off of my neck. Someone tugs on my jacket before I can really pocket it. Behind me is Amu, confused. "Do you know Ikuto…?" she asks, a bit hesitant. I nod. "Do you know who took his key?" I shake my head. "Oh…"

"You're Amu?" I ask. She nods. "Huh. He talks a lot about you."

"Really?" She blushes.

I nod. "All the time," I assure. I let my arms drop. "He seems to really like you."

Amu's face is as red as a tomato. "Oh, that's…"

"Creepy?" I chuckle.

She giggles a little herself. "No…Nice, I guess."

Willow floats over to me. "This is my owner! Say hi, Trixie~" I glare and flick her nose. "EEK!"

"I am not a dog," I remind.

"YOU SURE?" When I whap her on the head, she whines and rolls up into a ball on Amu's head. "MEANIE!"

The yellow character laughs as the pink and green one pat Willow. Miss Blue flies up to me and waves. "I'm Miki!" she introduces. "The pink one is Ran, the green one is Su, and the yellow one is Dia!"

They wave at me and say 'hi'. I wave in return and look down at Amu. "So, Ikuto's blaming you for losing his key?...Or something?"

She nods and frowns. "He came up to me and asked me where it was, okay? I said I didn't know and he calls me a liar and that someone even had evidence that I took it! We had a bit of a fight, and now he thinks I stole it!" Amu sniffles and wipes her eyes. "I-I don't get it…Why would he think I stole it?"

I shrug. Beats me what that delusional cat things. "Who knows?" I lift my shoulders up, raising my lower arms up to level with the shoulders.

Dia gasps. "Amu-chan!" she exclaims. "Look!"

Amu gasps to, and her eyes turn blank; lifeless. What? "…W-Why do you…you have Ikuto's key?" She points a hand at mine. I glance at the hand and cuss. The key is right there, yet to be pocketed.