Chapter 21 – Rei's Soft Side
Raffina's POV
"So let me get this straight. You want me to go with everyone to your birthday celebration at a beach house, just so I can help Arle get together with this Sig guy?"
"Yep! That's exactly it! So you'll come, right?"
"Hmm…"
I was at Schezo's cave explaining to him the situation us girls have made for ourselves, hoping that he'll help us. Feli and Peruvis were with me too, as after this we were going to the library to buy Melody's book.
"Sounds interesting…but I'll pass."
"Huh? Why?"
"Look, Raffina. I don't know if Arle told you guys already, but I hate the beach."
"What?! That's crazy!"
"How can anyone hate the beach?!" Peruvis asked.
"I just hate everything about it. The sun beating down on me, the sand getting in my clothes, women accusing me of being gay because I don't find any interest in their swimsuits."
"What?" The three of us reacted to the last one.
"Rulue did that to me once. Since then, it's become a trend with other women back in our world."
"Oh. I see." I said. "But don't you want to help Arle?"
"I would love to, but if it involves going to the beach, then no way."
"It's not just the beach, you know." Feli said.
"How so?"
"Our family owns a beach house that sits across from it."
"And there's an amusement park near that. But even still, if you don't want to go to that, you can just stay inside the house." I added.
"Hm. Is that so?"
Schezo went silent for a second. We didn't really know what he was thinking at this moment, but were hoping it was something good.
"…Well…alright. If it's that important for me to come, then I'll go."
"YES!" Us girls cheered as we hi-fived each other.
"Thanks a lot, Schezo! You won't regret this!" I said.
"Hopefully, that's a true statement."
"Hey, Raffina. We should get going before the line gets too long." Feli said to me.
"Yeah, right. We should."
"Line for what?" Schezo asked.
"Melody's book goes on sale today and we all want a copy."
"Melody…wrote a book?"
"We know it sounds unbelievable, but it's true. Come with us and see for yourself."
"Is the line really going to be long? I didn't think people were interested in these things."
…
…
…
"You need to get out more." Peruvis said.
"Tch." Schezo got insulted.
It didn't really take us long to reach the library. But when we got there, the line was surprisingly long. When we got in line, we were blocks away from the entrance.
I didn't this many people would be here.
"Great. The line is long." Schezo said, already sounding annoyed.
"Lighten up, Schezo. We'll probably be inside in like 30 minutes." Peruvis said.
"30 minutes in this heat? Are you insane?"
"Hey, you're the one wearing a black hoodie and black jeans." I said.
"I'm a dark wizard. I'm suppose to wear black. I'm not going to wear a bunch of random colors like some kind of fre…"
"Like some kind of what, Schezo?" All three of us said, reminding him who he's with at the moment.
…
"N-Never mind."
"Thank you." I said.
"Hey, guys!"
We heard voices calling for us and coming up behind us were Ally, Arle, and Rafisol.
"Hey, guys. I thought you came with Ami."
"We did, but Ally thought it would be a great idea to get something to eat just a few minutes before the event started." Arle said.
"Hey, you said you were hungry. And we were too, right Sis?" Ally asked her sister.
Rafisol did a simple nod, agreeing with her sister.
"See?"
"sigh. Whatever." Arle gave up. "So the line's already this long, huh?"
"Yeah, it is." Peruvis said. "Schezo was just complaining about earlier."
"I'm actually surprised to see you out here, Schezo. Didn't think you'd be interested."
"Well, when I heard the words Melody wrote a book, I had to see it for myself." Schezo said.
"Yeah that does sound unbelievable, doesn't it?"
"And based on what Ms. Accord said, it's really good too." Ally added.
"Yeah, I remember Melody giving her a copy before they even went on sale." I said.
"Lucky." Ally pouted.
"Well they are friends, Ally."
"Yeah, but still."
"Hey! Ally!"
We heard someone calling Ally's named. Turns out it was Harpy, who was…on the roof of the building next to us?
"Harpy!"
"Ally!"
Harpy flew down from the roof and the two did their usual hug which ended in the same result: with somebody pulling them down.
"Harpy, what were you doing on that roof?" Arle asked.
"Oh, that. I was sleeping up there."
"Why?!"
"It's my new home!" She cheered.
"Harpy, you can't live on the roof of a building." Schezo said.
"*whine* Why not, Schezo?! You live in a cave!"
"That's different! I'm protected by whatever weather this oddly-named place throws at me!"
"It's not like the cloud world back home, Harpy. Weird things can happened at this strange new world were in." Arle added.
Do they still think this place is weird?!
"*whine* I guess that's true. But I don't have anywhere else to go."
"Don't worry, Harpy. We'll think of something." Ally said.
"Yeah cheer up, Harpy." I said. "Once we get back from the beach, we find you a new home, okay?"
"Yay! Thanks, everyone!" Harpy cheered. "So what's going on here?"
"We're in line to get a copy of Melody's new book." Ally explained.
"…"
"…Who's Melody?"
"Ami's mom, remember? I live with them."
"Oh yeah!"
How did she forget where her best friend lives?!
"Hey, Ally. Can I get one, too?"
"Sure, Harpy. You have any money?"
"…"
"…What's money?"
Seriously?! Me and Ami already told you! How did you forget?!
"Don't worry, Harpy. I'll just buy you one."
"Yay! Thanks, Ally! But…just one more thing."
"Yeah, what?"
"What's a book?"
Oh my god…
"Arle…just how?" I asked her.
"I don't even know myself, Raffina." She answered with a facepalm.
By the time we finished explaining to Harpy what money and books were, the line had gotten shorter. So much that we had to walk a few blocks to catch up with the line. When we did, we were in front of the local pet store, where we saw someone I didn't expect to be there. This person was staring through the glass at the animals inside. I got extremely curious the more I watched. So I just had to ask.
"Uh…Rei? What are you doing?"
"Oh. Raffina. Just looking."
"At what?"
"This cat."
I looked through the window with him and saw the cat he was talking about. It really was cute, but I was still confused on why he was starring at it so intensely.
"It's a really cute cat, Rei. But why are you starring at it?"
"It's cute."
"That's it?"
"Pretty much."
…
…
I was still confused. More than before at this point. But then I thought of something that might help a lot.
"Rei…do you want this cat?"
Rei didn't say anything, but the slow nod he made gave me a clear answer. I giggled a bit and patted his back.
"Wow, Rei. I didn't know you liked cats."
"They're cute."
"Yeah, I can tell."
"Uh, Raffina. Who is this…ghost?" Feli asked me.
"Oh, right. This is Rei. He's a friend of mine. Rei, this is my cousin Feli and my friend Peruvis."
"Oh. I see."
"How are you friends with a ghost?" Peruvis asked.
"It's a long story…" I answered with a shiver. Luckily, Peruvis didn't notice it and just shrugged off my response.
"Well, nice to meet you, Rei."
Rei just waved hello, still distracted by the white cat in the window.
"You really want that cat, do you?" I asked.
"Yes."
The cat finally noticed Rei and now it was starring at him with its front paws on the window. I saw Rei's face blush like he's taking to his crush.
"I think the cat wants him too." Arle said.
"It's really cute." Peruvis added.
"Cute." Rei repeated.
Just then, the door to the pet store opened and out came the owner, who to my surprise was…
"Sig?!"
"Oh. Hey guys."
"Sig, do you own this pet store?"
"Well, it used to be a pet store. Me and Chu bought it when we moved here and we're making it into a bug farm."
"You BOUGHT a pet store?! With what money?!"
"The money we got from our parent's will."
…
…
…
"I-I see…"
Whoa! They got enough money to buy a pet shop from their parent's will?! That's some serious cash! And a good wat to use it, too.
"H-Hey, S-Sig." Arle said while blushing.
"O-Oh. A-Arle. N-Nice to see you." Sig was also blushing.
Oh! Looks like Sig's realized it now, too! This is just perfect!
"A-Anyway." Sig shook his head. "You look really interested in this cat. Do you want him?"
"Yes." Rei sounded excited, but I couldn't tell from his face.
"Wait, Rei. Can you even afford it?" I asked.
"Uh…"
"He can have it for free."
"R-Really?!" I sounded surprised.
"We're trying to give away the remaining pets here so we can start adding bugs. I'm sure he'll be better off with an owner than to be stuck in here with a bunch of bugs."
"I see. Well, Rei, you still want the cat?"
Rei and the cat were still starring deeply into each other's eyes.
"I think that a yes." Feli answered for him.
"Okay."
Sig went back inside and got the cat out from the bed it was on. Then he came back out with the cat and gave it to Rei. Rei was now deeply blushing as he brought the cat to his face and the cat started licking his nose.
"That is so god damn cute." Ally said. The rest of us agreed.
"By the way, I think it's male." Sig said.
"I see. What are you going to name it, Rei?" I asked.
"Kat."
"Yes, Rei. You got the cat. What's its name, though?"
"Kat."
"We can see the cat, Rei. But what's its name?"
"Kat."
…
"Are you screwing with me?"
"No. That's his name. Kat. K-A-T, Kat."
"Kat the Cat…?" We all sounded confused.
"Nice name." Sig said.
"Thanks."
Of course Sig would like it.
"So, Sig. Are you and Chu planning to go to the library today?" I asked him.
"Huh? For what?"
"Melody's book comes out today. That's why we're in li…"
I looked to my left to see that said line was non-existent. We were so invested in Rei's love for cats that we didn't even realized the line shrunk dramatically.
"Oh." Was all I could say.
"Well, since there's no line, I guess we can go. Hey, Chu! You want to go the library?"
"The library?" Chu asked as she came out the store. She got excited when she saw us. And by "us", I mean Arle.
"Aruru!" She cheered as she ran up to hug her.
"Hey, Chu. Nice to see you." Arle said while patting her head.
"Shigu. What's happening at the library?"
"Melody's book."
"Oh, yeah."
"So you guys going?" Arle asked.
"Sure. Why not?" Sig said.
"Great. We're heading there now." I said.
"Actually, Raffina. I think we're next in line." Peruvis said.
…
"…R-Right." Was all I could say.
When we got to the entrance, we walked all the way through the museum to the library and found the booth with Ami, Melody, Yu, and Akuma standing next to it.
"Gee, there you guys are! I was wondering when you'll show up!" Amitie said.
"Sorry, Ami." I said. "We would've been here earlier, but things happened."
"What things?"
"Well…"
"Yu. I got a cat." Rei said to his twin sister.
"Rei! Where were you?! You were suppose to bring us food hours ago!" Yu yelled.
"I got a cat."
"So you forgot to get us something to eat because you were looking at a cat?!"
…
…
"I got a cat." Rei repeated.
Yu sighed with annoyance while facepalming her entire face.
"G-Good for you, Rei." Was all she could say.
"Aw! What a cute cat!" Amitie said. "What's his name, Rei?"
"Kat."
"Yes, Rei. You got a cat. What's its name, though?"
"Kat."
"I can see the cat, Rei. But what's its name?"
"Kat."
…
"Is he screwing with me?" Amitie asked me.
"You would think, but no, he's not. That's actually the name of the cat. K-A-T, Kat."
"Kat the Cat…?" Amitie, Melody, Yu, and Akuma sounded confused.
"That's what we said."
"Onee-chan." Rafisol said to her sister.
"Yeah, Sis?"
"Can we get one?"
"What? You mean a cat?"
Rafisol nodded.
"Sis. I don't think we can get one."
"But why?" Rafisol whined.
"Rafisol, do you know how much it cost to take care of a cat?" Melody asked her. "We can't even afford furniture, let alone a cat."
"But Sig's giving them for free."
"Sorry, Rafisol. That was the last cat." Sig said.
"*whine*"
"Don't worry, Sis. Once we start making more money, we'll get a cat again, okay?"
"Thank you, Onee-Chan." Rafisol smiled.
"Come to think of it, Kat hasn't made a noise since we got him." Peruvis stated.
Rei looked at Kat and vise-versa.
"Hi, Kat. I'm Rei."
"Meow."
"He meowed!" Amitie said.
"In a cute way, too." Ally added.
Rei smiled at Kat as he brought him closer to his face. Kat then started rubbing his onto Rei's, all while purring.
"So cute!" Most of us shouted. Sig, Chu, and Harpy weren't paying attention and Yu, Schezo, and Akuma didn't find it interesting at all.
"Well, come on, Rei. Let's go home so you go play with…Kat. And so I can get something to eat." Yu said, whispering the last part to herself.
"Kay." Yui headed for the exit and Rei followed her.
"See you tomorrow, Yu! Have fun with Kat, Rei!" Amitie shouted while waving her hand.
"See ya, Ami!"
"Bye."
"Did Yu just call you Ami?" I asked.
"Yeah. I told her she can call me that."
"Wow. What happened between you two?"
"I'll tell you later."
…
…
"You're not jealous are you, Raffi?"
"No, of course not! I know you won't hurt me, Ami!"
"Right! And I won't hurt you either, Raffi!"
We then hugged each other and Ami gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Oh, brother." I heard Melody say.
"*cough* Excuse me, Raffina and Amitie. But I must have a word with you both, KUMA!" Akuma said to us.
"Sure, Akuma. What's up?" Amitie asked.
"It's best if we do this in private, KUMA!"
We looked at each other in confusion, not knowing what Akuma was getting at. But we were now curious on what he wants to talk to us about in private. So…
"Uh…sure, Akuma. We could talk in private." I said.
"Good, KUMA! Arle, you come along, too. It's best if you hear this as well, MA, KUMA, KUMAAAA!"
"U-Uh…o-okay." Arle agreed.
"We'll meet you girls outside then." Melody said to us.
"Okay, Mom." Amitie replied.
The three of us then followed Akuma to his office, not knowing what this talk of his is about.
Why do I have a bad feeling about this?
A/N: Don't really have much to say for this chapter. It's mostly a filler. Plus, I'm tired. I'm going to be busy moving to a new apartment tomorrow and maybe the next day, so I don't know when I'll be back to writing. Feel free to review, favorite, and/or follow the story. Thanks for reading.