Shaolin Mom
Chapter 8
"What's New Pussycat?"
There were certain things nobody ever told you before partaking in the taxing, but sometimes, rewarding woes that parenthood offered. For instance, there was one simple understanding that transcended all barriers, that no matter the species.
All babies were messy and tiring.
While some infants in the wild had to adapt quickly — or die — Jin's kittens had the luxury of being pampered; not tied down at all by thoughts that a predator might be hunting them if they caught scent, or facing the prospect of dying in the middle of the night due to cold or hunger. Jin had faced all those scenarios in his younger days, so in the Shaolin's opinion, all five of the cats were all ungrateful little brats.
Cute… but still ungrateful.
They simply had no clue how well they had it, especially with Kung Jin taking care of their every need while they repaid him by tormenting him by not letting him sleep.
That was another thing nobody told him and eventually found out, from both the internet and through experience.
That cats were, unfortunately for him, nocturnal.
If he had known that before adopting them, he would have invested in a coffee maker for his room. He opted for another kitchen appliance though, understanding they needed it more than he needed caffeine.
In his first couple weeks, after reading up a little more about their habits, he stole a blender (one fancier than what was required) so he could blend their formula and hard food for them. They needed the gruel at least three times a day and boy were they a ravenous little bunch. And often, on top of keeping them fed, he had to also make sure that none of them ate anything that wasn't food in his room small enough to swallow but big enough to choke on.
But there was a trophy to his efforts, and he was happy to see their little tummies grow fatter as the days continued on. They often rewarded him with baby snuggles and licks, and even he had to admit, the toy mouse could get a few chuckles out of him with how awkwardly they failed to chase it. However, the scale was still tipped against him, and they did more things that were annoying instead of adorable.
Despite how pleased he was to see them bulking up and acclimating to him and the room, they still had other habits that drove him up the wall.
The biggest one was their never-ending, consistently aggravating tendency to fling cat litter everywhere— covering every floored surface of his room with tiny gray sand instead of keeping it in the box it was intended to stay in. He was constantly sweeping, taking out a small dustpan and broom and collecting it just so he didn't find himself growing irritated stepping on it constantly; he lost track of how many times he brushed his hand against his feet to dust it off. It was harmless, just, persistent.
In addition to having a litter box in his room, the smell that all five little fuzzy sewage factories created between them using the same box was horrendous. He was constantly cleaning out the box despite that their feces were small— but boy were they pungent if left unchecked for a few days.
Jacqui had taken pity on him and had purchased Febreze plug-ins for him. Now there were three around the room — one in every wall outlet he could find. However, they did little to help. Now his room smelt like Hawaiian Breeze with a hint of cat poop; not the most tropical or welcomed of smells. So, he pushed himself to become more adamant about cleaning it, learning his lesson that he could not be so forgetful if he wanted to sleep without smelling the box.
And to top the cherry on top of his litterbox dilemma, TJ seemed to delight in Jin's torment with the cat box. As soon as Jin had finished cleaning it, the orange cat made it a constant routine to go back in the box, look the archer dead in the eye, and take another dump right in front of him. Then, to add insult, he flung litter everywhere, stepped out, and purred against the Shaolin's ankle.
"You missed one, stupid hooman."
Oh yea. The little orange asshole earned the name Tiny Jerk.
However, despite the smell and trying to keep them alive, Kung Jin had to admit, there was something endearing about the now almost 7-week-old kittens. They slept with him almost every night on the bed —sleeping being a loose term with how sporadic their nap schedules were due to their high energy.
Whenever he did wake in the middle of the night—as he was doing at the very moment— he looked down at them all snuggled against him with a smile. They all seemed to trust him, and the archer dare say, were rather fond of him. And despite how much the others had been teasing him, he reminded himself—and them— constantly, he was NOT going soft, and if he had any affection for them, he would take it to his grave. No one would know they were growing on him. Even if it was ten percent.
Jin didn't know what to do with such a misplaced sense of affection from them; it was so perplexing to have something depend and love him so willingly. He was just there to keep them alive until he figured out who he could pawn them off on. He was nothing but a warden, running a tiny prison in his room filled with five little inmates—although at times he felt less like the warden and more like one of the disgruntled guards having to herd and deal with them. Or perhaps better yet, he was one of the inmates himself, especially considering he was once again imprisoned on the bed with them laying on him.
They usually picked the same spots: TJ was almost always on his head and if not, curled against the junction in his shoulder.
Lia and Hana were always inseparable— as if a part of their own chain gang—and either settled between his legs or by his side; bunched together in a gray, white, black, and amber ball.
RJ remained his constant confidant (following him everywhere when it wasn't time for bed). The white kitten always nestled on top of him; either tucked under his chin or in a ball on top of his chest. Every so often, the fluffy Thunder God would wake, blink its blue eyes tiredly at him, give a series of quick kneads, lick him, and then fall back to sleep. As if it was telling him 'Rest now Kung Jin. You will need it for the upcoming storm.'
Somewhere in the darkness, came the all too familiar sound of scampering tiny paws racing sporadically around his room; flying about with frenetic frenzy that caused the Shaolin to let out a tired sigh as he heard something fall off his desk nearby.
… And then there was Jack
A black shadow suddenly darted across his groin, earning a grunt from the archer, and at the same time waking all the kittens who meowed indignantly by both the archer moving suddenly and the energetic panther on another one of his midnight hunts.
The black cat lowered its front paws forward, its butt sticking in the air, as it brought its nose level to the sheet; its eyes widened to the size of jade colored plates as he searched.
"The bug! It's escaped again! The foul, crunchy fiend!"
Jin's eyes picked up on a brief flutter of movement above his face, tiny and nearly invisible if not for his keen eyesight.
A single white moth flew above his head as Jack sauntered over to Jin, stepping on RJ in the process, as it sat on the archer's chest. Jack balanced on its back legs and swiped with its front paws in the air, squeaking with frustration.
"Fiend! You finally show yourself! Bring your delicious self closer, coward! As soon as I get you, you're kitten chow!"
The cat jumped in the air, flailing and spinning with the grace of a drunken figure skater, before it landed squarely on Kung Jin's sternum. The archer let out a groan and he suddenly felt TJ's orange paw rest on his nose and unsheathe its claws to hook inside the archer's nostrils, pulling them up into his nose like fishing hooks.
"Stop moving you STUPID Shaolin Duck. I am TRYING to sleep on your stupid, fat head."
Kung Jin sucked his teeth before he lifted a single hand to unlatch the cat's paw from his nose, earning a tiny annoyed mew from the orange tabby while Raiden Jr., its blue eyes slanted at its obsidian haired brother, growled.
"Go away. Your presence is causing great disturbance to both our master and the others."
Jack simply regarded its sibling by blinking blankly back at him. "But RJ….it crunchy... and full of protein... and it crunchy. I must keep my strength up. I am a ferocious baby jaguar. I must consume my body weight in crunchy or else I will surely die."
TJ squeaked above him. "Then DIE so I can go back to sleep."
Hana yawned while Lia licked the side of her litter-mate's face; causing the mixed-colored fur to stick up while one of the calico's eyes squinted in disdain at Jack. "You're an idiot."
Lia's face lifted from the calico, her head bobbing as her eyes locked on the moth flying silently overhead. "It is... rather... mesmerizing... the flappy, crunchy thing."
Hana followed her sibling, also succumbing to the hypnotizing moth above their heads and watched along with the Lin Kuei kitten with acute curiosity. "Yes... a fine target it would make for my kunai..." Hana growled suddenly. "IF. I. HAD. ONE!"
Lia lifted and wiggled her butt, staring up, but still addressing the calico. "We have claws — they are like tiny kunais, but better, sister."
Hana's eyes slit into thin lines, her paws suddenly flexing to reveal tiny razor-sharp claws, as she focused on the moth again.
"Yes... a fool I am. I have had kunais all this time!" Hana looked to Jack, squinting its eyes. "But I am not as much of a fool as you are. The insect will be mine!"
Jack, feeling its target at risk, hissed at the calico; the hair at the back of its neck spiking up. "No, it is mine!"
The calico returned a hiss. "It is mine!"
Jack growled, making a move first, as they both launched at each other and tumble-weeded around on top of Jin like a child's ball rolling across the floor. Except this ball had hair, claws and teeth that would maul Shaolin hands as soon as he attempted to try and separate them. All Jin could do was just lay there in awkward annoyance as they used his body like a battleground.
A tired eye twitched. "Don't mind me— just trying to sleep!"
Lia, RJ and TJ also watched close by, observing them as if they were watching two seagulls fighting over a soft pretzel.
TJ was the first to let out a sound; something close to a small grunt that caused the tiger to slump slightly against his head. "Yes. Kill each other for my tiny amusement. Soon the mouse toy will be mine and mine alone…"
Eventually they detached after a particularly loud yowl from Hana (Jack biting her scruff too hard) and ended their fight, but they continued to stare tiny daggers at each other; using Jin's body as a line in the sand.
"Attack me again and you will face kitten-hellfire!" Hana narrowed her eyes, snarling at the black cat as she placed a single paw on the archer's stomach. "You poor, fatuous excuse for an Amazonian jaguar. You are no great warrior or hunter. Your very existence is an insult to panthers everywhere."
Jack licked its paw, unfazed. "Ya... well you and your kunai are dumb."
Lia meowed indignantly in the black cats' direction as she came next to her calico sibling. "How dare you insult Kitten Hanzo Hasashi and his tiny kunais. Now you will feel the cold chill of Lin Kuei Kitten justice!"
Jack's pink tongue darted out, bleping at the two fuzzy Grandmaster's with indifference. "Brrrr... I'm frozen in fear. Look-at-me-I'm-a-little-hairy-baby-popsicle. I'm sooooo scared."
Lia growled at the same time Hana hissed and swiped a paw. "That does it! Get over he—"
The moth fluttered quietly between them, bouncing between them as if it was being bobbed on an invisible string... and suddenly all transgressions were forgotten.
RJ squeaked at the pair, noticing them being bewitched: "No! Do not gaze upon it! It's tiny flapping is only equal to its depravity. It surely must be Quan Chi in disguise! Returned from the grave!"
Jin heard a sound above him, coming directly from the mouth of the tabby that sat on his head. The tiger's blue eyes suddenly grew, its pupils blown wide as it also stared with stupefied interest at the bug.
The archer's eyebrows bridged together, an amused smile threatening to break across his face as the little orange jerk began to chatter; producing quick and light chirping sounds from its mouth. He knew what the sound attributed to from his research. Cats made it when they narrowed in on something to hunt that excited them. And TJ was certainly and completely enthralled by the moth; the cat lost to the hypnotizing flutter of wings. "It's... so... beautiful... I must... MURDER it..."
The Shaolin looked down at his kittens, letting out a light guffaw as they all stared up and watched; their heads following the moth as if their eyes were incapable of making the slightest adjustments to follow it. All of them, with the exception of RJ, looked like fuzzy bobble-heads on a bumpy car ride.
The white cat, who noticed the Shaolin was also watching the moth dance overhead, mewed and came over to him; bump-rubbing his face against Jin's stubble before giving him a quick nip to his cheek. "Do not succumb Kung Jin. The moth is a foul deceiver. It spews false promises of crunch but is acidic and spongy. I know this all too well." RJ hacked audibly and licked it's lips.
"Did you have to bite me?" the archer grumbled, his tone condescending but playful.
RJ stared at him, its eyes blinking softly, as he sat on its haunches. "It is a sign of affection. What the internet calls 'a love bite.' I am expressing my fondness towards you by what is in my nature."
"I thought it was from over-stimulation. Petting you too much or whatever," Jin questioned the cat. Silently taking note of the other kittens still watching the moth; ignorant of the current conversation.
"Even I cannot control where the lightning may strike at times," Raiden Jr. meowed. "Sometimes, it strikes without warning and we must let it crash where it may."
The white kitten gave a single swift lick, as if it was the period of a sentence, before it stared back at the Shaolin, letting the poetic nonsense sink in. RJ nipped at his cheek again, out of nowhere, making Jin frown.
"Hence. I may bite you unprovoked."
Kung Jin lifted one of his hands, giving the miniature Thunder God a scratch behind the ears. Immediately RJ purred, leaning back into the archer's fingernails, while Jin rolled his eyes, knowing that the cat didn't say any of what he was hearing.
"I am losing my mind," he scolded himself with a sigh. "Ow."
RJ's teeth pinched the skin on top of his hand, before he gave him a lick and rubbed against him.
"That indeed was caused by over-stimulation. But I do prefer the term 'love bite', instead."
A knock came at the door, and as soon as it landed, Jin let out a surprised 'shit' as all the cats — EVERY. SINGLE. ONE — got immediately spooked and clambered about the bed. All the cats randomly picked directions and raced quickly across the mattress as if they were bullets fired sporadically from a machine gun.
As soon as the second knock came, Kung Jin laid still in his bed. Frozen stiff as his eyes blinked with a startled, flabbergasted expression on his face; trying to decipher what the hell just happened and how kittens could even run that fast.
"Let's go Garfield, we got training this morning with Tacky's dad," came Cassie's voice from the other side of the door.
Kung Jin placed his palms over his face, running them down as a yawn escaped him. He had completely forgotten, and while usually looked forward to training, wasn't in the mood. He hadn't had a decent night sleep thanks to the five adorable little excuses, and simply lacked the energy nowadays.
Also, Kenshi wasn't as lax in his training like Johnny Cage was, so the archer grumbled irritably getting out of bed, knowing that the session was going to wipe him out.
Jin felt something brush against the back of his Achilles heel as he planted his bare feet to the floor; knowing it was one of the cats that had ducked under the bed.
Picking himself up, he crouched down and peered under the bed...
...and saw five sets of tiny beady eyes looking back at him; wide-eyed pupils filled with trepidation.
"You're all so brave, aren't you? Fuzzy little cowards," he ridiculed lightly.
Jin reached under the bed, attempting to reach one of his shoes, before RJ gave him another quick nip to the back of the palm when he got close.
"What was that for?" he shot at the white kitten.
RJ narrowed its tiny eyes in contempt. "For your spiteful chatter, Kung Jin."
"Whatever."
In the Mess Hall, after a particularly long and tiresome training session (though she never admit to it out loud) with Kenshi, Jacqui couldn't help but feel for Kung Jin as she stared at him across the table at lunch.
The Shaolin hadn't touched his food, even though he usually had no appetite for the Special Forces issued cafeteria grub, and instead fell asleep in his palm; his elbow braced against the table with his other hand lazily holding a fork with a half-bitten piece of broccoli in it.
Takeda held in his laughter as Jacqui also suppressed a smile when they watched a sliver of drool escape from his open mouth, before it landed right in his food. She honestly felt bad for the guy. Parenthood was no picnic and she recalled fondly of her dad telling her all sorts of horror stories about how she gave them hell as a baby and toddler. One of her favorites being him walking into her nursery the middle of the night, only to discover that she had somehow taken off her diaper and smeared baby poop all over the walls and giggled as if it was a divine art masterpiece.
A brief frown flickered across her face when she caught Takeda snorting at her, nearly spitting his drink through his nose, when he eavesdropped into her thoughts. He already knew about the story — Jax had told Takeda all kinds of embarrassing things (hoping to serve as a last-minute deterrent) after getting over the initial resentment of someone dating his daughter. He was more or so snickering over the mental image she had pictured, and she jabbed her elbow into his ribs as revenge for peeking.
Still, she understood his plight of how tiring it was to have a bunch of babies who were unsympathetic to sleep schedules; only caring about themselves. She had taken care of some newborn kittens from the barn after their mother had gotten hit by a car, so she knew the struggle of trying to keep them alive.
It was a 24/7 job. Jin was fortunate that they were older when he found them—she knew how hard it could be. But the specialist knew she didn't have to worry too much about him; the fact that he was so tired, told her enough that he was taking to his Mr. Mom role just fine, and the cats were going to be ok.
Now she just had to focus on Takeda not getting attached. Which was proving to be impossible since he was so enamored with them. It was endearing — pretty adorable — but it also felt like she was a stringent parent at an amusement park with a hyper child who wanted cotton candy every five seconds.
Even when he wasn't in Jin's room playing with them, the ninja obsessed over them. Currently, he stayed on his phone as they sat at the table, going through cat memes and every so often showing her the one that made him bust out laughing. Now she knew what her parents went through in regards to when toddlers showed their parents every little thing that made them laugh with the adults playing along with it, commenting only to say 'that's nice'.
Kung Jin let out a grunted inhale of breath, his lungs sucking in a patch of air before he smacked his lips in his sleep. Cassie shook her head next to him, her eyes on her phone, and with a grin she picked at his plate with her fork, stealing a cube of red jello.
Cassie on the other hand, was just happy that she had ammo to tease Jin with; taking every opportunity to call him a cat related pun that got under his skin. As her friend had reiterated to Jacqui, she liked them and thought they were cute, but she truly did prefer dogs to cats. If Kung Jin had a litter of puppies instead of kittens, then Jacqui could see Cassie in Jin's room more instead of Takeda. Although Briggs was sure Takeda would be hounding Jin no matter what species it was.
Jacqui's eyebrows suddenly picked up when she noticed Cassie's dad making his way towards their table. The usually cheerful actor scowled in the Shaolin's direction as he held an empty metal tray in his hands. Jin still slept, snoring loudly, even after Johnny came to the table and stopped by Jin — Cassie seated on the other side and finally looking up from her phone.
The actor gave the Shaolin an annoyed grimace before he curtly sat his tray next to Jin's — enough to produce a loud slam to wake him.
Jin roused, sucking in a line of drool back into his mouth, before he blinked awake.
"Where's my blender, Jin?" Johnny spat, not even waiting a minute before the Shaolin regained consciousness.
"Huh?"
Johnny huffed, waving his finger angrily through the air as if he was drawing the words out with a marker. "WHERE" — "ISSSS"— "MY"— "BLENDER?"
Kung Jin shrugged before he responded back with an innocent (yet, oh so not): "Beats me."
Cassie snorted, obviously loving to see her dad so annoyed by somebody that wasn't her.
"I know you're using it for the fluff-bags" Johnny accused, his hands on his hips as he narrowed his eyes at the Shaolin. "And as much as I like helping the kittens out, that is a nearly 600 dollar Vitamix and I don't wanna be tasting cat food when I go to use it for my shakes when you bring it back to me today."
"You spent 600 dollars on a blender?" Takeda asked, looking up from his phone too.
"Yes Takeda. I spend money so this"— Cage Sr. waved a finger through the air at himself, indicating his physique — "Stays 110% instead of the usual 100%."
"Can't say it was money well spent," Kung Jin barbed with a teasing grin. "Besides, I need it. They gotta eat."
"Not with my blen—!" Johnny's hands shot out but stopped in mid-air; his fingers curled towards the archer as if he wanted to strangle him. The actor turned red, his outburst suddenly catching the interest of other soldiers dining in the Mess Hall.
Cage Sr. grumbled, cursing under his breath, as he furiously fished into his back-pocket and pulled out his wallet. The Kombat Kids stared at him, smiling lightly as they heard the mumbled but heated phrase being stringently whispered through Johnny's teeth.
"Cute-stupid-little-kittens-they're-lucky-they're-cute-and-shit—"
The older man slammed a couple of hundred-dollar bills in front of the Shaolin, before he threw a finger at Jin. "Buy your own freakin' blender and give me back mine by tonight — washed!"
Kung Jin rolled his eyes and pocketed the bills while the actor marched away, not even bothering to tell Johnny thank you.
"I want change!" Cage called over his shoulder, throwing the tray on top of the garbage can before he left the Mess Hall.
Jacqui waited until Cassie's dad left before she raised an eyebrow in the Shaolin's direction. "Why are you using a blender? They're what, six or seven weeks now? You can give them wet food."
"How do you know?" Jin shrugged, finally eating the rest of his broccoli on his fork.
Briggs blinked at him, unphased by his scowl. "Cause I've taken care of kittens too. They don't need formula anymore.
"Awe… Mother Goose doesn't want them to grow up so he's still giving the baby fluffy-buns whittle baby formula," Cassie castigated at Jin, looking down at her phone again. "He wuvs them bunches and wants them to stay kittehs forever so he can bottle feed them and sing them lullabies goodnight."
Jin shot the sergeant an indignant glare, but didn't comment, instead turning back to address Jacqui, "Haven't really had time to get off the base to get them wet food. Between Cage and Tack's dad trainings and making sure the brats don't swallow one of my shoelaces every five seconds."
Jacqui raised an eyebrow disbelievingly at him.
He tapped his pocket with his free hand. "Besides, I didn't have money till now. Spent most of it on their cat crap when I first got them."
Cassie smirked in Kung Jin's direction, choosing not to comment on how the archer swindled her father. "How is your boyfriend at the pet store by the way? You still haven't shown me a picture of him yet. You won't even tell me his last name so I can find his Friendship's Profile."
Kung Jin scowled furiously and slammed a palm on the table, making the silverware jump. Jacqui couldn't really blame him. Outside of the cat puns, Cassie had been relentlessly teasing him about Jasper for the past couple weeks.
"For the last time —he's not my damn boyfriend, Cassie!"
A blonde-haired male captain, whose name-patch read Denton, who happened to be walking by their table, stopped suddenly on his path to the trash-can, and blinked in confusion at Jin's outburst; held hostage by the abrupt, tense silenced that followed as if thinking they were referring to him when they all looked his direction.
Denton cleared his throat before responding awkwardly to them, looking at Jin specifically. "Well, I'm dating a guy right now in Comms, but I'll hit you up if things go south."
After that he excused himself, his eyes shifting back and forth as he walked hastily away.
Cassie snickered in her seat as the Shaolin sighed next to her. "Well if things don't pan out with the Petco guy, you still got Captain Dents-Every-Vehicle-He-Drives."
"Shut up, Cage," Kung Jin growled through his teeth, stabbing his fork into a carrot harder than what was necessary.
"Well, since you got nothing going on," Jacqui butted in smoothly, trying to alleviate the tense atmosphere. "You should really start feeding them wet food. They have to eat it eventually, so the earlier you start them the easier it will be to transition them."
The archer sighed through his nose, flicking leaves of his salad around the plate; her words sinking in that she was right despite how much he didn't want to admit it. "I don't have any way to get there. It's not like I have a car. And I don't want to leave them alone for too long."
"I can watch them while you get their stuff," Takeda suddenly offered, causing all three of them to look in his direction.
The younger Takahashi shrugged nonchalantly and smiled. "I know you've been tired. Why don't ya bunk in my room and I'll watch them tonight after you get their food? You have to admit, you do want the night off."
Jin smiled dubiously at him, blinking his bloodshot eyes at the ninja. "You just want an excuse to play with them some more."
"Yeah," the Shirai Ryu answered back unapologetically.
There was silence, as if they had expected the ninja to say more but didn't.
"Fine, whatever," Kung Jin finally granted.
"Yay," Takeda grinned as he shifted happily in his seat.
"I'll take you to the store, Jin," Jacqui offered, feeling more generous than usual, only because of one thing.
Her eyes shot to Cassie. "Some of us can't because they play on Friendships too much and get behind on their paperwork."
"K. Thanks, Mom," Cassie barked back, typing away on her phone still and rolling her friend's comment off her shoulders as if it was nothing.
Cassie looked to Jin. "Car's in the shop anyway, so I'll have Jacqui snap a pic of your boyfriend so I can finally put a face to a name. Jasper and Jin. I like the sound of it. Like Bert and Ernie — they're secretly gay and in love too."
Kung Jin rolled his eyes at her, but then turned towards Briggs and nodded genuinely.
"That's actually nice of you. I do need the ride," he looked down, grimacing bitterly, "and I know they can't eat gruel forever. So… thanks."
"You're welcome," Jacqui smirked, albeit the phrase sounding strange on her tongue when directed towards the archer. Funny, now that she realized why, was because Jin and her didn't really share much conversation with each other. And besides the thing with the cats, didn't show empathy outside of just being teammates. She had to say, it was an odd new change, and good way to finally turn over a new leaf between the two.
However, it was slightly ruined when Takeda suddenly laughed at his phone; tears nearly spilling out of his eyes. After a pause he showed the phone to Jacqui, still in a fit, and she looked down to see a video of a cat stealing pizza from someone's plate.
"Silly little guy," Takeda continued to chuckle, half talking to himself and half at Jacqui. "Pizza is human food."
Jacqui sighed, too embarrassed by him to laugh, as she pinched the bridge of her nose, squeezing her eyes shut and muttering. "Ya. It's funny. That's nice."
"Woooooow Takeda," Cassie sniggered. Shaking her head in humored disbelief at him. "You are such a nerd."
"How're you my friend, again?" Kung Jin commented, running a hand down his face.
The Shirai Ryu ignored them, smiling at a video of a cat playing the keyboard and dancing along lightly to the beat.
The drive to The Pet Stop was relatively quiet for the most part, but Jacqui already assumed there would be little to no discussion between her and the Shaolin anyway. Briggs could tell Jin reached the same conclusion on their drive. The bulk of his time spent in Jacqui's tan Jeep Wrangler consisted of him alternating flicking his eyes briefly over to her before gazing out the passenger side window. She couldn't remember the last time her and the archer were alone— come to think of it, it was safe to assume that this was the first time. Usually, they were both accompanied by someone, either Cassie or Takeda, and now that they were alone, found themselves in a bit of an awkward conundrum.
They hadn't the slightest clue of what to talk about.
It wasn't because they hated each other —they worked well together in a team ever since Outworld. But they just simply couldn't find a topic to break the ice. There was an appetite for conversation between the two, but both saw it as a requirement more than a need; like they couldn't leave the table unless all their vegetables were finished. They both wanted it though. Just something to fill the awkward void between them for the sake of pleasantries, but neither of them wanted to cave in just yet.
It was that way for the first five minutes, when Jin finally did say something.
"I really did need to get them wet food, so… yea… I needed this," he trailed off, the corner of his mouth flickering bitterly. She didn't take offense that he didn't end the sentence with a 'thanks' though she knew it was what died on the end of his tongue. Jacqui wondered if it was because he thought saying 'thank you' twice in one day was too much for the stubborn archer. Afterall, it was hard for the archer to express any of the mushy stuff.
"Can I ask you something Jin? In all seriousness?"
He turned to her, allowing her to continue, as she slowed the car to a stop, waiting in line at the red light.
"Why did you hold off on the food? Stealing Mr. Cage's blender and all?" she asked, looking at him. "You like to learn new things, so I know you've definitely been reading up on them."
She heard him give a quiet, almost undetectable sigh; his eyebrows furrowed in thought as he reached his hand to the cup holder and grabbed his Oolong tea in the thermos. His thumb traced over the metal green outside, mulling over how to answer her question.
"I just…" Jin sucked his teeth, taking a sip of his tea, before he resumed his usual stoic visage. "Wasn't really wanting to go back to the store… I was… kind of a jerk last time."
It wasn't the answer Jacqui was expecting. Besides Cassie relentlessly pestering the Shaolin about Jasper, the specialist would have assumed that the clerk would have fluttered away from Jin's mind; forgotten as soon as he had left them that night.
From what she observed on that now semi-legendary night they snuck the cats in, Jin had been unapologetic with his animosity towards the retail worker. Seeing him as nothing more than an asshole and Jasper returning the sentiment.
In fact, she'd never known Jin to really be sympathetic towards the way he treated others, good or bad, or give his actions retrospect. Though, she had to admit, the way he did treat Jasper after agreeing to help him with the kittens had been a bit harsh.
He was decent to them, friendly, and she sided with the clerk more than Jin.
Perhaps, with Cassie bringing him up constantly, Kung Jin started to realize just how abrasive he had been, and that he was in the wrong for his treatment.
Though she could tell it was difficult for him to even admit his mistake. He had just as much hubris as his late cousin, but even he had to admit, he was in the wrong even if he would never fully voice it; choosing to hide it under a blanket of vagueness.
"We can go to another pet store if you want," Jacqui threw out, although she hoped he would reject the listless offer. It was almost redundant to ask; she knew what the answer would be and so did he, but it was also her method of showing, she could be his friend too.
Jin tapped a finger on the outside of his thermos, looking out the window in thought, before he sighed and relented. "No. This one's closer. I don't want to drive 10 miles out of the way."
Jacqui gave him a small, respectful smile; she knew how hard it was for the stubborn Shaolin to take the high road. Even if he would never voice what was his goal in mind, preferring to be as clandestine as possible with his emotions.
"If that's what you want — still it's no problem to find another place," Briggs continued, the car moving as soon as the light turned green.
"It's fine," Jin furrowed his brow again, taking a noisy sip from his tea, before he consented reluctantly, his expression resolute but sour. "Let's just get this over with."
"Hi guys!"
Takeda shut the door quickly, avoiding detection from soldiers in the hallway and closing off the only escape route, as all five kittens roused from their sleep on the archer's bed; blinking tiredly as soon as they heard him.
He smiled but then wrinkled his nose when he caught a whiff of the overwhelming scent of Hawaiian Breeze from Jin's Febreze plug-ins. He knew that Jin was adamant about making sure that his room didn't stink, however, he would have to remind himself to tell his friend he was now overdoing it by making it smell too nice. If it wasn't for the cat box in the bathroom, out of plain sight, he would have thought that Jin just really, really loved the smell of artificial paradise too much.
The aroma was quickly forgotten though, when Hana was the first to stretch and yawn before scampering across the bed. The other four, simply meandered about, picking random directions to explore as they spilled sleep from their tired little bodies.
The calico jumped from the bed, bumbling a landing, before bouncing over to the Shirai Ryu who dropped his change of clothes and toothbrush to the floor, to scoop her up.
"Awe did you miss me? My cute little chugin?" Takeda asked Hana, bringing her to face level while the kitten mewed and swiped her paws at his nose, trying to catch it between her paws.
Lia also came over to him, stopping at his feet and squeaking up at him, gazing up despondently.
"Oh… " — Takeda let out a sheepish laugh — "I'm sorry Lia. I hope you're not too jealous that I have chosen Hana to be my apprentice? After all she is already kinda wearing Shirai Ryu colors, so I kinda have to, ya know? No hard feelings, right?"
Murrr the Lin Kuei kitten responded to him. Looking up at him with discontent; she was definitely jealous.
Takeda knelt towards the gray kitten, putting Hana down, before scratching behind her gray colored ears. "Sorry Lia, I like you too. And hey, our clans are ok with each other now, maybe I can still bring you in as an apprentice too if Kuai Liang ok's it."
Lia seemed to accept his suggestion and purred contentedly into his hand, her eyes closing and leaning into his palm as he continued to pet her.
Hana blinked, her eyes looking from Takeda to Lia before the calico snuck her head under the ninja's hand — head-butting and pushing Lia out of the way — to fit her forehead underneath Takeda's palm; purring obnoxious and loud for him. He couldn't help but smile as she forced him to pet her instead of its sister— blatantly stealing his affection away.
Lia growled at her sister before popping the calico hard on the butt with her paw and hissing in retaliation for taking Takeda away.
The calico hissed in return, turning its tiny rancor towards her gray sister, as the two narrowed their eyes at each other. Both of them on the verge of attacking each other...
"Hey hey, none of that," he said, grabbing each of them with a hand and standing up. They both swatted at each other in the ninja's hand, grabbing nothing but air as they wiggled about.
"Jin left me in charge for the night so we all need to be friends and have fun together!"
The orange tabby suddenly yacked, as if a bug flew into its throat, but Takeda continued addressing the two kittens in his hand. "That means no clan battles while I'm the boss."
The two kittens in his hands turned to him, almost as if they were heeding his order before they ceased and wiggled lightly in protest to being held; no longer discontent with each other.
RJ jumped from the bed and walked over to him, striding confidently towards the ninja before he sat both clan-kittens down to scamper away. The white cat sat back on his haunches, blinking stoically up at Takeda; as if the human was under assessment if he was up to the task of watching them.
"Don't worry," Takeda nodded. "I got this covered— if that's ok with you little Raiden?"
The white kitten simply grunted lightly at him and licked its lips, its tiny demeanor seemingly unconvinced.
A knock came at the door, causing Takeda to pause…
Huh. He had expected the night to go undisturbed.
As soon as another knock landed, he heard the kittens scratch against the floor as they took off — all of them rushing frantically to hide underneath the bed.
Takeda blinked, all of them gone in a second, and wondered how the hell they could even move so fast, before he heard his father's voice telepathically call to him: "Are they so distracting that you have forgotten our customary session every Thursday night?"
The younger telepath pressed his lips together, speaking back silently to his father on the other side of the door. "How did you know where to find me?"
"It was not difficult to figure where you would be after you did not show up," Kenshi informed. "Your mind is so consumed with thoughts of cats I am surprised you have not started growing fur and a tail just so you can join them. I have to admit, I am a bit hurt that you had forgotten. Have I been so easily replaced?"
"Of course not," Takeda reassured, his attention suddenly pulled away from the door when he felt something rub up against his ankle. Looking down, he saw Jack, the tiny panther, and the only one to venture out after the initial shock of hearing a scary intruder lurking at the door.
The ninja picked up the black cat, the kitten purring as soon as the human put him in the cradle of his arm on its back. With Jack's fat little tummy exposed to the air as if he was a human baby, the ninja wiggled a finger in the middle of one of it's paws and between the dark pads; causing its paw to flex and grapple its five razor sharp nails around Takeda's finger.
"Awww… they're like little shurikens," the Shirai Ryu chuckled at the kitten. The ninja gave the cat a faux-pained expression, his finger wiggling more as the claws dug in tighter to his finger. "Ah. You got me!"
"Takeda."
Takeda laughed, realizing he was unintentionally ignoring his father again. "Sorry… just kind of happened. Kung Jin needed a break after today. And it's just, kinda hard not to say yes. Have you seen their little toe beans?"
"Even if there wasn't a door between us, I still physically cannot. And I'm surprised. Kung Jin doesn't usually find my sessions so tiresome — he usually boasts he can be pushed further. I had just assumed his yawns today were to be further boastful."
Takeda shrugged. "Nah. You finally got him today. But you didn't hear it from me."
Despite he couldn't see it, he knew that his father nodded from behind the door; pleased to hear of his subtle accomplishment.
An awkward pause drifted between the two sectioned rooms, neither of them relaying anything, until he heard his father cough lightly from behind the door.
"Are you going to invite me in?" Kenshi asked, the door slightly muffling his voice. "Or should I ask permission from the contraband first?"
The Shirai Ryu walked over towards the door, just as the kittens began to poke their heads out one by one from under the bed. Grabbing the handle, he opened it and told his father to come inside quickly; hearing voices in the hall from other soldiers passing by.
Dressed in his usual attire, Kenshi stepped inside the room as if there was no emergency. Instantly, the elder Takahashi's nose crinkled — assaulted by the Febreze plug-ins as well — before he quickly disregarded it and turned towards his son as the door shut with a click.
"I thought you didn't want to get involved?" Takeda asked, putting Jack down.
The jaguar was about to romp to the bathroom before it turned around and locked its green eyes on the ends of the red blindfold that draped down the older man's back. Jack crouched down, its butt in the air, and slowed his movements as he gradually put one paw in front of the other… stopped… and then proceeded closer by placing another foot forward.
"I still wish not to," Kenshi confirmed, ignoring the hunting feline he knew that was behind him; set up and stalking him like a tiger through tall grass. "But it seems you have grown quite attached to them — more so than their keeper. They are distractions, and being such, I thought they would also serve as a good tool for our session today."
"For meditating?" Takeda questioned, scratching a fingernail against the side of his temple.
The older man nodded, the movement causing Jack to leap forward and pounce at the red blindfold. However, he jumped nowhere near the ends and instead bounced off Kenshi's calf and tumbled to the ground; the telepath acting as if nothing had happened while Takeda let out a chuckle.
"Your mind still meanders a bit during meditation, though you have improved," Kenshi informed. "So, I want to see if you can stay focused with them trying to pull your attention away."
Takeda scratched the back of his neck, shrugging. "Alright. That might be hard though — they do nothing but pull your attention away. No offense, dad, but… they could even pull your attention away."
The ghost of a smile graced the older man's face, instantly detecting the challenge hidden in Takeda's banal statement. "And if I prove that my attention cannot be deterred?"
The younger telepath clicked his tongue. "Same as always? The loser does the other's laundry for a week?"
The elder Takahashi simply nodded in agreement, taking his son up on their light-hearted bet. Challenging each other often served as a prosperous tool in helping them rekindle their lost years between each other. Mostly, it was used between sparring practices, but every now and then they engaged in silly little bets. Takeda thought it was a good thing, noticing that they careened more towards the fun gambles rather than the serious ones — although they still occurred more by technicality. Nevertheless, the more fun ones they did, he saw as progress.
"I hope you have enough laundry detergent, son," Kenshi smirked lightly. "I have been more focused on General Blade's assignments and rather lax with my laundry as of late."
The Shirai Ryu wasn't positive if what his father said was just a jab, or the truth, but regardless, he replied back with a laugh. "You're on."
As Jacqui and Kung Jin entered the pet store, the archer immediately began to look through the small collection of people that shopped around— trying to find a familiar face he couldn't locate and wasn't a hundred percent positive he even wanted to encounter again.
He blamed Cassie for the entire thing: the reason why he took the blender — stalling getting them wet food — as well as some of his sleepless nights, and also why he felt hesitant about being in the store now.
If she hadn't shut up about Jasper, he would have taken Brigg's suggestion and went to another store. However, because Cage hadn't stopped asking him about the clerk, and with a few inner dialogues with RJ about the matter, it inadvertently caused him to retrospect back to the night they had met.
Jin brought a hand up to rub the back of his neck, sighing as he spotted the familiar sign with the black and white cat hanging over the aisle.
He had been a jerk. A big one.
While Kung Jin could attribute his behavior to understandable excuses (he was tired, annoyed from dinner, and just anxious about being a new dad) Jasper hadn't really deserved his animosity. The guy had been helpful despite that he let Johnny Cage in on the affair. It was his only transgression though, but he also doubted that his fuzzy little secrets would have stayed hidden from the actor— Cassie would have eventually told her dad, and he would have found out anyway. He would never admit it, but it was almost a good thing Jasper did tell Johnny Cage. They couldn't have gotten them into the base without his help.
So, even though it would kill him doing so, Jin owed Jasper an apology. The guy hadn't deserved how he had treated him. He could have just closed the store instead of opening it after hours. The clerk also didn't have to drive him to the base and on top of it, helping out by going to the gas station. Jasper had been benevolent, and Jin had responded to his kindness like an ungrateful douche.
Although he was prideful, and usually would never admit his shortcomings, this one he couldn't sweep under the rug. Jin had been wrong and he knew it and if he ever wanted a decent night sleep again, he would have to find Jasper and make amends.
The archer frowned, still unable to spot him.
But where the hell was he?
"Why don't you go find him, and I'll go grab what you need?" Jacqui suggested, her palm held out and waiting for Jin to put Johnny's given cash to her.
The Shaolin gazed about, still not seeing him, and pulled the money from his jeans. "Alright. Thanks. I'll meet you in five by the car."
"Sounds good," Briggs acknowledged. Before she left, she gave him a sympathetic nod and said: "Good luck."
He didn't reply back but tugged the corner of his mouth to the side. He was going to need it. It should have been simple: just go up to him and say sorry. However, he felt strangely… anxious about it? Why? It was just a guy. Another guy among the hundred other mundane ones in the world.
He assessed eventually that it was simply because he just had a hard time admitting his wrongs, it was rare for him to do so — to anyone mundane or otherwise. Jin was content with that, knowing it couldn't be anything other than that, before he picked the aisle opposite the cat one — one with a Golden Retriever puppy plaque hanging overhead.
He had never taken note of the store before, the only places he had explored were the register and the cat aisle. He had never had any reason to come into a pet store before, so he assumed they were just all boring in design; something of a grocery store just with nothing for humans.
So, it took him back when he came across a large reception area adjacent to a large room filled with different breeds of dogs running around behind a glass wall. He could barely hear the dogs through the glass, surprisingly soundproof, as they ran and chased each other; bouncing off various multi-colored playground equipment more suitable for human toddlers than dogs. All of the items, from chewed up dog toys, to the old pieces of furniture scratched up by canine claws and teeth, all looked like donated items; put to good use for the dogs. He only knew a few breeds, some more identifiable than others, but there was certainly an assortment that he wouldn't expect to see play with each other.
By the room, the desk was surprisingly empty, nothing of note about the reception area except a sign that said 'dog daycare check-in' in big white letters against an evergreen colored backdrop.
Seeing as Jasper wasn't there, he was about to leave, before he caught sight of a rather large yellow labrador on a worn, black leather couch; sulking because it couldn't move because it was cornered against the arm-rest of the couch by a rather fluffy Saint Bernard puppy with pink bows on each ear.
The archer let out a small chuckle, the puppy barking at the older dog wanting attention that it didn't seem eager to give. The yellow lab looked in his direction, its ears pulled back, as the puppy tried to jump on the couch but couldn't do anything but balance on its hind legs.
"Please save me. I'll be your friend forever."
The larger dog looked for an escape route, hysterically scared out of its mind, but couldn't find one, until he spotted Jasper finally in the room. The clerk came towards the Saint Bernard, a pink leash in his hand, and smiled and shooed the pup away — the older yellow dog leaping from the couch as soon as its path to freedom was clear.
Jasper didn't seem to notice him watching, so Jin approached closer as the clerk spoke indecipherably to the Saint Bernard; playfully scolding her that she had trapped the other dog on the couch. The puppy barked at him, looking up with indescribable loving affection, as the female dog wagged its tail so hard the Shaolin thought it was going to fly off.
Jasper still didn't seem to sense he was there, not even when Jin leaned on the glass and watched as the puppy rolled on its back, exposing her belly to the air. The clerk smiled and got on his knees. He rubbed the dog's stomach with his palms, each swipe producing a bark and kick from the dog as he cooed at it. Despite that he couldn't hear him, Jin could still read the words coming from his mouth.
"Did you have fun?"
Bark.
"Did you miss me?"
Bark bark.
The clerk teetered her playfully back and forth on her back like she was a rolling pin; making the puppy kick its back paws at him.
"Did you miiiiiissss me, Molly?"
Bark!
Jasper laughed, the sound mute, as he finally clicked the metal clasp to her pink collar and stood up. The puppy rolled over back to its feet and followed him at his heels as they went to the door of the room.
Kung Jin swallowed, all of a sudden feeling as if he was put on the spot, as the clerk exited the door — the overpowering sound of barking issuing from the room briefly before he closed it behind him.
The puppy was the first to spot him, Jasper sarcastically baby-babbling to the dog at his feet, before his eyes came up and landed on Jin.
The pet store employee frowned instantly, his once cheerful mirth gone as soon as he laid eyes on him, and it only made more guilt stab at Jin; his own face falling into discontent.
"Oh… It's you," was all Jasper could greet him with; his eyes sharp as he moved to step around him with the dog in tow. Wanting absolutely nothing to do with the Shaolin.
Kung Jin cleared his throat uncomfortably, choosing to bite down a sarcastic remark to throw back at him; it would have been wrong to do so, considering how unenthusiastic he was at seeing him already.
The archer turned with him towards the same direction, the clerk catching the movement out of the corner of his eye but still marching away from him.
"Hey, wait a second," Jin called out, walking behind him to catch up. The Saint Bernard all the while trotted behind its owner while shifting happy glances back and forth between them, completely oblivious to its master's abrupt sour mood.
"Why? I'm not on the clock anymore and you don't have a box of cats this time," was all Jasper shot back over his shoulder, throwing his words like blunt rocks at him.
"That's why I want to talk to you!" the archer retorted.
"Why? You get tired of them already?"
The Shaolin's brows furrowed into a hard line in agitation before he grabbed him by the shoulder to get him to stop. "Will you just hold up a second so I can say sorry?"
Jasper sighed with annoyance but did stop as soon as he felt his hand. Turning back to him, still with the same unwelcome demeanor towards Jin, he blinked as the Shaolin pulled his hand back.
"You want to say what?"
The archer shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. Gods, he couldn't even remember the last time he even apologized to someone. It was so strange for him to do so; to spew words to someone that contradicted his proud nature. He had a speech ready to go, one he had rehearsed in the car, for when he saw him, but it vanished from his mind frustratingly instantly. Leaving him to flounder and spout the first thing that came to mind…
"Look… this ain't easy for me to admit, but… you helped me out a lot that night with them.
And… I was… well… damn it… I was… "
"An asshole?" Jasper finished, his eyebrow lifting before it met the other to form a blunt judgmental line. "Yeah. A bit."
The monk lowered his head, sighing in embarrassment as an awkward mute tension filled the space between them. Meanwhile, the Saint Bernard sat on its hind legs, looking back and forth between the pair of humans in silence. The Shaolin rubbed the back of his neck with his palm, looking up to meet him in the eyes and finally pushing down his pride, one that was always on display as a mask, and pulled it away just this once.
"I'm sorry… "
Jin's eyes lowered to the floor, looking at the dog, but he could feel Jasper's eyes on him as his admission sunk in; debating internally whether he wanted to accept it or not. It didn't matter what he was considering; Kung Jin felt his cheeks grow hot instantly from embarrassment and tried to walk by him, just to get out of the humiliating situation he had put himself into. Of course he wasn't going to accept it. What was he expecting? This was such a waste of time.
"This was dumb. I'm an idiot," Jin grumbled irately to himself, moving past Jasper, but stopped when he felt the clerk's hand on his chest.
"Hey, wait. We're good," Jasper insisted gently. "We're ok. I was pretty annoyed with you, and… I can tell it took a lot for you to even say anything, so umm… yeah. Thanks for saying something."
The archer's shoulders sunk, a silent sigh of relief exiting out, as he looked up at the clerk. He honestly didn't know what to say; he had expected a dourer result putting himself out there. It was what had always panned out in the past.
It seemed Jasper was the unexpected exception to the rule. Jin was pleasantly surprised, and appreciative that Jasper was as selflessly perceptive as he was; he could have simply brushed off the lame apology — because it was weak at best — but the clerk disregarded his own feelings in the brief moment and, instead, focused on Jin's own hesitation.
Thus, allowing them to come to a better result. Jasper seemed to understand Jin used his hubris as a shield and lowering it just for the slightest bit, was a gesture not to be taken lightly. It was… nice for someone to see Jin's subtle and appreciate his attempt to step out of his comfort zone — because the instances he did were as rare as gold. And it took a sharp and knowledgeable eye to catch it. Jin wasn't expecting the clerk to be adept enough to spot it but was grateful that his try wasn't for nothing.
The Shaolin suddenly felt two giant puppy paws brace against the tops of his thighs, and he looked down to see the dark mask of the Saint Bernard peer up at him with kind reverence. The corner of his mouth tugged briefly in a smirk, his eyes travelling over the tongue hanging out of its smiling mouth to the little pink bows on each ear. She was a cute little thing, and like her owner, full of instant acceptance towards him after he apologized.
"Hello. I do not know you, but I love you. Give me treats."
"Sorry, Molly down. You know better," Jasper scolded, placing his hands on the back of the puppy's back to lower her.
"No, its ok," Jin avowed lightly. He bent down into a crouch, one of his hands presented out to let the dog sniff. Instead, the puppy tilted its head as one of its sasquatch-like paws batted at the Shaolin, before she came over and gave his fingers a quick lick.
"She's still young," Jasper said, as if he felt the need to make an excuse. "11 weeks. Got her last week."
"So you just put her in the room with the others while you work?" Jin asked, connecting it easily.
"Yeah. Owner's my aunt, which is why I can get away with it for free," the clerk acknowledged. "As long as I let my aunt put the bows on her."
Jin smiled, feeling a bit more at ease, as his eyes met Jasper's; his hands scratching behind the dog's ears. "You get free stuff? Sounds nice."
Jasper gave a light snort. "I wish. I just do this part-time to help out and for extra cash in between gigs."
The archer raised a brow, standing upright. He was taken aback; he had figured he worked full-time: "What do you do?"
"Violinist," he answered. "Although things have been slow between bookings, so I may have to go full-time here— lucky me. But anyway, I'd rather talk about the cats. How have they been? I was thinking about those little shits the other day."
Jin gave a soft laugh, amused by the ironically affectionate way Jasper had called them 'little shits'. It was pretty accurate and Jin had used the same collective moniker for them dozens of times. It seemed they could both agree on something and it helped the reticent archer relax towards the other man.
"Driving me crazy," the archer rolled his eyes. "They never let me sleep."
Jasper gave a side-smile, looking down at the dog by his feet. "She never lets me either. It's like having a hyper small child. It'll get better. What are you planning on doing with them after they reach the 8-week mark?"
Jin pulled the corner of his mouth to the side. In all honesty, he hadn't the slightest clue. He had been holding off looking into adoption plans once they did reach the age where they could be given away. He thought about hanging on to them for a bit, until after he got them accustomed to wet food, and it seemed like the most appropriate solution for the time being. After that, he had no idea. He had been too distracted and tired to think that far ahead.
Jasper nodded at him, silently understanding the archer had no answer to his question. "We have a cat adoption program here. We make sure they find forever homes," Jasper nodded over to his pocket. "If you got a phone, I'll give you my number and you can give me a ring when you're ready."
Jin swallowed; the benevolent offer was unexpected, and he wasn't sure how to feel about it. He kept going out of his way for him and it was not something the usually independent monk was used to.
"Oh… um ok. Sure. But, you don't have to get involved again. You're off the clock."
The clerk gave a shrug with a single shoulder, his smile amiable. "I was last time too, and that didn't stop me. It's not a big deal. Besides, I like those kittens. I want to make sure they get taken care of."
The archer blinked, hesitating slightly, as he reached into his pocket for his phone and unlocked it before handing it over to the clerk. Jasper gave a brief 'thanks' before he started to plug away at the screen, all the while with the puppy staring between him and his owner.
For the faintest moment, Jin could have sworn he saw Jasper's eyes blink rapidly as his Adam's apple bobbed up and down, but he had to have been hallucinating. Why would he seem nervous? What was there to be nervous about — it was just inputting numbers into a phone.
The puppy barked at him, catching Jin's attention, and he raised his eyebrows at the Saint Bernard as if waiting for her to say something.
"My human is a good human. He takes me for walks and feeds me kibbles and gives me the best belly rubs. You will like my human. He is a good human and I love you."
Jin gazed back at the clerk, who seemed to be double-checking — and triple-checking — to make sure that he had put the right number in the phone. Jasper gave a quick scratch of his chin before he cleared his throat and said: "Here you go. I put my number and the store number— just in case. Call me or text me if you got cat questions, or, umm, about whatever."
Jasper swallowed noticeably as soon as the last bit of his sentence trailed off, his brown coffee colored eyes looking down at the phone quickly and then back to Jin's, before he handed the phone over.
The Shaolin cleared his own throat, licking his bottom lip, as he looked down at the new contact information Jasper had put into the cell. Jin gave an amused smirk at the contact name Jasper had picked out: "Guy at the Pet Store." It was funny, if it was Jin putting the name into the phone, he could have seen him putting in the same designation for Jasper. It was the second time, Jin realized, they thought alike.
"Well, umm, it was nice catching up," Jasper piped up suddenly, his fingers fidgeting with the pink leash in his palm suddenly. "I gotta go. So, see you around I guess?"
Jin nodded, feeling warmth spread through his cheeks (but why though?). "I'll a… let you know if I got questions."
"Great. Cool. Yeah. Sweet. Just whatever little anything you wanna know. I'm pretty handy—" the clerk replied, stepping backwards — and almost running into a cardboard stand with dog toys on it for display. Jasper rolled his eyes, a frown creasing on his face meant for himself; it was a hard-pressed line and comical, causing the Shaolin to give a light smirk.
"There's a display there," Jin sarcastically pointed out.
Jasper's eyes shifted from the stand and the back to Jin with quick flickers before Jasper cleared his throat. "Yeah. I know… I put it there the other day"— the clerk tugged lightly on the leash—" C'mon Molly. Let's go home."
However, much to what seemed to be in the clerk's expense, the Saint Bernard suddenly flopped on the ground, resting its dead weight against the white tile floor of the pet store.
Jasper sighed and gave a quick tug on the leash again. "Molly please, not again. You're killing me."
The Saint Bernard puppy gave him a grunt, resting its head between its oversized paws.
"I am a tired pupper. I will sleep here next to the new human."
Jasper let out an annoyed scoff, the leash going slack, as he walked over and picked up the dog; carrying her as if she was a giant sack of groceries.
"You are the biggest useless baby ever," Jasper scolded, heaving the puppy's weight into his arms. The puppy hung limp in the clerk's arms, its giant head resting over his shoulder, as the retail worker gave him a tiny departing wave before heading towards the door.
"See ya."
The Shaolin nodded back, saying a quick, strained goodbye as he looked down at the phone again…
Not sure how he was supposed to feel with a new name and number in the device.
It certainly wasn't one of Kenshi's best ideas, and his ancestors also seemed to convey the same sentiment.
It was hard enough to concentrate on not being distracted by the voices from Sento during his other meditation sessions, but now it was made even harder when the telepath underestimated the endearing annoyances determined to get his attention.
Takeda, on the other hand, seemed perfectly content kneeled next to him, because of the simple fact that he was more accustomed to them.
Kenshi, on the other hand, was not.
It played against the older swordsman, having only met the kittens briefly once, because as soon as he kneeled, and proceeded with their session, the cats were determined to get to know the older man better.
It began with tiny distractions: the cats simply meowing and rubbing against his sides to get his attention. When they failed, they turned to more aggressive approaches…
He stayed resolute regardless and ignored them, as he closed his eyes behind the blindfold and drifted harmoniously away from his current state of being. Quieting his mind, letting its solace transport him out of the room, away from current transgressions, and offering a peaceful reprieve. Silence was a gift, and each chance to partake in it was a valuable and needed embrace…
Squeak.
At least it would be if there was also silence in the room.
Squeak.
Ignore it. Kenshi instructed himself firmly.
Squeak-Squeak-Squeak-Squeak-Squeak.
The orange tabby, a short distance away from them batted at a small toy mouse on a string, before the tiger pounced; rolling it and kicking it about to create more mechanical chirps from the toy.
Very… VERY annoyingly so…
Squeak-Squeak-Squeak-Squeak-Squeak-Squeak-Squeak-Squeak-Squeak-Squeak Squeak-Squeak-Squeak-Squeak-Squeak-Squeak-Squeak-Squeak-Squeak-Squeak!
One of the two kittens draped across the front of his shoulders and collarbones — one for each shoulder — lifted its head (Lia if he remembered her name correctly) gave a soft meow towards its sibling.
They had stayed situated like wet washcloths across his shoulders for the past half-hour, with no intention of moving from their perch. Far from it, they were more than pleased with laying and sleeping across the man's shoulders as if he was a tree branch to lounge in.
The other kitten on his shoulder, named after Raiden, also lifted its head, but instead of mewing in the direction of its orange litter-mate, stood until it was balanced on its haunches on the man's shoulder like a parrot.
The kitten's whiskers tickled the outside of the man's face, brushing lightly along his beard and cheek softer than the fluttering of butterfly wings…
And then he felt a curt bite from the white kitten as it nipped at the skin of his cheek.
Ow.
They are just animals. came a voice from Sento.
His ancestor was right. That they were. Just infant animals doing what they did best at: being adorable nuisances. It would take much more than that to distract him. Kenshi exhaled deeply out his nose, as if forcing his worries to be carried out from his body on the air as he resumed… falling back into a deeper trance…
The black cat and the calico yowled loudly in front of him, rolling in a tight tumbleweed of voracious kicks, bites and noise; both of them locked in an intense bout of play-fighting.
The elder telepath let out a shallow sigh, staying as reticent as he could, though he detected the small smile that barely ghosted across Takeda's features; his son knowing that the kittens were starting to chisel down his patience. However, the younger Takahashi said nothing, but the silence carried Takeda's message anyway: 'What's wrong, dad? Are they too distracting?'
No. The ancestor from Sento that had spoken previously was still very much correct. They were just animals; their charming, fluffy appeal and annoying tendencies were nothing.
Kenshi heard the sound of scraping growing closer to his position, the stick of the toy mouse being dragged along the floor as the tiger carried the mouse in its mouth. A frown enveloped over his face when he detected the orange tabby bringing it to his feet; sitting back and dropping the toy from its mouth with a quick 'squeak' as soon as it landed.
The swordsman sensed the azure eyes of the orange cat staring up at him, and in retaliation to his unresponsiveness, the kitten meowed at him. Kenshi ignored it. He would remain as adamantine and as cool as marble…
Mew!
He acted as if he heard nothing; the kitten's adorable little self in front of him was non-existent.
MEW!
'You will not distract me…'
MeEeEeEwWwWw!
'I will not cave in.'
Lia picked herself up, sniffed the inside of his ear, and then sneezed into it; causing him to flinch.
The older Takahashi sighed again, deeper and again through his nose this time.
How many more minutes did they have left?
Fourteen minutes. A voice from the katana informed him as he felt the tabby crawl its way onto his lap and continue to meow with indignant squeaks at him; still determined to catch his attention.
The telepath's shoulders hunched down, the finish line nearly in sight. He could withhold his irritancy for another few minutes. Afterall, he had gone through worse in his lifetime. He would not give in first. He was supposed to be the mentor, the guiding hand, and he would not forfeit the title just because of five kittens distracting him…
Kenshi distinguished the faintest flapping pushing air along the room and he located the source rather easily: a single white moth danced about the room over them and glided down, landing softly on top of the man's dark hair…
'Oh no…'
All five cat's eyes locked on him at once, the calico and panther stopping mid-fight to saunter closer to him. Lia and Raiden Jr. looked up from his shoulders, the older man immediately sensing their rigid body posture as their eyes locked on target. The orange kitten stood on its back legs, already digging its claws into the front of his leather attire and scaling up him.
A tense moment clung in the air with nothing happening for the longest time. Nothing happening except for them staring at him from various angles with the man unfortunately in the center as if he was nothing but the piece of furniture holding a single morsel between five starving entities…
Leaving Kenshi with nothing to do but wait for the inevitable…
The moth flapped its wings lightly and they all sprung at once.
It was chaos— nothing but meows, yowls; claws and teeth attacking a very disgruntled human who just happened to be in the middle. The man mumbling curses and pulling cats from his body as they clung and swiped at the moth on him.
Kenshi lost.
Fair and square.
And left Kung Jin's room 30 seconds later.
Takeda opened his eyes as soon as the door closed, a victorious smile on his face as he scratched behind Jack's ears—the black kitten chewing and eating the moth with the same mirrored gloat as the younger Takahashi.
A/N: Many thanks to the-06 and Poe's Daughter for requesting the kittens hanging slack like ragdolls over something— inspired by PD's own little band of kittens (kudos to her for the "shurikens") I hoped it lived up to your expectations. :)
Hoped you enjoyed, leave a comment, and as always see you next chapter.