This was a commission I did for someone in the In Our Hearts fanzine crew with permission to post. Another fic revolving around the Himiko's kitty headcanon, connecting it to another aficionado of magic and animals. It was a lot of fun to write, I'm surprised people don't have these two interact more! There's a lot of interesting connections between the two.

If you want to see where Snowdust debuted from, check out my other fic Cat Trick!

"Nyeh."

"Nya."

"Nyeh."

"Nya."

To anyone else, it was a redhead babbling to her kitten in her dorm room, but to Himiko, it was a pleasant chit-chat with her familiar. While she lay flat on the couch, her pet swung its tail over her stomach, blinking knowingly into her eyes. She valued these little spells where she was too tired to move anything but her lips, so she and her cat just laid there having an unintelligible conversation for a while.

Snowdust, the kitten, had already settled into its new home quite well. So named for his fluffy white fur dotting gray stripes, he looked like a little white tiger… and that's what Himiko insisted he was. A fearsome, powerful beast, ensorcelled by her into this tiny form to serve as her mage's familiar. The truth was far less impressive… but fiction was more entertaining.

Tiger or cat, the only thing that mattered was he was cute as sin. Especially when he started pawing her chest to show he was hungry.

"I guess it's about time to feed you now, isn't it? It can't wait? Nyeh…" Though she groaned as she got up, she did sit up in the end. Taking care of her familiar was one of the few things she would do without a five minute or so rest beforehand. A high honor, indeed.

That didn't mean she was quick about it, though. Slouching over, she got off the couch and stooped down to snatch the little teal bag of kitty mix and prepared to pour it… into an already full bowl.

"Huh?"

He hadn't even touched his old food, and she'd filled it yesterday night. Snowdust rubbed up on her legs, as if nothing was wrong. While the gesture was appreciated, Himiko knelt to push him towards his bowl. "C'mon… eat. You need to eat to get big and strong." Not exactly reliable advice coming from someone of her stature.

Her cat wasn't having it. Snowdust poked his nose around the little dry chunks, but finally walked away. Himiko frowned. There was not being hungry… and there was not eating all day. She might not have owned a pet long, but she felt that couldn't be a good sign.

"C'mere." Snowdust protested as she scooped him up and held a hand to his forehead. "What's wrong? Are you sick? …Does this even work on cats?" Whatever the case, she wasn't learning anything other than that shoving your hands in your kitten's face made them bite it. "Ow…"

Though he might beg to differ, her fingers were not a meal. Something was wrong, and whatever it was, she needed to figure it out soon. It'd break her heart if he was already sick… especially when the lazy woman had actually gone to the effort to take good care of him. And though her body protested, her heart knew she had to get him some care. Preferably with the least effort required. She was still Himiko.

Fortunately for her, she had an idea. She didn't have to head across the city for a vet. There were people with talents of all kinds here at Hope's Peak. Surely it wouldn't be hard to find someone good with animals, right?

And find someone she would. She'd use her mystical all-knowing compendium of everyone's names and abilities. She called it… the school website.

After some quick searches, she'd narrowed down her options. To… well… one. The Ultimate Veterinarian wasn't on-campus. The Animal Trainer was working with lions at the zoo. Even the Pet Sitter was up to their neck in cases to handle. For one reason or another, she was left with one option.

Her face scrunched up. Gundham Tanaka. An Animal Breeder. Well… she certainly didn't need anything bred. But surely an animal-centric Ultimate would at least know how kittens worked…?

Now she just needed to find him. Nyeh… what a pain.

Of course, it would've been too easy if he was in the dorms. What kind of benevolent figure would let Himiko have a quick trip? Nope, the lazy girl had quite a bit of walking to do. He wasn't in his room… and both her and her cat squealed when something in the room seemed to roar when she knocked on the door. After a frightened scramble out of there, they found he wasn't at the cafeteria or his classroom either. Himiko grew increasingly worried… but she had one last idea in mind.

It'd be a pretty poor school for enriching talent if it didn't provide the tools to do so. On top of the usual educational fixtures, they had some bonuses that really made Hope's Peak the best of the best. Archives with books long thought forgotten. Shooting ranges. Gardens, greenhouses, an observatory. And there was one place in particular Himiko sought out - the stables.

There was a lengthy holding pen for animals of all kinds in the corner of the campus, set up for equestrians, groomers, tamers, vets, zoologists… and breeders. The corner of the campus was a bit farther than Himiko was hoping to slog… but for Snowdust, she'd make the sacrifice. She already looked like she was a few steps from melting to the floor and falling asleep when the sprawling barnlike fixture finally appeared in the distance.

It wasn't too well lit inside… but very smelly. The perfect place for someone like Tanaka to brood and care for his underlings. Now she just had to squint really hard and find him. He was a bit hard to spot in the dark, but when she found him, it was impossible to mistake him for anyone else.

He was tending to a foal in one of the pens, keen eyes locked on one of its hooves as he lifted and shifted it without any complaint from the creature. He had a style all his own, with his windswept dark hair streaked with white and a scarf around his neck in the summertime. Also, hamsters. He had a quartet of hamsters nattering and tittering around his shoulders. If Himiko wasn't tired and worried, she might've took the time to wonder why… everything. She wore a witch's hat and even she couldn't process his accessories. It was honestly kinda cool, like seeing someone from her dramatic TV shows… and five times as strange.

But she was the last person to criticize someone's fashion, so she stepped towards him instead. He seemed to bristle when she approached, and for a moment she felt like she'd intruded on some sort of sanctuary. "Helloooo…?" she called.

His head turned and his sharp gaze pierced her immediately. She shivered as he studied her. …And then he laughed, and it was like she was suddenly thrown into some kind of anime.

"Fuhahaha! A witch dares darken my doorstep? If you come to me seeking to apprentice under my dark tutelage, I'll have you know only beastkind and sorcerers at my arcane level can seek to earn such a position! And if you're here to do battle with me… you have made a grave mistake."

She blinked. Um. That was… a lot to take in. And she was someone who frequently dabbled in exaggeration and tall tales. "…I just wanted you to look at my familiar for me?" she sputtered. "Weirdo…" she tacked on quietly to herself, as if she was one to talk.

Luckily, omnipotence wasn't among his dark powers and her comment went unheard. He was too busy staring at her cat now. The little critter blinked at him obliviously from her arms and, after a moment, Gundham nodded.

"Hmph… to approach me in my domain and act as if you're worthy to ask the Supreme Overlord a favor. And yet… anyone who both respects the animal kingdom and dabbles in the dark arts has at least earned a moment of my time." He stepped out of the stall, brushing a soothing hand along the pony's mane before crossing his arms. "What is the issue?"

Breathing a sigh of relief, Himiko dared extend Snowdust his way. "He's not eating. And he was doing just fine yesterday…"

Gundham's face quirked, as if he were raising an eyebrow… and it was that moment Himiko realized he didn't have any. "Let me see him." Despite his scary appearance, when he reached out towards her kitten, the cat just gave a small, curious mewl. Reluctantly, she handed Snowdust over.

When Gundham spoke again, holding Snowdust in front of his face, it was in a surprisingly gentle and affectionate tone. "What ails you, little one? Has a plague befallen you? A curse or malady?"

Snowdust just wiggled a bit. "Nya?"

"Ah, yes, right. You are a newborn… let me speak more generally. Ahem. …Is your tummy rumbly?"

"Nyaaaa."

"I see. If not that, is your nose gooey? Your paws achy?"

Himiko watched the two babble to each other in awe. She wasn't sure what was more ridiculous… his completely unironic baby talk, or the fact he actually seemed to be having a conversation with her cat. Not just a conversation, but a fruitful one, because he seemed to have the answer after a moment's discussion.

"Your familiar is not diseased," Gundham informed her flatly. "In fact, he's rather healthy. He's simply grown bored of his mediocre feed. Observe…"

The breeder slipped a hand into his pocket, and pulled out a handful of spotty kibble. Before Himiko could ask why on earth he had cat food in his pockets, he held it up to Snowdust and the hungry kitten had completely inhaled it in seconds. "I can tell you went with the popular brand and not the BEST brand. Pitiful. If you go to my website, you shall find a list of nutritional blends of all flavors inscribed amidst the arcane secrets I post."

Flushed with embarrassment at being so thoroughly and correctly read, Himiko sheepishly scratched her cheek. Gundham went on. "Now then… the matter of your fee."

Oh. Right. Just because he was a vet didn't mean he did work for free. But his payment sounded a bit more… serious. Himiko's eyes widened as he pointed straight at her. "Every service has its price. And you will pay yours, or I will cast you into the fifth ring of hell!"

"N-Nyeh! I don't want to go to the fifth ring of hell!"

"Then you will pay your due. This is a world of equivalent exchange. So what have you to offer me?"

What kind of question was that? "U-um… well… I have money…?" That was, you know, the default expectation, right? She had a healthy income from her magic shows, even if she'd be satisfied just being paid in smiles.

"Pah! Such trifles are beneath me! Show me something of true worth!"

"R-real worth?" What did this madman want from her? Think, Himiko, think. She had to stop talking to him like a customer and start talking like a fellow purveyor of the arcane arts. "…I… could show you some magic? Of course, I can't show you my magic secrets… but I can cast some spells for you. Or even curse someone."

Gundham snorted, shifting Snowdust to idly scratch his belly while he talked. Himiko was slightly jealous he'd already befriended her pet."I can curse mortals plenty fine myself! But your magic… I must admit, I am intrigued to meet a fellow practitioner of the dark arts. Show me what you can do. Impress me, and I shall consider the debt paid!"

After a moment, Himiko clenched her fists in front of her, a tiny defiant fire sparked in her lazy body. "Fine! I'll knock your socks off, and then I'll turn those socks into confetti! …Just, um, give me a minute to think."

What should she show him? After a moment, with a flick of the wrist, a fan of cards unfolded from her fingers. "Pick a card!"

Gundham merely snickered. "Kehehe… you think your parlor tricks will impress me?"

"NYEH! They're not parlor tricks! They're real magic!" Himiko pouted.

He just laughed louder. "You call that real magic?! Behold!" He shifted Snowdust back to one arm and outstretched the palm of the other. "Four Dark Devas of Destruction! Demon's Tower Formation!"

The four fuzzballs on his shoulders squeaked to life. Like a well-oiled machine, they scampered down his arm and into his hand, clambering up on each other. With the fattest on the bottom, they formed the world's cutest demonic stack of hamster.

But now Himiko was the one unimpressed. "Hey, that's not magic, that's just a pet trick!" She paused. "…A-admittedly, a pretty cool one…"

"Pah! Now who's the one who can't tell magic from fraud? You think this grand display a mere result of training and rewards of sunflower seeds?!" Yes. Yes it was. But he'd never admit that. "It is with my dark power I have my underlings do my bidding! And they embrace their calling to perform grand feats no one could dare dream of!"

…Himiko had to admit, she was impressed. He spoke a big game, and he wasn't wrong about the little hamster stack being far from a normal pet trick. "Wow. I've learned so many spells, but I don't think I've ever dabbled in animal control before…"

"I would think one would study such an art before attempting to align with a beastly tribe. Besides… did you not say it was your familiar? Does it not follow your every beck and call naturally?"

"H-he is! And he does! He's just… kind of feisty. It's the dormant tiger in him."

"Tiger?"

Himiko nodded. "He's actually a fearsome, man-eating tiger. I keep him small and docile with my maaagic."

Gundham stared blankly. Then, he muttered briefly with her pet. "He says he is and has always been a kitten."

Gulp. Himiko shot Snowdust a dirty look. "N-nyeh! Lies! All lies! I enchanted him to think he was always a little kitty! That way he'll never try and attack anyone in this form."

After a moment's consideration, Gundham seemed to accept it. "Wise. Perhaps your magical essence is greater than I thought."

"Thanks! …I think?"

"But you still have yet to impress me, mortal!"

"Who're you calling a mortal?!" Wait, she was a mortal. And so was he. But the way he said it made it sound a lot more insulting than it should've been. Alright, no more Ms. Nice Mage. She had a point to prove now.

She rolled up her sleeves – de facto proof there was nothing up them. Then, with a flourish, she whipped off her hat. It was a good thing she kept some sleepy birds kept away at all times, because when the light hit her head, the doves under her cap woke up and took flight. She laughed triumphantly as they flapped around the ceiling, a shrill nyeheheh of victory. How could he resist one of her best spells?

Gundham had seemed like a hard sell, yet she'd still expected a smile at least. But she got so much more. The man watched the birds fly away with sheer, open-mouthed awe. "I-Incredible…" he breathed. "I can convene with the beasts of this realm, even summon them from far away. But I can't conjure them from thin air!" He bowed his head in reverence. "You… your magic level is something to be feared, witch…"

Already beckoning and jumping to try and get her trained birds back in her grasp, she gave Gundham a glance. "Soooo… does that mean the debt is paid?"

"In spades. I concede you are impressive… but even such grandeur doesn't surpass my power. Still, you simply must tell me how you performed such a feat! I command it!"

Himiko simply shook her head as she hid her birds away once more. "A professional mage never reveals their secrets~. And you just said I did something you can't!"

"The fish swims while the eagle soars. Would you call the eagle lesser simply because it doesn't swim?!" But before Gundham could explain his cryptic metaphor… Snowdust writhed in his grip, eager to pounce the tasty little hamster tower held just before him.

"Curmudgeonly felbeast! Leave my acolytes be!" Gundham spat, struggling to balance the feisty kitten in his arm and the panicking hamsters in his hand.

"S-Snowdust! Bad, bad kitty!" As quick as her lazy butt could manage, she scrambled over to peel a whining cat out of Gundham's grip. The Dark Devas shot the two of them dirty looks as they scrambled back to hide in their master's scarf.

"THAT is why my power still surpasses yours," Gundham grumbled, his frown disappearing behind his scarf as he lifted it up to help hide his underlings. "You lack discipline. Your familiar is unruly. Your power is impressive… but unrefined."

Himiko sniffed. "…You're mean…"

"You expect kindness from the Supreme Overlord of Ice? …But you have potential. I have a proposal."

"P-Proposal?" Himiko hugged Snowdust closer to her chest, blushing. "Nyeh… I dunno… I don't know you that well yet…"

Now it was Gundham's turn to look utterly confused. "…Anyways. I have things to teach you, just as you have things to teach me. Perhaps we can help each other ascend to new heights of power. What say you?"

Himiko thought it over. "…Ehhhhh… I said a mage doesn't share their secrets. Buuuuut…" She smiled. "We can discuss it, I guess."

"Your terms are acceptable. Fuhahaha! Helping a demon lord reach their peaks of strength… you are a fool! But a fool I can respect, dark lady."

Himiko nuzzled Snowdust to her face, relieved he was alright and thankful to this (kinda cool) weirdo for helping her figure things out. "Not gonna lie. I can barely understand half the things you say. …But it's nice to have someone around who believes in my magic." Her kitten purred in her arms. "And Snowdust likes you, too."

Gundham nodded. "And it is nice to meet someone who shares an affinity for dark arts and darker beasts. Your familiar will one day be an unstoppable force… and I would be happy to help him achieve his full potential. Until we meet again."

"Until we meet again." Himiko turned to go… then paused in her tracks, glancing back. "…A-and, maybe you can teach him some tricks while we're at it…?"

Gundham smirked. "It would be my honor."