To Zing or Not To Zing
Chapter Five: How Dare You
How dare you. All of you. Standing around, deciding my future? I am not a prize to be won!
-Princess Jasmine, Disney's 'Aladdin'
xxXxx
Haru woke up to an amazing smell the next morning. If it weren't for that heavenly aroma of eggs and sizzling sausage, she might have just turned over on the couch and gone back to sleep.
Her eyes snapped open disobediently when her nose also started detecting garlic and onion cooking. She sat up to see Fumio hard at work making omurice. 'Why?!' she shrieked angrily in her mind.
Haru loved omurice. But thanks to the garlic and onion that had been cooked with the sausage and rice part, the entire thing was poisonous to her, and her nose guessed that garlic powder had been mixed into the eggs themselves to better mock her.
It was even worse that she was hungry. She had skipped on dinner last night thanks to Mephistopheles, so the sandwiches she had made-
Wait! Haru glanced hopefully at where she had left them before prepping the little kitchen to make bombs the night before, but they were gone. "You know what happened to the sandwiches that were there last night?" she asked casually, not seeing her mother around.
"We ate them," the tall man answered casually. "Naoko and I had to leave the event before dinner was served to get to you as soon as we saw what those idiots were up to, and thought it would be a shame to let food go to waste since you were out cold."
"Of course," Haru answered, doing her best to keep her disappointment out of her tone. 'This is no good. Today's Sunday, and he knows Mom and I have all our meals together on Sunday. How am I going to get out of eating something he knows I love?' Was it worth the risk to eat it anyway, but then immediately go throw up in the bathroom? It would hurt his feelings, but it would probably hurt less than if she dropped dead or had to be hospitalized. Even the stench of the garlic from the couch was getting to be a bit much for her.
"Your mother's in the shower, but I wanted to talk to you about the cat problem," Fumio continued, sounding like he had been thinking about the right words to use.
"Got a mallet I can borrow?" Haru asked, only half-joking.
"Well, in a matter of speaking," he answered evasively, carefully tucking the egg sheet over the carefully formed mound of rice and sausage on the second plate before pouring another amount of mixed egg on the pan for the third plate. "You know I've been interviewing monsters for work, right?"
"Yep. How's that going, by the way?" she asked while giving a longer stretch than she needed to.
"There's a fair chance I'm going to get called in today, but what I was trying to say is… that… you know I've been interviewing people other than monsters?" he asked while carefully monitoring how the thin egg layer was cooking.
"Stands to reason. You've probably got other stories to cover," Haru admitted, even though her stomach was churning from the garlic and onion stench. '… I can't think of any other options if I don't want to get poisoned. It looks like I'll have to tell Mom the truth while Fumio is around.' It was hard to conceal the hard wretch of disappointment that the moment wouldn't be exclusively her and her mother.
"No, it's the same story, but from a different angle," he quickly corrected her through a strained smile.
Haru's own forced smile fell off her face. "Hate groups?" she asked with a deadpan expression.
She knew they were around. With how loud their rallies became, you'd have to live under a rock to not know about them.
"Haru!" he scolded quickly. "That is such a limiting term!"
"Van Helsing wannabes?" Haru tried again, standing up to attempt another stretch while trying to keep the blanket on her shoulders. "Close-minded bigots? Paranoid humanists?"
"Haru!"
'I wish my muscles weren't so sore!' "Don't think I didn't notice that you didn't deny the term 'hate groups'. But out of curiosity, why are you bringing them up?"
"Because you need their help!" he snapped in exasperation. "I'd suggest losing the insults if you want help against the furballs, because losing a cop bodyguard before a replacement shows up doesn't bode well."
Haru had to struggle with herself to keep her growl as human as possible. "All in exchange for the low, low price of trumpeting my situation to the heavens and making life difficult for monsters that are going out of their way not to be idiots? Pass."
Fumio gave her an even sterner glance, partially scooting the plate away from her as if to suggest that she wasn't going to get breakfast if she didn't comply. "Haru. You can't handle those monsters on your own. Will you at least talk to them?"
"No." Haru didn't even hesitate, taking the excuse to stand up and start heading toward the stairs. "I'll figure something out."
"Why are you being so difficult?!" Fumio demanded as she slowly rose to the second floor of the tiny house.
"Because I understand principles like the Butterfly Effect," Haru answered honestly, secretly glad that she didn't have to come up with a way out of poisoning herself or revealing her little secret to her mother with an audience.
Once she closed the door to her room, she leaned against it with a tired sigh. 'This is no good. I wasn't expecting Fumio to lean towards monster haters.'
It shouldn't have surprised her, though. Not with the way her mother had been talking since Dracula and his friends picked the most ironic place on the planet to reveal themselves. Haru couldn't fight back a giggle at how surprised everyone at that festival must have been as she checked her curtains for any spot a cat might peek through.
It seemed unlikely, but Haru threw a bedsheet over the curtain rod and billowed it out to be on the safe side.
It was harder to get dressed than she thought, but that was mostly due to how sore her muscles were from the prolonged swim the night before. She glowered at the thought of what today might do to her, but at least no one from school was going to get dragged into her mess. Not on a Sunday.
Once Haru was in a comfortable sweater and jeans since she was still a little cold, she winced while reaching for her phone, still on the charger from the night before.
Her mailbox was full. There were more text messages from strange numbers than Haru had ever dreamed of before. She sighed and started sifting through them.
Not all the texts were from the werecats. Some were begging her to call without explaining who or why. Haru decided immediately to ignore those, just like the ones that came out and admitted that they were reporters that were willing to pay big for an interview.
It was a miracle Fumio wasn't guilt-tripping her for an interview. It was probably only a matter of time if the werecats didn't lose interest in her as quickly as they had gained it. Haru lay back on her bed, trying to think of a way to quicken that process, but her mind was blank.
Her phone started ringing in her hand, making her look up to see if she recognized the number.
She didn't. It was a nice little debate on whether or not to answer, but her curiosity got the better of her. "Hello?" she asked nervously.
"Hey, Haru!" Machida greeted her with relief. "I was hoping you'd be up soon."
Haru sat up like someone had pushed her button. "Um… y-yeah," she stuttered a little more nervously than before. "So… did you need notes?"
"Actually, I was wondering how you were. That dive off the bridge is going to make Daisuke jealous, you know."
"You saw that?" she asked sickly.
"It's all over the news, someone on the train was recording what he could on his phone."
"Joy," Haru groaned while covering her face with her free hand. "Just in case this mess wasn't bad enough. Now I got witnesses."
"So how are you holding up?" her longtime crush asked curiously.
"I'm tired. Just… over all of this," Haru admitted while laying back down and covering her eyes. "The last thing I wanted to do this year was play cat and mouse with werecats. Especially if I'm the mouse."
"Poor Haru. You need a break."
"Too bad it's not going to happen until the werecats find another toy to fight over," Haru grumbled mutinously.
"Well, at least a break for a little while. What do you say we meet up at that one café at the Crossroads?"
Haru blinked stupidly, almost unable to believe what she had just heard. "… Did you just ask me out?" she had to ask, just to make sure she understood.
"Yeah, I know the timing could have been better," he apologized. "But what do you say?"
"… no thank you," she nearly whispered miserably as her heart sunk.
"I'm sorry, what?" Machida asked in confusion.
Haru started shaking her head despite knowing that he couldn't see it. "If you had asked that a little sooner… last month or the month before… we could have had a chance. But now we don't. I'm sorry, but… no. Have a nice life." She shut off her phone and numbly blocked his number.
It would be too much if he tried to call her back to talk her into a date. Although it made her feel like a child, Haru curled into a tiny ball on her bed and did her best to keep her tears silent.
It just wasn't fair. Why now? Even if it weren't for the fact that she was technically a cat monster now, it went without saying that going on a real date would just end in getting crashed by resentful felines. Ones that might even try to 'get the rival out of the way'.
Over her dead body was anybody else going to get hurt over this foolishness. But still, how was she supposed to end it?
After a while, she calmed down enough to slide off her bed and reach under it for her hidden stash of goodies.
They weren't much when compared to a hot meal, but at least they kept her from starving.
Naturally, that was when her mother started knocking.
Haru forced herself to shove the box back underneath the bed, even though her stomach was growling mutinously.
ooOoo
"Hey, isn't that the girl from the train?"
"It could be, I don't know. That video didn't get a closeup of her face."
"It might be her."
Haru forced her face to be completely blank as she loaded her basket with common cleaning supplies that weren't going to be used for cleaning.
Her mother gave her a worried look, but also did her best to ignore the whispers as she grabbed toilet paper. "Do we need anything else, sweetie?"
"That looks like about it," Haru confirmed since they had gotten the groceries first. "Let's get going before… you know. Think that Fumio's about done?"
"Knowing him, he'll be right where we left him," her mother countered with an affectionate eyeroll.
"Are all guys that easily entertained?" Haru asked while thinking about her feline stalkers.
"It's all about finding out the right subject," Naoko promised with a knowing smirk as she and her daughter walked out of the cleaning aisle. "Video games, fishing, robotics-"
They turned around the corner to see Fumio smiling foolishly over a small paperback in the book section.
"Manga," Naoko added with a loving smile while walking up behind her boyfriend to press a kiss to his cheek. "We're ready if you are, dear."
He snapped out of his reverie to smile even more foolishly at her, setting the book back where he found it. "I already own that one, let's go."
Haru carefully thought over what her mother said as they ran their purchases through the checkout line. 'What could all the cats have in common that I could use to distract them? A video game might work on Thiris, but probably not on Mephistopheles. I don't know that much about Wally or Neko, and probably even less about Meowrice. Well, at least I haven't been getting any 'I want you' vibes from the werecats beneath them.'
That was another reason why Haru smelled something fishy about her unwanted suitors. Most of the werecats vying for her attention seemed to have a certain rank, other than Neko, but that might be excused by the fact that he didn't have to travel as far as, say, Meowrice to reach her.
If only one of them, any of them, would come clean about the real reason they were trying to turn her life into a Pepe le Pew cartoon.
"Aw, Haru!" a smooth voice called to her, making the teenager realize that she had been on autopilot through the line, and she was outside the store with her mother and Fumio.
Haru groaned tiredly without looking behind her. "Please no. I'm still recovering from last night."
"Oh, we don't want a repeat of last night," an identical voice told her, but Haru could just barely tell that it wasn't the same one as before.
"Don't you think you cats have done enough?!" her mother demanded as the teenage girl forced herself to turn enough to see the newest intruders on her life.
They were a pair of Siamese werecats with bright blue eyes and identical brown suits that complimented their coloring.
"Can the pair of you please be more considerate than your friends, and respect the fact that I don't want to date anybody right now?" Haru asked flat out, hoping that they would skip on what seemed to be the same argument every time she spoke to a werecat. "On top of that, I wouldn't even consider a twin unless I had a for sure way of telling you apart, even with both of you trying to trip me up."
They blinked and shared a brief glance before answering as one.
"We weren't planning on making you pick one of us."
Haru's mouth fell open in disgust as Fumio pushed past her, rolling the handles of the shopping bags down his arms to free his fists.
"She isn't into that!" he roared, but it was two against one.
Haru dropped her two bags next to her mother's feet and jumped to help Fumio, even if she knew he would rather die than admit he needed her help in a fight.
Just as she suspected, the twins were physically stronger than her mom's boyfriend, although she could tell that neither of them were fighters. It didn't help that he still had groceries hanging from both of his arms.
Haru was just able to grab one fuzzy ear from each brother and start twisting. "Let him go." It took more willpower than she thought she had to keep the growl from giving her away.
"Ow, ow, Haru, we're not into that!" one of them yelped as he swiftly obeyed her.
"Good, neither am I," she responded as she continued to twist both ears and locked eyes with the other brother to make sure he understood that she wasn't letting go of either of them until Fumio was released.
"It was just a suggestion!" the werecat sulked as he also released his grip on the man, who was just able to keep himself from collapsing to the ground.
"See? I told you that was the girl from the train," a slightly familiar voice said triumphantly, making Haru look up as she simultaneously released her hold on both of the brothers' ears.
A small crowd had gathered, and she could hear more than one whispering about last night. She could feel her face turn hot and uncomfortable as every eye in the plaza seemed to bring its weight down on her senses.
"Thanks a lot, you jerks," Haru snarled at them, linking her arms with Fumio and dragging him back to her mother.
"But we didn't even get to introduce ourselves!" they protested as one as they nursed their aching ears.
"Don't worry, I won't need it," she shot over her shoulder without a thought.
"You shouldn't have done that," Fumio grumbled as Naoko made a fuss over both of them.
"You shouldn't have, either," she retorted while scooping her bags off the ground and walking ahead of her mother and her boyfriend. "It took them less than three seconds to subdue you, and I really don't want you to get wrapped into this. I don't want to be wrapped up in this!"
"Then you'll reconsider the offer?" Fumio asked eagerly as he and Naoko tried to keep up with her angry pace.
"Over my dead body."
ooOoo
The door was ringing again. Haru didn't bother looking away from her current concoction to go answer it, especially since there were other people to run interference for her.
Naoko stormed up to the entryway and looked through the peephole with disgust. "Can't you read?!" she bellowed through the wood, referring to the piece of paper that Haru had taped on the door as soon as they had gotten home. "We don't want to talk to anyone right now!"
"This is becoming a problem!" was roared back by a neighbor neither of them really liked, and therefore wasn't worried about. "You tell that girl of yours that I don't want those monsters waltzing up and down the neighborhood!"
"She already knows, Buki-san, now back off!"
Haru did her best to ignore the conversation, since it was already the third one since coming back from the store. She carefully measured out her latest concoction into a syringe before injecting it into a half-empty capsule made from her Jell-O molds. She carefully eased the needle just out of the concoction that was already bubbling to suck up the air still inside to quiet the reaction before the chosen time for detonation. Once that was done, she removed the needle and did her customary seal on the tiny hole before setting it with her other bombs in a bowl. Once again, she had to fight back a giggle at the sight.
"What's so-" her mother started to ask before her eyes locked on the bowl that was full of differently colored balls. She then scowled. "It was one time!"
"And a bath you'll never forget," Haru smirked, even if she felt like a bad person for still finding the incident hilarious.
"Well, if you didn't make them look so much like bath bombs, it wouldn't have happened! Why can't you forget about the regular bombs and try making bath bombs on a more regular basis? The ones you make for my birthday and Christmas are a dream," she tried to persuade yet again.
"Because they are specifically tailored to your tastes and are a product of love," Haru countered, wishing that her mother would drop the subject. She carefully used a paper towel to dry her mixing bowl before starting with the next batch. "Not to mention a partial apology for the incident I'm still not allowed to talk about. This is what my passion is, Mom. It's not like I can bath bomb those jerks into leaving me alone. Cats don't even like baths except for a few types."
Her mother heaved a heavy, tired sigh. "If only your father had tried a different prank that Christmas."
Haru again felt that stab in her heart. "What's so bad about having a chemist for a daughter, anyway?" she demanded as she began pounding the Nair lotion into her latest brew. "Whatever happened to 'a good woman can set her mind and achieve any goal'?"
"I… just… don't see this in your future, Haru. You have so many other talents, and yet you favor one that can, and has, gotten people hurt! Including you!"
"Learning curve," Haru retorted as she gave the nearly neon mixture one more good stir before filling a syringe with it. "And I seem to remember some sewing machine mishaps you've cautioned me with. Not to mention the burns from an iron. Or how many times my foot found one of your pins."
"T-That's hardly comparable!" Naoko defended herself with an angry flush.
"All I'm trying to say is that every profession has its own risks. Speaking of which-"
Another banging on the door interrupted them. This time it was the single dad from across the street demanding to see her.
Naoko growled deep in her throat as she went to answer with one bomb carefully clenched in her fist. "At least it's not another cat wanting a date."
Haru bit her tongue to keep from using language that she knew better than to use. But that didn't stop her from mouthing what she was about to say, keeping one eye on the bedsheet over the large front window to make sure no one would witness her silent confession. "Speaking of which, Mom, you're going to have to get used to having a cat in your life, because I am one now. Want some proof?"
It would have been the perfect time to tell her. Fumio had gotten called in to work, as expected, and the lead in had been perfect, or at least close enough for her to make a try.
She had to get her mother on her side before the werecats gave Fumio too much footing. It took a lot of willpower not to violently stab her needle into the gel capsule, since she'd already learned from experience that it would be all to easy to stab herself that way. She injected just enough of the mixture to leave a tiny hole of air within, and then sealed it shut like the others.
Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that people up and down her street were walking over to talk to her mother, some of them for the very first time. The werecats did seem to have enough self-awareness to aim for little to no human witnesses when they made a try for her.
"No, my daughter will not be giving a monster a chance!" Naoko fumed loudly enough to shake Haru from her thoughts. "If you're okay with that sort of thing, make your own kid date one of them!"
"My girl's into fox demons!" he protested, but that didn't help matters much.
At least, not to Naoko Yoshioka.
"Just back off and let me and my daughter handle our own problems!" she roared back.
Maybe that would be a good segue way, Haru decided. Enough for her mom to ask questions on her own, at least.
"You did know I'm not turning them down because they're monsters, right?" Haru asked in a would-be casual tone after her mother was able to shoo away the latest intruder.
"Of course you are," she answered without dropping a beat, sitting back at the little table to get back to quilting since she needed something to keep her mind occupied right now. "If any of them were human, you wouldn't have been so quick to say no."
"A classmate asked me out this morning," Haru admitted, wishing she didn't need to bring this up to make her point. "Machida."
Naoko's head shot up with surprise. "Machida?! Well, that took long enough," she exulted with satisfaction. "So what are you two doing?"
"Nothing. I turned him down."
Her mother gaped like a fish.
"Partially because I'm not ready," Haru informed her as she sealed the third Nair bomb, and set it with the others. "Partially because those idiots would crash the date in less than a heartbeat, and I don't want that stress in my life."
"… So! Those cats are even messing up your chances with someone normal!" she fumed.
"Mom, I said I'm not ready-" Haru repeated a little louder.
"This is past the point of ridiculous!" her mother exploded. "I mean, I'm not shocked that guys would find you attractive, that was bound to happen sooner or later!"
The teenage girl took the chance to roll her eyes heavenward as she filled a fourth Nair bomb. 'For bragging rights.'
"But monsters?! Why monsters?! It's not like you signed up on some questionable dating site-" she cut herself off to look at her daughter with horrified eyes.
"Not what happened," Haru assured her as she took out the needle and sealed it like the others before getting out a second large bowl so she could keep going. "Especially since I have stated several times that I don't want to date right now," she tried to remind her mother yet again.
"Ok, good. Because I will not be giving my blessing for you to get with some overgrown cat, no matter your history with them!"
Haru couldn't resist a soft ironic laugh at that as she began filling the next gel capsule. "Trust me, Mom. It would take a higher caliber of werecat than any I've seen so far to even get me to consider changing my mind."
ooOoo
Haru was awakened about two in the morning by a violent twang outside her window, as well as a startled cry and a very familiar sound and scent of one of her foaming bombs. She sat up in bed and crawled over to the window to pull aside enough of the curtain and overlaying bedsheet to see who had triggered her trap.
She wasn't shocked that it was Neko again, but she couldn't help thinking that he looked more interesting mostly covered in pink foam. A wicked grin crossed her lips as she opened her window only a crack. "You might want to go take a shower immediately. Unless you want to look like Thiris for a while."
Neko gave her a terrified expression. "You're going to regret this, Haru," he promised as he hurriedly began climbing off her roof.
"Not as much as you will if you stick around for the second round," she retorted cheerfully, looking down at the bowl of backup bombs that were at the foot of her bed. She considered the glue one, but knew that her mother would have to have the roof re-shingled if a werecat suddenly became part of the décor.
She decided on the catnip one, reloading it into her little trap and locking the window closed once more. It had taken three masks for her to be able to handle the catnip without succumbing to it herself while making those bombs, but knew for a fact that it would be worth it to see her stalkers staggering like idiots when they gave her that opening.
Content that she was safe for a little while longer, she snuggled back into bed and tried to get back to sleep.
That is, until three of Meowrice's henchcats set off her next trap about an hour later. Haru had to wait a good twenty minutes before opening her window, but watching the black cats flitter over her roof until falling off like drunken shadows proved to be good entertainment until then.
The bombs at her mother's window and the downstairs ones were a lot meaner, but that was because her mother slept more soundly than she did, and Haru wanted them to get the idea that her mother was to be left out of this mess.
But she couldn't help wishing that she didn't have school in the morning. She had managed to get her homework done after making bombs and booby-trapping the house, but a good night's sleep would definitely help with her concentration for finals.
One of Cat R. Waul's minions set off a smoke bomb that was heavily scented with lilies closer to daybreak, and thanks to being familiar with the pattern by then, Haru knew she wasn't going to be getting any more sleep that night. She groaned with exhaustion, but tried to think about the luxury of having enough time for breakfast for a change. Maybe even a hot one! She hurriedly reset the trap before getting ready for the day.
Haru got dressed in her school uniform before checking her phone for messages. Full again, all numbers she didn't recognize. She listened to the handful of voicemails as she slowly went down the stairs to keep from falling over, but there wasn't anything terribly interesting. Some interview offers that could easily pay for her to get her own lab, as well as this or that cat desperately trying to talk her into giving them a chance.
Her mother was already in the kitchen, cooking egg toast. That was heavily dosed with garlic salt.
'Why?!' Haru wanted to scream but didn't dare. "Morning, Mom!" she greeted as cheerfully as she could.
Her mother slowly turned to her with a dead expression. "I had to reset the trap twice last night," she stated in a dead tone.
"Three times for me," Haru reported, trying to sound apologetic about it. She looked around and made sure that her mother's bag was within easy reach. "Remember to try throwing the bombs outside the house if they bug you while I'm at school."
"Haru. We can't go long-term like this by ourselves."
"I know, but what can we do about-" Haru cut herself off with a surprised expression. "Wait. I've got an idea!"
With the time difference, it should just work! Haru pulled out her phone and hit the internet with glee.
"What's your idea?" Naoko asked suspiciously, but her daughter didn't dare answer her.
"I'll let you know if it works," Haru promised, sweeping her bento into her school bag and rushing out the door like she had forgotten that it wasn't the regular time that she started the marathon to school.
"Wait, honey-" her mother tried to stop her, likely to point the fact out and tell her she could have time for breakfast for once.
Haru's stomach growled hungrily at the thought, making her wish that she had thought to slip a few granola bars into her schoolbag before leaving her room. Maybe she'd have enough time to slip into the school cafeteria for at least an apple since she was arriving early?
Haru kept her eyes on her phone as she looked up the number to Hotel Transylvania from their newly constructed website and tapped on it to immediately call them, staying on the front path until her phone was ringing. Her heart pounded from nerves, but she kept reminding herself that as a count, Dracula would understand the political ramifications of what the werecats were doing. Even if he didn't give a care about the troubles of a human girl, he would absolutely care that this kind of behavior from werecats could reignite human prejudices that they were only recently trying to come back from.
She started a fast pace from her house, unable to shake the habit for this one time as her heart pounded in her ears.
After three rings, the other side picked up. "Hotel Transylvania," a slightly familiar voice answered politely.
"Hi, can I speak to- Thiris!" Haru fumed angrily as she suddenly realized why that voice sounded familiar.
"Yes, you can speak to Thiris. Since you didn't pick up the last five times he tried to call you," he called her out a little coldly.
Haru let out an exasperated sigh as she tried to keep her tears out of her tone as her pace slowed to a regular walk. "Look, Thiris, enough is enough. I don't care what the grand prize is for talking me into a date, but it's not worth it. Just take my word for it that I'm not worth it."
"I beg to differ. How do you know I'm not the man of your dreams if you never give me a chance?"
Haru had to fight with herself a bit to make sure her growl sounded completely human. "Because the man of my dreams would understand the whole 'I'm not emotionally stable enough for a relationship right now' thing and take me up on the 'try again after I graduate' part. Constantly bullying me is a good indication you're not the one for me. Just go home, Thiris. I'm not picking you or anybody right now."
"It's because I'm a sphynx werecat, isn't it?!" he accused, making the tired teenager see red.
"Actually, it's because you're obnoxious!" she screamed into the phone before shutting it off and blocking that number.
Great. Just great. Thiris was keeping a close enough eye on her, or at least her phone, to know when she was about to call for serious help. In a way, that was promising, but he might have done the exact same thing if she had tried to call Hiromi-
Hiromi! Haru hadn't been so much as able to give her best friend a second thought over the weekend, between the werecats and bombs and getting her house outfitted on top of regular homework. She quickly scanned her memory to see if she had accidentally missed out on doing something with Hiromi, and was relieved that they hadn't managed to make any plans for her to forget about.
Haru resumed her gentle jog while thinking carefully. It was obvious that she wouldn't be able to play along with Hiromi's idea anymore that she was the one they were interested in, and even though Hiromi didn't want their attention, it was likely her ego will still be a bit bruised that Neko didn't find her attractive after all. Haru wanted to find a way to make it up to her friend, but it would just be foolish to make plans for anything fun when werecats were likely to intrude and make the event all about them.
As proven when a long black limo suddenly cut her off from crossing the street. The dark back window rolled down to reveal Mephistopheles smirking at her.
"Good Morning, Haru. Care for a ride to school?"
Haru swiftly grabbed another bomb from her schoolbag and chucked it into the car, since he was so cooperative about lowering the window for her. "I think you're a little busy," she responded as she swiftly ran around the car to get away from the chocolate fumes.
She didn't dare use garlic in any of her bombs. If her mother knew that cats couldn't be near garlic or onions, she would triple the amount in their food and keep her eyes on her daughter to make sure she ate it.
It would have to be tonight. No more delays, no more excuses, even if she had to just shift into her other form right in front of her mother. Once her mother understood this dimension to the problem, she'd have no choice but to change her views on Haru's unwanted suitors.
Haru wasn't sure what she was expecting when she finally crossed through the front gates of her school. Maybe a certain calmness since there was only a certain amount of foolishness that her principal would allow from monsters, or her. She would have to tread carefully to keep anyone from suspecting that despite his express orders, she would be keeping at least three bombs on her at all times, never mind her schoolbag.
At first, Haru thought the other students were staring and whispering at the fact that she was early for once. But as Haru made the customary jog to her locker to exchange her shoes, she overheard a key word that dampened her mood considerably.
"… cats…"
So they knew. An angry flush rose onto her cheeks, but she kept staring ahead to her goal of her locker. Her hand hesitated over the handle, remembering what had happened last time a cat decided she looked cute. Her hand slowly lifted the door to her shoe locker as her stomach clenched in dread.
No packaged mice this time. Just another rose with a note.