hey kitty kitty
Miku sat on her couch, staring at her guest. The black cat stared back at her, the small bell on its collar ringing every time it moved. They had been watching each other for the past five minutes.
She had no idea what to do with this cat. It obviously belonged to someone else, but she couldn't figure out who owned the cat. She took it to the vet and everything, hoping that maybe there was some microchip somewhere they could use to contact the original owner, but there was nothing. The vet had offered to take the cat off her hands but it seemed reluctant to leave her side, so she said that she would just keep the cat until the owner came for it. It had to happen one day, right?
The posters she put up around the neighbourhood and the online notices should attract some attention, at least. She sighed. "How did I end up with you, huh?" she asked, reaching out to scratch the cat between its ears. The cat purred, its golden eyes narrowing slightly as she stroked its glossy sleek fur. Miku had never looked after an animal before, but she was trying her very best.
The collar stated that the cat's name was Rei, and whenever Miku called that name the cat would come running over so at least she knew she could get it to respond to her. One day she just opened her door and the cat was sitting outside with its tail wrapped around its paws, looking up at her and meowing piteously. She couldn't just leave it outside in the cold so she took it in, and the cat had been with her for the past three days and counting. She was beginning to get very attached to it.
But eventually someone would come and collect the cat, she knew. It was a beautiful cat, and since it was collared it must belong to someone. Rei's owner was probably worried sick. "I'd love to keep you," she sighed as the cat jumped across the couch, curling up on her lap and purring, "but I'm going to have to give you up when your real owner comes along. Are you going to miss me too, Rei?" she asked, peering closely at her new friend. The cat turned its head towards her, meowed once, then closed its lovely eyes. It really had gorgeous eyes for a cat. They seemed almost…well, human.
She took the meow to be a 'yes', or at least hoped that was what it meant. "I'll miss you when you're gone," she whispered, holding the cat up and pressing a kiss to the top of its head, ignoring the cat fur that got into her mouth as a result of that. The cat meowed, more furiously this time, and squirmed out of her grip. She laughed as Rei jumped down from her lap, landing gracefully on its paws, and turned to give her an almost affronted look. "Don't be so uptight!" she teased the cat.
Miku could swear that the cat turned up its nose at her before it trotted off, probably looking for something else to entertain itself with. She smiled, shaking her head. Rei did not know this, but its arrival did more for her than anyone might believe. When Miku opened the door to find Rei on her doorstep, she had actually been getting ready to commit suicide. She was just so sick of everything in her life – her boyfriend cheating on her, her schoolwork failing miserably, her parents' expectations of her, her twofaced friends calling her a bitch behind her back – everything was just falling apart.
But the cat had saved her. She couldn't just leave it alone – she was depressed enough, she didn't want another creature to feel anything like the way she did – and she took it in, telling herself that she would just look after it until its owner came to find it, and then she would get on with killing herself. But Rei had yet to be claimed by anyone, and the more time she spent with the cat, the more she felt her spirits lifting. Rei just seemed to…well, understand. When she confided in the cat about her problems she could practically feel it thinking over her words. Maybe she was just delusional, but it seemed as though the animal actually cared about her. And she was grateful.
Rei was a friend. She now had someone to talk to, someone warm who would snuggle up to her when she returned home from school, exhausted and sick of it all. Someone who could tell without words when she was upset, and would just curl up around her and meow until she was smiling again. The cat entertained her to no end with its ridiculous antics – the other day she had used a laser pointer to play with it, and it got so angry about being unable to catch the red dot that she couldn't stop laughing. The cat probably did not know that it had saved her, but it did, and…well, she loved Rei.
Rei lay with his head on his paws, fidgeting slightly. He hated this shape, but he was pretty much cursed to stick in this form until…well, until that damn sorceress decided that he had suffered enough, really. And who knew when that would be? He exhaled, lolling around listlessly.
His new owner, Hatsune Miku, was busy with her day. He was worried about her. Over the past two weeks they had developed quite a bond – from the moment she let him into her house until today, she had shown him immense amounts of love and care, and he appreciated that. He wanted to protect her since she was kind to him, and he could tell that deep in her heart, her sadness threatened to overwhelm her. But since he was stuck in this stupid animal form, the only thing he could do was meow until she smiled again. If only he was able to talk! But cats didn't have the right vocal chords.
Miku obviously had never kept cats before. She only recently found out that he was male, and that was because she brought him to the vet – he had been coughing up a lot of hairballs lately, which concerned her. But that was really because Rei couldn't stop licking himself and getting fur stuck in his throat. He had always been quite conscientious about his appearance. Anyway, after Miku knew that her cat was male instead of female, she stopped changing in front of him. Which was good.
Rei felt super awkward when his mistress changed in front of him. Because she lived alone in her apartment, she sometimes walked around in nothing but her underwear too and that made him feel very strange. He was in the body of a cat, but he was still male and he certainly didn't think like a cat. And Miku was very pretty, at least to him. He would never understand why her asshole boyfriend wanted to cheat on her. If Rei was in his normal form he would have gone straight after her. But no, he was now a cat. And it would be weird if Miku had a romantic relationship with her pet cat.
Crabbily, he thought again about that stupid sorceress. How was he supposed to know that she really was a magician? Of course he thought she was pretending! Who believed in real magic in this day and age? And well, perhaps it had been wrong to sneak into her room after her show, but he was so curious about her strangely realistic tricks that he couldn't help himself – then she caught him, and cursed him to become a cat until she was satisfied he had learnt his lesson. Why a cat? She liked cats, simple as that. It was ridiculous. He had been stuck as a cat for the past two months.
The sorceress had created an illusory copy of him to attend school and stay at home until he could assume his rightful position once more. How nice of her. Apparently his clone would even fuse with him when he changed back and he would obtain the memories of both his time as a cat and his clone's memories as well. The sorceress told him to treat it as a learning experience. Yeah, sure.
Rei couldn't deny that she was a pretty nice woman, overall. If he was in her place he might not have let a trespasser off so easily. But it was still pretty damn annoying, not knowing when he would return to his human form. And when, too? Would it be in public, in the middle of the day? Would he be wearing clothes when he changed back or would he be stark naked, like he was in his cat form? This was frustrating. But at least Miku was a very nice owner. He hoped she would return soon.
Miku was out at the moment, working her part-time retail job in a department store nearby. Miku received a monthly allowance from her parents and supplemented it through her salary. She rented a small apartment near her university, and was clearly under a lot of stress. Her parents expected a great deal from her, wanting to see at least an A minus on everything she did, so she pushed herself very hard in her studies. She was not very well-off, so her parents pushed her for her own sake. She understood that, which was why she held no grudges against her parents, but the pressure was starting to make her crack. It was difficult to balance studies, work and personal time. And her social life was going up in flames.
Her ex-boyfriend, whom Miku never mentioned by name, was a jerk who cheated on her with some other girl because Miku did not want to sleep with him. She was against premarital sex, thinking that it was better to focus on studies now, and her boyfriend obviously disagreed. So they broke up with each other, which badly affected Miku since apparently she had a crush on him for the longest time and she was extremely upset when the relationship fell apart. On top of that, she found out that her two best friends actually disliked her and always tried to leave her out of their group outings. They found her embarrassing because she was poorer than them, and could not afford to go to many of the places they frequented or wear the same stylish clothes they owned. It all made Rei very angry.
Honestly, Miku shared many of his ideals. He did not want to rush into sex either, believing that sex should take place after marriage. And while his family was much better off than Miku's – he could not deny this – he greatly admired how prudent and practical she was. If only he could manage his own spending the same way! He wasn't exactly a spendthrift but he did buy stupid things at times, which didn't seem like something Miku would ever do. And what made her concern for him so touching was the fact that she took him in despite her financial situation. Rei knew that looking after a pet was not cheap. She could have left him outside her house, but she didn't. In fact, she looked after him, she spent money on a vet, she bought him good cat food. She was the best mistress ever.
Just then the door opened and Miku came back in, looking exhausted. Rei leapt to his feet and ran over to her, greeting her with a loud yowl. Miku jumped. "Oh dear, is something wrong?" she asked, reaching down to scratch him between the ears. Rei would have smirked if he could smirk. "You must be hungry, poor thing. I'll get changed and feed you right away. Wait a sec, Rei!" she put her bag on the couch and turned into her room, changing out of her uniform. He rolled over, staring up at the ceiling. Well, this was a very comfortable life. He'd enjoy it more if he wasn't a damned cat.
"Oi, you change me back right now!" Rei yelled, shaking his fist at the sorceress. The girl laughed and shook her head, blue eyes dancing with humour. Rei huffed and folded his arms, glaring at her.
"You like Miku, don't you?" the girl tilted her head, staring quizzically at him. Rei felt his face burn at the question. How did she know? "Oh, you're a very easy person to read," she answered matter-of-factly, as though his question was written in marker across his forehead. "Even as a cat. But there's nothing wrong with that. Miku is a delightful girl! She's a friend of mine, you know. I mean, she doesn't know since this magic thing isn't something I show off in school, only when I'm hired to perform. And even then I always perform in my other persona, you know, so like she doesn't –"
"Please continue your story," Rei interrupted, knowing that when the sorceress began to ramble she wouldn't stop for a while. The girl cleared her throat, placing her hands on her hips and rolling her eyes. Rei would have enjoyed her company a lot more if she wasn't the one who had cursed him.
"Okay, fine. So basically Miku is a friend of sorts – she's helped me out a few times in school, but we don't really talk a lot because she used to be sandwiched between those two obnoxious brats she called her best friends…and I want to return the favour. And the best way is obviously to give her a cat!"
Rei pointed at himself. "I am not a cat," he answered bluntly. "I am a human being which you cursed to become a cat! And I know once I wake up from this stupid dream I'll be a cat again!" he fumed. But the girl raised a finger, her blue eyes sparkling. Rei suddenly felt extremely apprehensive.
"No, no, you won't!" she cried out. "You see, while I don't intend to change you back into a human yet, I decided I will temporarily restrict the spell – in other words, at night you will turn back into your human form, and you'll become a cat in the day!" she beamed. "Isn't that a wonderful idea? Now you can make your feelings to Miku known! Isn't that the best thing ever?" she squealed.
Rei did not share her enthusiasm. "Listen up you crazy witch, that idea sucks. How the hell am I going to explain to Miku that I'm her pet cat? She'll freak out! No one will believe me – she'll just think that I'm some thief who broke into her house or something! And secondly, isn't it going to be really weird if her pet cat starts chasing her that way?" he blushed. "I don't think she's even looking for a boyfriend or anything right now after her ex cheated on her," he admitted. The girl sighed.
"So it's up to you to mend her broken heart!" she explained. "Miku carries a deep sadness within her. I'm sure that you can sense that even without me saying anything," she paused, waiting for Rei to agree. He nodded. "Your mission is to erase that sadness completely! Ever since you entered her life as a kitty, she became a lot happier. She was a complete wreck just a few days before you arrived, you know. She was like a zombie around campus. I couldn't just stand back and do nothing."
"So you picked an innocent stranger – meaning me, by the way – and turned me into a cat so that I can comfort your friend," Rei deadpanned. The girl giggled and shot him two thumbs ups. "What kind of stupid idea is that?" Rei exploded, throwing his hands up into the air. "If I didn't like Miku your entire plan would have just gone up in flames! Did you even think this entire thing through?"
"Yeah, I did! That's why I pushed you onto the streets before I directed you to Miku's house so that you'll be touched by her concern for you," the girl replied cheerfully. Rei wanted to throttle her. "Anyway, stop complaining! You've wanted to be human again for ages, so I'm just granting your wish – partially. Good luck with Miku!" she grinned at him and snapped her fingers, disappearing.
Rei wanted to scream and tell her to get her ass back here, but the next thing he knew he was waking up on the wooden floor – thankfully clothed in his old grey hoodie and black jeans – and amazingly, he really was human again. At least the sorceress wasn't lying about that one. "Oh wow, I'm really back to normal!" he looked down at his hands, muttering to himself. He heard a gasp, and at once his head shot up, looking in the direction of the sound. Miku stood there, eyes wide.
So began the process of explaining. It took a long time, a couple of hours at least, and half a bottle of wine, but then Miku finally believed him and shakily prepared a guest room for him to stay in. And she told him to stop barging into her room when she was changing, even while in his cat form.
Somehow, Rei managed to convince her to go on a date with him. Her cat – no, her date – grinned at her as they walked next to each other back towards her apartment. She felt her cheeks heat up.
His name was Kagene Rei, and he had been cursed by a sorceress to take the form of a cat, though now he could turn back into his human form once the sun set. He looked like he was her age, most likely in his early twenties, and he was really cute. No wonder he was such a handsome cat. Rei was really good-looking, with his inky black hair and the same golden eyes he possessed as a cat. They were easily the most striking thing about him. If she wasn't still reeling from the aftermath of her breakup, she would have gladly become his girlfriend. Now, she didn't mind giving dating a try but she was still extremely hesitant about entering an actual relationship. Especially not with her cat.
What would happen when the curse on Rei was finally lifted? She was sure he had a family of his own, meaning there would be no more cat greeting her when she returned home, and no meowing to keep her company when she was unable to sleep or too stressed from work. Rei said that he didn't mind staying with her if she wanted him to, but she wasn't too sure about that either. It would be really weird to have a guy staying in her house, right? And…well, no matter what, he was her pet!
It was actually easier confiding in human Rei than cat Rei though, she discovered. Though the cat had given her the sense that it could understand her, she knew human Rei could understand everything she was saying perfectly clearly. She even opened up to him about wanting to kill herself on the day she met him, and he stared back at her with shock in his expressive eyes, pulling her into a hug shortly afterwards. She let him hug her, feeling strangely safe in his embrace. Though she barely knew Rei, his company as a cat had been a constant around her, and he was…familiar to her.
Miku wondered about the identity of the sorceress who cursed Rei. She seemed, from what Rei told her, to be a pretty nice person actually. And the sorceress was apparently someone from school…but Miku couldn't figure out who it might be. Perhaps Rei would be able to identify her if he went to school with her, but he was resolute about not leaving the house while he was in his cat form, so she didn't want to force him either. She was actually worried about slowly developing feelings for her cat…
It wasn't hard. Rei was very sweet and thoughtful. She learnt a lot about him too – he attended the same university at her but he rarely went for lectures, which explained why she never saw him around before. He was a little lazy but he worked hard for the things that mattered, and he cared greatly about the people in his life. She caught his gaze lingering on her when he mentioned that last part.
"You like me, Rei?" she asked, watching the moon through the window. They were lying on her couch together, curled up in the small space. Rei was taller than her so he often lay on the outside part, not touching her unless she said it was all right to do so. He was looking through the window too, wistful.
"Yeah," he answered without turning his head. "I don't really know if it's just because you took care of me when I was a cat and really hungry, plus the fact that you looked after me despite your financial situation. But I think you're a really sweet and caring person and if I were fully human again, I wouldn't hesitate at all about going after you," he smiled peacefully. Miku blinked, gazing at his dark hair and his closed eyes, the gentle curve of his lips. It was odd to think that her pet – who turned out to be such a gorgeous guy – might grow romantic feelings for her. Did other pet owners experience this?
Rei peeked at Miku from underneath his lowered eyelids. She was gnawing on her lip, clearly thinking about something. Miku seemed to be getting happier nowadays. He liked to think that it was due to his presence, though he knew there were other factors too – she had finally started getting her life together, cutting off her ex and her toxic friends and throwing herself into more school activities. It made her even busier than before, but at least she was smiling more now.
He didn't feel awkward at all while telling her about his feelings. Normally he'd be quite shy about admitting his attraction to anyone, but he had lived with Miku for so long that it didn't seem like there was anything left for him to feel awkward about. "Even after I'm turned back into a human I'll still come and visit you all the time," he promised. "My family won't mind if I move out of the house. In fact I think my parents will be glad that I finally learnt how to be more independent," he snorted.
She shook her head. "It's not that I'm worried about," she sighed, lifting her gaze to meet his. His breath caught. She was really pretty. As a cat he did notice that his mistress was a lovely girl, but it wasn't the same as looking at her while he was human. She was even more beautiful now. Her teal hair fell in loose waves down her back, and her fair skin glowed softly under the warm lights. Her green eyes, serene and thoughtful, captivated him. "It's just…I'm going to miss having a cat around," she sighed again. "Even though I know you're not really a cat. The past few months just made me feel like I had a friend, you know? And you'll be gone…"
"Hey, hey," he touched her shoulder gently, turning her around to face him. Her eyes widened. "I won't be going anywhere. I'm still Rei – I'm still your pet cat," he laughed. "Pretend I'm a cat who learnt how to talk," his eyes twinkled. "As a friend, I'll always be here for you. Or as more too, if you'd allow it," his golden eyes held her gaze, looking immensely serious. Miku felt her heart racing.
"All right," she found herself agreeing. Rei blinked, eyes widening as well, and he didn't move as she leant up to kiss him lightly on the cheek. She'd give it a shot – it was time to move on anyway, and she couldn't deny her weird attraction to her pet either. Her cat. Her boyfriend now? Whatever the heck Kagene Rei was to her. "I'm glad I met you. Could you thank the sorceress for me if you happen to see her around?" she smiled. Rei nodded frantically. He could hardly believe his good luck.
Meanwhile, Megurine Luka, who was struggling through two pages of overdue math homework, sneezed and looked up from her notebook. "Why does it feel like someone is talking about me?" she asked. Then she shook her head. "Oh well," she sighed, returning to her stupid homework.
A/N: This story is a little lazy, but I just wanted to write something for this idea. Prompt was Rei getting turned into a cat, and Miku looking after him.