Fate/Imaginary Vectors
Chapter 07 – The Top of the Animal Kingdom:
While the rooms were available for the Performers to sleep in, not all took the offer.
For example, since he lived nearby, Shou decided to stayed at home. Kageyama and Daiyu went to their small apartment. And just like them, Julian, Marina, Dante, Casper, Shirou, Rin, Sakura, and Anna had decided to sleep in their own homes and bedrooms.
That left Kiryuu, Kozume, Selene, Drake, Ogami, and Catherine to sleep at the Guild.
And Catherine had brought a new friend along.
"And done!" With a 'ta-dah!' sort of feeling, Catherine presented a makeshift home for her new rodent friend.
On her desk, she built a small house-like structure, made out of common materials and the use of her Card to join all of it together. It was akin to a small dollhouse, but its interior was a bed only.
That didn't displease the King though. "Squeak!" It ran inside and took some comfort in it.
"Heheheh!"
Catherine's chuckle attracted the attention of someone that was making his way back to his bedroom. "Hm? Oh, it's you." Ogami entered the room uninvited. He had stripped his outfit and replaced it with a plain white t-shirt and a pair of baggy shorts. He had taken care of everything needed to head to sleep in the bathroom but was still trying his hair back with a hair elastic. "Still playing with the rat?"
"You're being mean." Catherine turned and crossed her arms.
"Whoa, you made a house for it?"
"If he's the King of Rats, then he deserves it, don't you think?"
"Squeak!" The rat let out from still inside the house.
Ogami's eyes narrowed. "You really went with Casper's story, didn't you?"
"W-Well, he does have a crown and a cape."
"He's probably someone's pet, you dunce!"
"P-Pet!?" It was a possibility that didn't cross her mind. "B-But..."
"Squeak, squeak!"
Both turned to the house, from which King emerged. The rodent turned around and wagged its tail from side to side as if saying 'No' in a similar manner to which humans did with their heads.
"Oh? So you're a wild rat?"
The tail flung up and down.
"Ah hah!" Catherine's hands went to her hips. "Who's laughing now, Ogami?"
"Don't toot your own horn." The Assassin grabbed the animal by the tail.
"Squeak!?" King was taken by surprise and panicked a little. Despite being upside down, his crown did not fall from his head. The rodent glared at the curious boy.
"How the hell are you so smart?"
"Squeak!" It attempted to bark.
"Hmph. Alright." And hurled over the shoulder it went.
Catherine gasped. "King!"
"Squeeeeeaaaaaak!" The animal wondered what choices it had made to end up being hurled across rooms twice in the same night.
"Whoa!" Miraculously, reacting just in time, Selene, the Rider walking by Catherine's door noticed the flying mammal and caught it in cupped hands just in time. She let out a sigh of relief as the safe rodent's eyes looked up at her, on the verge of tears in sheer gratitude. "Ogami, are you crazy?"
"Yeah, what's the big idea?"
"What's the big deal? I wanted to see if that thing has a Card installed or something."
"Eh? If he's Installed?"
"You know, with a Card. It's rare, but some animals have appeared here and there Installed with Cards."
"But why would he be installed?" Selene wondered.
"What, you think mice just happen to have a king with a crown and cape, and can understand human speech perfectly?"
"Well," Catherine scooped up the rat and placed it on top of her head. "Maybe he really is their King. What's wrong with there being a King of Rats?"
"Because no such thing exists?"
"How do you know?"
"Eh? What do you mean? I know because it's obvious."
"In a world like ours, is the idea Rats have a King that hard to imagine? Besides, you can't be sure of something you never verified."
"Hmm. Devil's Proof, huh?"
Selene tilted her head. "What's that?"
Ogami lowered himself to the floor and lied down on his side, making himself comfortable. "It's a stalemate argument. I can't prove the devil isn't real, so I can't just say she's wrong if she says that it does exist, even without proof."
"Wait, that's what it's called?" Catherine was genuinely surprised. She sat down on the bed. Not wanting to be the odd one out, Selene decided to sit down on the floor. She wasn't in a hurry to head to bed, might as well have a conversation beforehand.
"Yeah. It's a pain to fight against. If you're a reasonable person, that is. I could just say 'that's dumb' and storm off, but that's dumb in itself."
Catherine was impressed. "So Mister Wolf isn't stubborn."
"Mister Wolf?" Selene was confused yet again.
"She's probably playing with my name. But I'm not against that." In fact, his sharp eyes gave off the impression of the animal in question. "On top of that, I've been kind of a 'lone wolf' throughout school. You can associate partially everyone with an animal."
"You can?"
"Yup." Ogami decided to sit up. "Catherine is a dog."
"Oh, come on, she is no-" Selene turned to the Lancer with the mouse atop her head and saw it. It was impossible to not see it. The image of a playful dog protecting a small mouse from danger. "...Okay, maybe she is."
"I like dogs, so it's fine." The girl wasn't offended.
"So if you're a wolf and she's a dog, what am I?" Selene grew admittedly curious. She wondered what kind of animal she could be.
Ogami rubbed his chin while observing the Rider with long white hair and nearly black eyes. "...A cow."
SLAP!
Faster than they could catch, a hand flew across the area and slapped Ogami, leaving a red imprint on his cheek.
"Okay, poor choice of words."
"What did you just call me!?"
"I meant more in the face department." He ducked, evading one hand. "Hah! I don't fall for the same trap twi-" SLAP! He did not take into account the other hand. And this one was stronger! Strong enough to knock him to the floor. "Admittedly, I deserve that one..."
"Think about your next words VERY CAREFULLY!"
"Look, I didn't mean it as an insult, I meant... okay, hold up for a second." Ogami pulled out his phone and made a quick search. "Catherine, look at this and tell me if you see it too."
Catherine took the offered phone and took a look at the researched image. Comparing it to the Rider…
"I… I think I see it!"
"What?! Let me see that!" Selene snatched the phone off Catherine's hands as King giggled with high-pitched sounds.
It was the photo of a regular cow, but a fluffy one, playing with a best friend.
Selene narrowed her eyes, calm this time around. "I still don't see it, but at least you meant cute cows." She handed the phone back.
"Like I'd call any of the girls here ugly. I've seen ugly, and none of you are close to it."
"Thanks, I guess?" Selene was legitimately confused.
"Cows can be really cute! I wish I had spent more time with them."
Ogami raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"My parents run a pet store, so since I was a baby, I've always been surrounded by animals. Dogs, cats, lizards, hamsters, birds, guinea pigs, you name it. But not many farm animals. I have been with some pigs, but never cows."
"Guess that explains why you like that furball so much."
"I'm a little jealous." Selene admitted, with a giggle. "My grandparents own a farm, and I love to visit them and spend time with the animals. But the visits have become less and less frequent."
"Guess both of you like animals a lot, huh?"
"What about you?"
"Me? I'm a city boy. Grew up in it, lived in it, never had much of a chance or reason to spend time with animals. I'm not against them, but I'm not forced to like them either." Ogami explained, placing both hands behind his head. "Those dogs that just throw themselves at people are the ones I dislike. I'd rather not be pinned down by some 100-pound mammal that wants to give my face a coat of saliva."
"They just want to play though!"
"I know, I know." Ogami waved at Catherine, as if to say 'I get it, please shut up'.
"Hmm…"
Ogami noticed Selene's stare. "What's up?"
"I… don't know why, but you don't strike me as someone who'd like to Perform."
"That again? I already said at Shou's place: I like to fight and mess with people!"
"I remember, but… what do you even mean by 'mess with people' to begin with?" Maybe it was just those words that bothered her. "You're not planning to throw off a Performance for a cheap laugh, are you?"
"Course not, the fuck?" Ogami looked almost offended. "I don't need to do that to mess with people. I just need to put on a good Performance."
Catherine blinked twice. "Am I the only one not understanding?"
Ogami's eyes narrowed. "I don't mean this in a 'poor me' sort of way or anything like that, but people have always underestimated me. So I can't help but take the biggest laugh when I score the highest at exams and see them all drop their jaws."
"You… certainly have the slacker atmosphere." Selene admitted, even if feeling a little guilty over it.
"That's cuz I am one."
"Wait, what?!" Catherine was confused. "If you're a slacker, how do you score the highest? How do you put on good Performances?"
He simply grinned. "I'm just that good."
"W-What…?" Catherine was shocked. Someone who didn't put effort, yet came out on top? Is Ogami… a genius?!
Selene crossed her arms and almost glared. "You're just messing with her, aren't you?"
"Hah!" Ogami held his stomach as he burst out laughing. "Damn it Selene, I was this freaking close! Hahahahah!"
"Eh? EH?! You were lying?!"
"Well, not for the most part." He chuckled and stood up. "Well, I'm off. I have Zs to catch."
"Good night." Selene wished. "Well, at least he's having fun."
"Hmm…" Catherine thought for a moment. "I think he'll be a good friend."
"Eh? Where did that come from?"
"I just thought about it."
"Why though?"
"Because wolves are loyal. Even if they are lonesome, they'll stay by the side of their friends till the end." Catherine gave a silly grin. "So, if he becomes our friend, we'll always be able to count on him."
Selene was at a loss for words at first. It wasn't an overly shocking revelation or anything, she just didn't know how to respond to such a thing. "You really took the wolf thing to heart, didn't you?"
"Eh? Ah, sorry if I sounded weird. I never had this many friends at once. I can say awkward stuff sometimes." The girl let out an uncomfortable chuckle while scratching her cheek.
Selene let out a little sigh. Not the unpleasant kind, but rather the one that said 'I guess it's time to take care of this child'. "Alright. What animals do the others remind you of then?" She wondered, sitting next to Catherine.
"Ah! Kozume is a fox, no doubt about it!"
"I think Kiryuu won't be happy with that."
"Ah, and Kiryuu is a dragon! But not, like, an actual dragon. A dragon like those funny cartoons. You know, with the squared jaw!"
"Squared… jaw?" The thought made the girl giggle a little. "What about Shou?"
"Shou… Shou is a dragon!"
"Ow, poor Kiryuu."
"Kageyama is a horse, and Daiyu is a fruit bat!"
"I'm not sure if they're compatible if that's the case."
"Drake is like those weird dragons that don't have wings. And Julian is a lion! One that ate too much!"
"I'm starting to feel sorry for our colleagues."
Selene giggled a little as Catherine went on with her comparisons between the members of the Guild and animals. She could tell the girl with frost-blue hair was just excited to meet so many new people at once and get along with them from those days on. So it wasn't a problem listening to the ramblings. In fact, it was quite fun, to an extent.
Soon enough, time to sleep came along.
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