"Ugh, really, Kurumi?" Haruna raised an eyebrow as she watched the little off-white cat dart in and out of her legs as she walked along the sidewalk, headed home after a long day at Arisugawa Academy.
"Meow!" Kurumi replied, twitching her ears as she stared up at Haruna with wide, bright, brown eyes. Even though she had confirmation that Haruna really did think she was cute, she enjoyed her little cat transformations too much to give them up entirely.
"I'm not babysitting you again tonight, I have homework to do," Haruna told the little cat, giving her a stern look.
"MeeOWW!" Kurumi complained, swatting one of Haruna's legs with her tail.
"No, we've been through this before," Haruna continued to argue with the cat. "Only on weekends! If you want, go play with Miiko or Miyu!" A moment later, though, the redhead's face twisted. No, maybe that wasn't such a good idea… Leaving Kurumi with Miiko was just asking for trouble, and Haruna certainly did not want to inconvenience her dear friend, Miyu, in any way, shape, or form.
Miyu is such a kind soul, she would likely agree to help, but… it would be wrong of me to impose on her since I didn't ask first…
"Meow!" Kurumi suddenly stepped on one of Haruna's feet.
"Hey! What was that for?" Haruna glared distractedly at Kurumi. Kurumi meowed again and pointed with her nose to the crosswalk ahead.
Ah, the light is red, I didn't even notice… Haruna bit her lip embarrassedly while Kurumi stared up at her with an expression that could only be described as smug. It was truly incredible, no matter what form Kurumi was in, she still knew how to smirk and tease.
Silly Chairman! Your head is in the clouds again! It sure is lucky that I'M here to guide you! While they waited for the light to turn, Kurumi started rubbing up against Haruna's leg again, her way of asking for praise and thank-yous for keeping Haruna from walking right into moving traffic.
"Mmm, fine…" Haruna muttered under her breath, looking away as she reached down to scritch Kurumi's ears.
"Mrrrrow!" Kurumi purred and flexed under Haruna's touch, body tensing and twisting with the same flexibility as a slinky toy. As soon as the light turned, however, Haruna stood back up and gestured to the crosswalk.
She and Kurumi traveled together until they reached Haruna's part of the city. Even though she and Kurumi attended the same school, alongside Miiko and Miyu, none of them lived all that close together.
"All right, Kurumi, like I said, it's time for me to go now," Haruna said, trying to be as patient as she could. Exactly as expected, though, Kurumi didn't want to take "no" for an answer.
"MeeOWW!" She pawed at Haruna's skirt, standing up on her hind legs to reach.
"Hey! Careful!" Haruna ripped her skirt away from Kurumi.
Awww, Chairman! I kept my claws sheathed! You know I always do that whenever I'm around you! If Kurumi could've pouted, she would've. Her wide eyes flashed as she stared up at Haruna. A second later, she jumped straight up into the air and tried to latch onto Haruna's arms.
"Ah! Hey!" Haruna cried out again, but this time, she didn't dare move, not wishing to accidentally drop Kurumi. Kurumi tried to nestle into her arms, reveling in how warm they were, but as soon as she was comfy and cozy inside, Haruna set her right back down on the ground again.
"Mrrrowwwwwww!" Kurumi complained.
"Kurumi, no. Go home." Haruna pointed sternly in the opposite direction. As much as she could usually tolerate from the feisty feline, even she had her limits. And she meant what she said about wanting to be alone so that she could focus on her homework.
Sensing the sudden and serious change in Haruna's tone and temperament, Kurumi finally got the picture. Her ears flattened against her head as she looked down, and she scuffed a paw across the ground. Although her behavior was juvenile, at best, Haruna felt just a twinge of regret. She never meant to actually upset Kurumi, even if Kurumi really deserved it.
"I'm sorry, Kurumi," she said, voice softer than before. "Like I said before, we can play together some other time. The weekend, maybe." Kurumi still wasn't necessarily happy with the verdict, but hearing the compassion and struggle in Haruna's voice, she finally decided to go with grace.
Awww, all right, I'll see you later… I guess… She nuzzled Haruna's leg in a farewell before scampering away. Haruna watched her go with a rueful and apologetic look. Kurumi, though, did not stay upset for long. The world was far too big, beautiful, bright, and exciting when she was a cat. There was so much to see, do, smell, and hear! Everything felt so interesting and new from such a unique perspective!
I know I COULD change back at any time, and I really have no reason to be a cat if Haruna isn't around, but… She decided to indulge for a little while longer, running around in her cat form, exploring all the sights and adventures the city had to offer.
Eventually, she ducked down a side street away from the city, towards a nearby neighborhood.
Wow, this place is so much cooler as a cat! I wonder what sort of pranks I cou—
"Boof! Boof! BOOFBOOFBOOF!"
Kurumi gave a most undignified yowl as she whipped around just in time to see a massive, slobbering dog charging right at her. Her paws scrabbled against the sidewalk as she struggled to get her bearings and go. Her decision to flee only incited the dog to more excitement, and its frantic barking grew even faster and louder. Kurumi could hear it pounding behind her, its claws also scrabbling on the sidewalk.
Oh, no! Kurumi despaired. Although she was in full control of her transformations, no longer reliant upon whether or not Haruna thought she was cute, they still took time and energy and concertation to initiate. She had none of that with such a large, wild dog so hot on her tail. She could only shriek again in terror and try her best to run even faster, praying that her little legs could outrun the behemoth barreling behind her.
Kurumi quickly lost track of where she was. All that mattered was getting far enough away that she could transform safely back into her human self. Unfortunately, it was easier said than done. It seemed that no matter where Kurumi ran, the dog was never more than a few paces behind, and her energy was starting to deplete…
At the same time, Haruna tore out of her house as if it was on fire. It was just dumb luck that Kurumi managed to make her way back into Haruna's neighborhood, and when Haruna heard the loud barking and a panicked, catlike screech, that was all she needed to take off running.
KURUMI! Of course, she had no way of knowing if it was actually Kurumi, but Haruna didn't want to take any chances. She all but fell out of her chair, flying out the front door, almost forgetting to close it behind her as she went sprinting away.
Barely a minute later, she nearly collided with someone else.
"Woah! Hey! Sorry there! Have you seen Hanzo?!" The other person spoke so quickly that Haruna almost didn't understand them, but after she saw the blonde hair and black hoodie, she knew at once that she was looking at Nagisa Tsukimiyama, RONDO's guitarist.
"Hanzo?" Haruna asked distractedly, out of breath but already trying to regain some of her speed and momentum.
"Yeah, my dog! I didn't even realize he wasn't in the yard until I went out to check on him and he was just… gone!"
Haruna's blood ran cold. Kurumi…
To the average spectator, it was one of the strangest and most amusing sights of the day. First, a little off-white cat darted on by, barely even a flash of fur because of how fast she was moving. Seconds behind her was a St. Bernard just as large as he was excited. Seconds behind him was a tall, thin redhead still in her school uniform.
"KURUMI!" she cried. And seconds behind her was a shorter blonde girl in a gothic hoodie, also shouting.
"HANZOOOOO!"
At last, fate decided to smile upon the chaotic quartet. Kurumi rounded a corner and Haruna managed to see her right before she vanished.
"There!" she shouted, out of breath but still determined to carry on with the cat-and-mouse (or rather, cat-and-dog) chase. "I'll go around! Cut them off! Surround!" Her commands became shorter and shorter as she struggled to breathe, but Nagisa got the message loud and clear. While Haruna turned toe and started sprinting back the way she'd come, Nagisa kept moving forward.
Haruna managed to reach the cat and dog first. "KURUMI!"
Chairman?! If she'd been capable of it, Kurumi would've sobbed in relief.
Haruna gestured for her to keep running while she held out both of her hands, palms pointed towards Hanzo. "Stop!" she cried, but all that came out of her was a pathetic wheeze. Not only was she seconds away from collapse, but seeing a St. Bernard bearing down at her so quickly and relentlessly was a little more than intimidating. But the only other option was letting him get to Kurumi, and that absolutely was not going to happen! Not on Haruna's watch!
She stood her ground, bracing herself for the impact of Hanzo as Kurumi ran past her.
Chairman! The cat dared to glance over her shoulder just once, just for a single second. She hated having to abandon Haruna and leave her alone to deal with Hanzo, but they both knew full well that there was nothing Kurumi could do against a giant dog in her cat form.
"HANZO!" Right before Hanzo would've slammed into Haruna, just as excited to see her as he was to see Kurumi, Nagisa came seemingly out of nowhere, lunging at the St. Bernard and crashing into his side. "Woaahhhh!" Nagisa cried out as she grabbed onto Hanzo's collar and held on for dear life. Hanzo barked happily, assuming that his owner had just come to play tag with him and the others. He spun around, trying desperately to see Nagisa properly. "H-hey! S-stop! Slow down! I'm- I'm- I THINK I'M GONNA BE SICK!" Nagisa wailed.
"Nagisa!" Haruna reached out, trying to calm Hanzo down and get him to stop spinning for five seconds. How does a creature this large move so quickly and tirelessly?! We've all been running for so long, and only he doesn't seem to be out of breath! She could not gauge how Kurumi was doing, but she imagined that Kurumi was probably exhausted too. Or at the very least, terrified, and shaken to the core. Even if Hanzo only wanted to play, it would've been all too easy for him to accidentally hurt Kurumi, or worse.
At last, though, through Haruna and Nagisa's combined efforts, they managed to settle Hanzo down. For a moment, he looked around, as if trying to understand where Kurumi had gone, but she was no longer anywhere to be found.
"Hanzo! Silly boy! Just how did you get out? And what were you doing?" Nagisa chided her dog, angry and relieved and happy and exhausted all at once. Maybe the chase only took 10 to 15 minutes, but she was certain that it was as good as an hour-long workout because of how fast and hard her heart was pounding. Her legs were still shaking, and she couldn't tell if it was more because of all the physical exertion, or the stress.
At the same time, Haruna looked around desperately for Kurumi. "Kurumi?! Where are you?!"
"Mrrow!" She looked up to see the cat clinging to a branch of a nearby tree, fur stuck out in all directions. Despite herself, Haruna chuckled weakly.
"Thank goodness you're all right…" She held out her arms for Kurumi to jump into, but Kurumi shook her head vehemently. "Awww, don't worry, Kurumi, I'm not going to let anyone, or anything, hurt you," Haruna promised, flashing Kurumi a rare smile of genuine warmth and protectiveness. Kurumi only shook her head again. It wasn't Hanzo keeping her in the tree… She paced the branch anxiously, looking helplessly down at Haruna. It took Haruna a moment, but then it clicked. "Oh… Kurumi… Are you… are you… stuck?" She couldn't control an unladylike snort. As terrified as she'd been for Kurumi mere seconds ago, realizing now that the poor thing had gotten herself stuck in a tree after everything else that she'd just been through was too much. She also looked extra hilarious because all of her fur was standing on edge.
Perhaps it was cruel, but Haruna couldn't help but be reminded of the handful of times when Kurumi's pranks ended up backfiring on her. It was not common for Kurumi to be on the receiving end of a prank, and this was not technically a prank, but it felt similar enough that Haruna had to laugh. Naturally, Kurumi gave a whining mewl.
Chairmaaannn! Don't laugh! Her tail swished in embarrassment, and she pawed at her perch in frustration.
"All right, all right, I'm coming, I'm coming," Haruna managed to quiet her laughter before climbing carefully up to Kurumi. "I'm here now, Kurumi, everything is going to be ok," she said, holding out her arms to the little cat again. Kurumi wasted no time in catapulting into them, snuggling into them as deeply as she could, nuzzling Haruna furiously. Her fur had finally settled back down against her body.
Thank you, Haruna… Thank you for saving me…
Haruna also took a moment to sigh in relief, caressing Kurumi's fur, running a hand from her head all the way to the base of her tail. They both reveled in the peace and silence, breathing heavily.
"Oi! Are you two all right up there?!" Nagisa shouted a moment later. Jumpier than normal, Kurumi suddenly leapt up again, her head crashing into Haruna's chin. Then, on pure reflex alone, she started wiggling down the front of Haruna's dress, trying to hide.
"Kurumi!" Haruna shrieked in embarrassment.
"Oh, sorry!" Nagisa shouted again. "But don't worry, Hanzo is leashed now!" They heard the rattle of metal. Kurumi stuck her head back out of Haruna's collar. Haruna sighed impatiently, but her face was as red as her hair.
"We'll be right down!" she called, trying to sound as dignified as she could. A second later, though, that went out the window. Ummm… How DO I get back down…?
Nagisa and Kurumi realized the problem at the exact same time. Oh my gosh, Chairman, seriously?! Kurumi couldn't stop a huff of laughter. As silly and embarrassing as it all was, it was a very Haruna thing to do. She was so eager to help that she didn't always think things through first… But, there was something touching about that as well. She was that desperate to find me and make sure I was ok…
From below, Nagisa was a little more amused and a little less sentimental. "Shall I call for some help?"
"Yes please," Haruna's voice was small and sheepish. Nagisa snickered, but she whipped out her phone. Meanwhile, Haruna looked down at the cat still snuggled inside of her dress. "Well, are you happy now, Kurumi? We got to spend the afternoon together after all."
Kurumi had the grace to twitch her ears apologetically, but when Haruna started smiling gently at her again, she knew that Haruna was just glad that she was all right, and Kurumi felt a little bit better. Thank you, Haruna, thank you so much…