A cat's life
Disclaimer: I don't own slam Dunk.
Ever wondered how a cat feels like? Rukawa Kaede does. (AU)
Warning/s: None. (Three-chaptered short story) Might get a little OOC. Not yaoi at all.
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A cat's life
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A chilly winter morning is a nice start for winter. However, this winter morning is not given importance by certain nocturnal animals, including a lazy white cat. He can gladly doze off than play with the snow.
Besides, if ever he played with the snow, the garden-ness might not be able to see him, and shove him to the corner, thinking he is snow.
Just like what happened last year.
He yawned. What did he do last night? Let's see… he caught a rat. The rat seemed pregnant, but he couldn't care less.
He ate it. That's pretty disgusting, but it's worth a midnight snack.
Anyway, he saw a blue sapphire stone thing last night. It was so blue, so clear, and so mysterious. The sapphire was so beautiful that he hid it under the maple tree last night.
Oh, it also started snowing hard last night…
Oh no…
Rukawa, the ever sleeping cat, woke up fully as he realized in horror that the blue sapphire stone might get lost forever. It might get buried under the thick snow, and washed away when it rained. It might also be found by someone else.
Why is he so interested in getting the blue sapphire? He never showed this kind of interest in any thing. Heck, he did not even care if catching the first crystal of the winter was considered lucky.
Then, why?
Every time he looks at it, he can't help feeling that the sapphire is the key to a greater knowledge: a greater knowledge that his fellow Kanagawa animals could ever imagine.
He has to FIND it.
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Akagi sighed and stared at the living room.
He likes winter. Winter is the season when the snow falls. Winter is the season when Christmas occurs. So, why should he hate it?
It can be said in only two words: active animals.
Once again, he sighed as he stared at the animals playing on the living room. It was pure mess.
Well, Mr. Anzai wants his pets inside his house during winter, not on their cages. He said that 'at least I can make sure that they are not frozen outside.'
Maybe he was referring to what happened to Mitsui the last time.
And oh, by the way, he was assigned to keep the animals in.
Akagi started counting the animals. There was Mitsui, tall black dog (1), Sakuragi, the red-dyed dog (2)… Why are there only two dogs…?
Oh, Miyagi's under the couch… That makes the dogs complete.
The cats are sleeping on one side of the living room. There is Ayako, the cream-colored cat (1), and Yasuda, the meek looking cat (2) beside her…
Where's the white cat, Rukawa? It wasn't like him wandering around the house at this time of the day.
He went around the house. The cat is neither under anyone's bed, nor above it. He wasn't at any of the rugs around the house. He wasn't under the tables or chairs or sofas. In short, he's nowhere inside the house.
Terrified that Rukawa might have been catnapped or what, he ran around the house like an insane man.
"Rukawa! Where are you?"
All the animals stopped what they're doing and looked at the cook. Akagi channeled his frustration and desperation to the animals in the living room.
"All of you look for Rukawa right now! Anyone who will not look will not be given any dinner tonight!"
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Everyone in the house went out the street. The neighbors were pretty much surprised to be woken up by a bunch of lively animals running around thick snow. The animals ran like wild, hoping to see a single cat, which, by the way, looks like snow.
Soon enough, a spiky dog went out of the Taoka residence. He was pretty confused at first when he saw the animals running around, barking or meowing like crazy.
He saw Ayako with them. Surprisingly enough, the cat was wide awake.
"Ayako! What happened? Maybe I can help you?" His cheerful voice did not fail to; at least, enlighten the heavy mood of Ayako.
She responded with a pretty sad and worried voice. "Rukawa, Sendoh-san! Rukawa's missing!"
The cheerful mood of the spiky dog suddenly darkened.
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The temperature was dropping steadily. Every creature was already shivering, but they kept near each other so they kept warm. Unlike one single snow white furry cat which was on his own.
If one will look at him from a distance, they would think that it was just another heap of snow. But no, it's a cat.
This cat would be the cat every creature on the Anzai residence was looking for.
Rukawa.
Rukawa was shivering. He was struggling to keep standing, trying hard to dig in the snow to recover the sapphire stone again.
His blue eyes are determined. Nothing can get fierier than his eyes full of determination right now, but he needs real fire. RIGHT NOW.
He's freezing cold. He can die because of coldness. But no, he has to find the sapphire stone.
Unfortunately, his determination can not give him the heat he needs. Because of extreme coldness and numbness, Rukawa fell. He fell like a heap of snow… But no, he is not giving up…
Not until he sees the sapphire stone again!
Rukawa struggled to stand up again. However, his strength is not enough to keep him up and warm him. He fell on the snow again. Rukawa cursed. He tried to get up again, but no, he did not succeed. He tried again, and again, and again…
No improvement.
Rukawa sighed and lied on the snow. He never felt so immobile, so cold, and so sleepy before. He just wanted to rest in the middle of the maple trees on the side of the road…
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All the animals are now out, much to the frustration of all the owners. All cats and dogs (and a monkey) in the street seemed to be curious at what the Anzai pets are looking for.
"Hey! Akagi! What's happening to your pets? Why did they drag my pets with them?" Uozumi, the cook of the Taoka residence, asked the cook who was also looking for something.
A sweat dropped from his forehead when the cook of the Anzai residence did not hear them. Instead, the cook continued to feel the snow as if he lost a white pearl unable to be seen on snow.
This time, Uozumi raised his voice. "HEY, AKAGI! What's happening?"
Akagi replied. "Rukawa, the snow cat one! He's missing! He might be freezing to death now!"
Uozumi 'ooh-ed'.
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Akira Sendoh was known to be a fearless dog, and so is Mitsui Hisashi, Ryota Miyagi (despite his size), and Sakuragi Hanamichi. However, right now, they are shivering. No, it's not the coldness. It's something else. It's fear.
Fear flashed through their eyes.
No one, even they themselves, knew that they are worried for the cold white cat. They never knew: they only found out today.
They had always thought that they would do better if the cat got lost (except Sendoh). They proved it wrong today. Aside from the cook dragging them out of the comfortable house, they also had this pang of guilt.
Why did they let the white cat get out of the house a while ago?
If these were the normal Anzai pets, they would have cared less. However, these are the… err… affectionate and guilty pets of the Anzai residence.
However, now, they fear that their cold cat might freeze to death. It sounds ironic, but it can happen. And when this happens, they can never forgive themselves.
They kept looking for the cat. They went as far as the side of the street. This street is beautiful. It is filled with maple trees and is not passable at this moment. It is the perfect scenery for a painting.
But hell, they don't care. They have to find Rukawa.
From afar, there was a heap of snow that moved.
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Rukawa fought the weariness inside him. He isn't going to die here. He's got a nice future… He has a mission to continue.
However, that mission isn't going right. There's something wrong. He can't feel his paws. But he has to find the sapphire stone.
Dig. Dig. Dig.
Rukawa dug snow. He continued no matter how numb his paws felt. He will find the blue sapphire.
His determination is yet to be tested again. Mother nature is in a bad temper: she's about to give off a hail.
After a minute or two, the slow snow became hail. All the animals wanted to continue, but Akagi, the wise cook, put them on a covered side of the street.
Rukawa, however, continued. This is bad for his health. He knows that. After all, he will collapse soon. But he has to find the stone.
After an hour with no heat, Rukawa is tired. Dead tired. He fell to the snow… but his determination did not.
"One last…" he murmured to himself. And, alas, he felt something hard.
This must be adrenaline rush because Rukawa suddenly had strength again. He stood up and dug more…
Blue. All he saw is blue…
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"Rukawa-kun! At last you woke up!"
Rukawa raised a brow. He never knew sapphire stones could speak. "Sapphires don't speak."
"Huh? Rukawa-kun, wake up! It's just a dream." Soon, his sapphire stone became smaller and smaller until he realized that it belonged to a face full of scratches.
He raised an eyebrow at his companion. "What happened to your face?"
Akira sighed. "Well, you kept scratching my face in your sleep, Rukawa-kun…"
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The end
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Corny ending, I know… So much for fantasy…
What do you think? This is the end…
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