Neko-San

Disclaimer: I do not own Weiss Kreuz. They rightfully belong to Takehito Koyasu.

Chapter 1

It was unusual for the flowershop to be so...empty on a Saturday. But the day is still young, so the four young men who work as florists may not escape the overbearing crowd of young girls.

Ken Hidaka was watering some flowers that were strategically placed outside. His mind was on two things, neither of which had to do with flowers. One being his obsessive love of soccer, the other being his obsessive love for Aya. Okay, so he wouldn't go so far as to say, obsessive, but it was love, damn it!

Ken was currently daydreaming about the loves of his life when he heard a commotion coming from an alley close by. Ken, being curious as he was, decided to investigate the matter. Besides, the poor flowers were being over-watered. He went to investigate and what he saw made his blood boil. Two teenage boys were pelting small rocks at a cat.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Ken yelled.

The teenagers were startled and looked at Ken. One of them looked away while the other gave Ken a look of impudence. Ken glared and slapped the boy whose look became one of astonishment.

"It's just a stupid cat," the boy muttered as he and his friend slinked off.

Ken frowned after them; what the hell is the matter with some people? He looked down at the cat in pity. Poor thing, he was really skinny, but despite that, he was a beautiful cat. He was a tabby cat with a puffy tail.

"Here, kitty, kitty!" Ken called out softly, "Come here, I won't hurt you."

Ken could have sworn the cat looked at him as though he was stupid. But he must have imagined it because the cat went up to him and started to rub against his legs. Ken laughed and picked the cat up.

"I like you," he informed the cat, "I think I'll keep you, if that's alright with you."

The cat looked like he shrugged as to say, 'Why not?'. That's silly though, cats can't shrug.

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Yoji was absently making some flower arrangement when he heard the door bell chime. He looked up to see if it was some prospective buyer with long, lovely legs. It wasn't, it was just Ken carrying something that resembled a furball.

"Ken, what the hell is that?"

Ken gave him a blank stare, "It's a cat."

"I can see that," Yoji said flatly, "I mean, what are you doing with it?"

"I'm gonna feed him and give him a bath."

"Why?"

"Why? Because he's skinny and he has no home! I'm gonna keep him!" Ken beamed, "Guess what? I already have a name for him, too. His name is Neko-San!"

"Neko-San? You mean, as in, Mr. Cat? Ken, that's not very original, even for you."

"It's not about being original, Yoji. The name fits him. See, even Neko-San likes his name." Sure enough Neko-San was rubbing away against Ken's leg, purring.

"Ughh, so you picked up a dirty animal and now you're going to keep it?"

"Neko-San's not an 'it', Yoji! He's a he, so get it right!"

Yoji rolled his eyes, "Whatever," he peered down at the cat who was currently sitting on Ken's foot, "It, I mean he, is kind of cute. Interesting tail."

Ken nudged Neko-San off his foot and went over to grab a pen and paper, "Hmm, I'm going to need to pick up some stuff..." and he began to write down quickly that a cat will need.

"Ken, you're not leaving me here by myself!"

Ken looked up at Yoji, "Of course I wouldn't leave you to mind the shop by yourself!" Damn, Ken thought to himself, I should've left when I had the chance!

Yoji looked suspiciously at Ken, a thought suddenly occurred to him, "Hey, Ken. What about a litter box?"

"Oh yeah! Well, maybe I should go to the store right now..."

"No, you don't," Yoji growled, "You're waiting till Aya and Omi come in for their shift."

"But, Yoji!" Ken whined, "What am I suppose to do for Neko-San?"

Yoji rolled his eyes, "We should have some potting soil in the back...oh, and I think there's some cardboard boxes. So, go get creative, soccer-boy."

Ken grumbled as he went back, Neko-San followed him close behind. Yoji frowned, (he's been doing that a lot, today) there's something quite strange about that cat. Well, Yoji thought cats were just generally strange. Yoji lit a cigarette, despite Omi's firm warnings about doing so in the store, and was lost in deep thought. He watched as the smoke lazily made its way up towards the ceiling, he didn't notice Ken coming back up front.

"Hey, no smoking, Yoji," Ken said irritably.

Ooh, someone's grouchy.

Ken looked around the empty store, "Why the hell is so empty today? It's Saturday, right?" Neko-San meowed and rubbed against Ken's leg. "Oh, hey! How about lunch, Yoji?"

Yoji stared at Neko-San, "Yeah, we can order some take-out. Ken, remember to wash your hands before eating."

Ken, meanwhile, picked up Neko-San and was cuddling him, "Yoji, I always wash my hands before eating." He sounded slightly miffed. Ken nuzzled the top of Neko-San's head.

Yoji grounded out his cigarette and grimaced, "Ken, stop that. You don't know where's he been or what kind of germs he has."

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, you're probably right," Ken put Neko-San down, "But he doesn't seem that dirty, in fact, he seems pretty clean. He's skinny, though."

Yoji decided not to comment on that. He peered out the window, "Looks like Omi and Aya are here for their shift."

Ken was looking through some take-out menus, "Oh, maybe they'll want lunch, too." Neko-San jumped up onto the counter and began pawing at the menus.

Omi and Aya came into the store and stared at the cat sifting through the menus. Omi was the first to speak.

"Um, is that cat looking at those menus?"

Ken looked at him strangely, "Omi, he's just playing. Cats don't look at menus."

Omi wasn't so sure about this one, but he decided not to push the topic any further, "So, you're looking at getting lunch?"

Ken nodded, "Yeah, I'll pick it up. I need to get some things for Neko-San here."

"When did you get a cat?" Aya peered at him with those wonderful, beautiful...ahhh! Ken mentally shook his head. Bad Ken! Bad thoughts!

"Um...just today. Some teenagers were harassing him. I had to save him."

Aya just shook his head and had an odd smile on his face, "So, are you going to get lunch?"

"Yeah, what do you guys want?"

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Ken was walking to his apartment with supplies for Neko-San. He opened the door and place the bags down.

"Neko-San! Look, I got you some stuff."

Neko-San appeared and sniffed curiously at the bags. Ken grinned, what a friendly little kitty. Neko-San pawed at a can of cat food and asked politely, "Could you open this for me, please?"

Ken nodded and proceeded to open the can when a thought occurred to him. Cats can't talk. He whirled around and looked at Neko-San, who looked back at him with the patience of a saint.

"I'd open the can myself, but," Neko-San held up a paw, "As you can see, I'm unable to do so."

Ken did something he'd never dreamed he'd do: faint from sheer shock.

To Be Continued.