Mob wondered if this was what heaven was like.
"No, no, be nice to each other. You're all friends here." Said Mob as she pulled two hissing cats apart. Ok, maybe not heaven for the cats but heaven for her. This was an island where the cats outnumbered people thirty six to one, that meant that for every thirty six cats there was one person, Mob knew from homeschool. She wasn't sure how the ratio, that was the word for it, was affected now that she and Shimazaki were here. Maybe it was thirty eight to one…or did it go down? Thirty four to one? She wasn't sure. She didn't really want to do math right now.
What she wanted to do was pet some cats, so that was what she was going to do.
"Let them fight it out, Mob, that cat on the left's had it coming for a while. I've been watching him and he's a real asshole." Said Shimazaki as another cat jumped onto his lap. This was the best non-work work trip ever. Mob hadn't been lying when she had said that there was an island that had been completely taken over by cats. He would have rather gone to the island of dogs but that was just a movie, Mob had said, not an actual place.
But it would be.
Mob said that when she, well her family, ran the world then she'd made him an island just for him full of dogs. The kind with the soft and fluffy fur, too, because those were the best to pet. It would be a like a real Labrador Peninsula, one with real Labradors, because apparently the last one was a misnomer. Toshi had said so, he had never gone and seen for himself but he didn't have to. He trusted Toshi.
Toshi would have loved….enjoyed…tolerated this.
"Ryou! Shush, don't be mean to them. They have very sensitive hearing." Said Mob as she covered the cat's ears. This one looked kind of like him. It was all black and it's fur kind of stood up, it had longer fur than the others. Maybe it just acted out because it felt different, or maybe because it was a black cat out in the sun on a thirty degree day. This cat kind of acted like him. It was always bothering the other cats even though all the cats here were the very best of friends. She didn't get it…but she didn't get a lot of things.
About the real Shimazaki or the cat version of him.
"So do I but you don't here me complaining." Said Shimazaki
"But they aren't insulting you, so what do you have to complain about?" asked Mob
"They could be insulting me, they could be insulting all of us right now. We don't know, we don't speak cat and they don't speak human. They sound human sometimes but they don't speak human." Said Shimazaki
"They don't sound human, it would be cool if they did though. Then they could talk to us and tell us what they wanted…and also why they're being so mean to each other." Said Mob. Shimazaki put the cat on his lap down and scooted closer to her. She used her powers to brush the cat hair off of him as he moved. He had been holding a mostly white cat, the fur really showed against his shirt. He hadn't noticed, though, even though she would have thought that she could feel it. She loved cats but she didn't exactly love it when they shed…but that was kind of like with people. She love a lot of people but she didn't always love what they did.
Not that it really mattered.
Sometimes you had to do a lot of things, put up with a lot of things, for someone else. Most of the time you could get used to it. Shimazaki was close to her now. She leaned in and closed her eyes, assuming that he was going to kiss her again. She was used to that. It had been the weirdest thing in the world at first but now…well it was still weird but they'd done stranger things so really this was the least of it. She leaned in and waited, but he didn't kiss her. No, instead he reached over and took the Shimazaki cat out of her lap.
The cat didn't look nearly as happy as the real Shimazaki.
"Hello Mob, my name is Cat and I am a cat. I would like belly rubs, cat treats, and milk please. Also I would like you to keep the other cats away from me because I'm very territorial. Aren't I? Aren't I?" asked Shimazaki as he turned the cat to face him and held it like a baby.
"Ryou!" laughed Mob. The cat tried to bite sleeve but couldn't get through his jacket. All it did was make its self grumpier….it was kind of funny. The real Shimazaki was all happy but the cat version of him was all grumpy. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and took a picture. She'd post this later. It really was a good picture and that was what you were supposed to do when you were in a couple, wasn't it? Take pictures of each other.
She didn't know, she'd never been in a couple before.
Mom used to take pictures of Dad when he wasn't looking. Dad hated taking pictures, he had always said it was a waste of time, but Mom hadn't agreed. She used to take pictures of all of them…so maybe it was a girl thing then. Tsuchiya took pictures of Shibata and Mukai all the time. Minegishi never took pictures of Shimazaki but they weren't a girl. Ok, so that made sense. Minori would have known for sure, she was good at these sorts of things, but they weren't friends anymore. Not after what Mob had done…not that she knew what she had done….and Minori had been the one to be mean and pushy anyway…it didn't matter. They weren't friends anymore.
Mob wasn't good at keeping friends.
Not human friends and not cat ones either. She had driven Minori away, or Minori had driven her away….they were apart, that was the point, and also she had stolen Minegishi's boyfriend…well they said that they didn't mind but the whole thing felt weird and also like it was something that they would mind and…and she just…she didn't even know how she felt. She didn't know how…she liked being friends with Shimazaki and some stuff felt good but she also missed Minegishi and she wanted to go back to them and also…also she wanted to stay here and pet some cats.
So that was what they were going to do.
"Did you get a good picture?" asked Shimazaki as the cat in his arms jumped out and ran away. He watched it, but not for long. Animals were harder to sense than even normal people, or maybe it was because Mob's aura was so big and loud she blocked out most other things. She was, as usual, impossible to ignore.
Not that he would have ever wanted to ignore her. He loved her. That was not how you treated someone you loved.
"I think so, it was a funny one." said Mob
"Nice to know that my getting consumed by cats is so funny to you." Said Shimazaki sarcastically
"No, no, it's not that. That cat just looked a lot like you, that was all. But when you're grumpy." Said Mob
"I'm never grumpy. I'm a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day." Said Shimazaki
"It's sunny out today." Said Mob
"I still stand by what I said." Said Shimazaki with a smile. One that he wasn't entirely sure if Mob had returned or not.
"You're…sometimes you're happy but sometimes you get grumpy. Like when I wake you up in the middle of the night when I got to drink water or when you lose your stuff, like the time you lost your lighter-" said Mob
"I was, at best, mildly put out." Said Shimazaki. He made the head motion people did when they rolled their eyes. If she had been Toshi then she would have at least been smiling…but she wasn't Toshi…and that was ok. Mob was her own person and if he missed Toshi so much then he could have gone to them…but he also couldn't have because they were with their other boyfriend or whatever and if he just showed up then he'd look like a needy, jealous, asshole….and also Mob wanted to take a long vacation and, of course, their travel plans were up to her since she was the one in charge here, technically…
They'd go back whenever the fuck Mob felt like going back. That way Toshi couldn't accuse him of being needy again.
"What's the difference between being grumpy and being mildly put out?" asked Mob
"I don't know. That's a Toshi question, they're good with words." Said Shimazaki
"Um…yeah, they are…because they read a lot. Um…oh! Look over there, those two cats look the…the same…right…" said Mob. Well she had messed up, again. She just hadn't wanted to talk about Minegishi, that was all. She just didn't want to talk about them or think about them…but also she missed them just as much as she missed Sho and Mukai, but not Dad though since he was a jerk, and she missed…she missed everyone…
But she couldn't go back. Not until…not until she could.
"What do they look like?" asked Shimazaki. Mob put her foot in her mouth again but it wasn't like he was offended. Sometimes cats looked alike, he couldn't tell, but he was happy that she was happy. He was well past the point of being jealous of sighted people. He was thirty two, he hadn't been jealous of sighted people since he had been in the single digits.
"They looked…they look kind of like Sho and Mukai. They've got orange and white fur, I think that's called tabby fur, and one is bigger than the other. The little one isn't a kitten though, just little." Said Mob
"Huh, maybe they're related. Is there a cat that looks like me around here?" asked Shimazaki, genuinely curious. Cats were shaped like people and they didn't feel or smell like people but apparently they looked like people…they sure did sound like people. All day he'd been playing 'cat or baby' and most of the time it had been a cat…of course it had been.
An island that was nothing but babies would have been great but the logistics didn't add up.
"The one you were just holding." Said Mob
"Oh yeah, the one that tried to eat me." Said Shimazaki
"I think it was just biting because it didn't like to be held like a baby." Said Mob
"Who doesn't want to be held like a baby? Well besides grown adults…huh, so you have a point then. I probably embarrassed it in front of the other cats, if cats even can get embarrassed." Said Shimazaki
"I don't know if they can. They look like people but I don't know if they think like people." Said Mob
"Any that look like Toshi around here?" asked Shimazaki
"Um…there's one that's napping, but none of them are purple." Said Mob as she looked around. There was a cat napping in the shady spot under a tree. Every time another cat got near that napping cat hisses and…and that was kind of like something that Minegishi would have done. They hated having their naps interrupted…or at least they had hated that last time Mob had see them. It had been too long….
But she couldn't go back.
Dad said that she absolutely had to meet them in Tokyo and…and she was close to Tokyo. She was in Japan so that meant that she was close to Tokyo…well when you took into account how big the world was and all. So she wasn't so far away and she could get back with the others whenever she wanted but…but she had too many cats to pet around here and then…and then Shimazaki would probably want to do something else and then…and then she'd want to do something else and then…and then they'd just travel for a while.
It was alright, when she had been little Dad used to be gone for more than half the year…and she wouldn't be gone for that long so…so this was ok….
"Toshi's lavender." Said Shimazaki
"That's a kind of purple. Colors can have different names based on their shades….um…how bright or dark they are. I mean…um….it's kind of like standing under a heater. Bright colors are hot and cool colors are cold." Said Mob doing the best she could. She hoped that she hadn't said the wrong thing again. She was always saying the wrong thing and doing the wrong thing…sometimes she got the feeling that everything she said and did was wrong….
"I get it, sort of. So Toshi's hot, huh? I mean I knew they were but-" said Shimazaki
"That cat looks like Hatori! I mean…um….it's brown and it has markings around it's eyes the look like glasses and it looks like its friends with that orange cat." Said Mob as she pointed to two cats who looked like Hatori and Dad. The Dad cat was orange, mostly, but with white feet. It was sitting on top of a fence and looking down at all the other cats. There was a Hatori cat next to it, and sometimes it nuzzled the Dad cat. The Dad cat sometimes nuzzled it back…
Cats sure had it good, didn't they?
"Any more cats that look like people we know?" asked Shimazaki
"There's a big black cat that looks like Tsuchiya, it's got a lot of fur like she has a lot of hair….and that really big bobtail could kind of be like Shibata, but he's more big than fat, and there's a cat over there, a really fluffy brown on, that looks like Serizawa. It's scared and hiding under an umbrella someone left on the ground. I mean I think it looked like Serizawa more because it's brown and hiding under an umbrella, not because it's scared. Serizawa is scared a lot of the time but not always and his hair is actually brown, not black, but you have to look at it closely-" said Mob
"Hey Mob, how are my tattoos looking?" asked Shimazaki as he pulled his coat off. That was a legitimate inquiry. He didn't care if she had been close enough to Serizawa to have memorized every little facet of his appearance. He didn't care what she did or who she did it with and he wasn't jealous or needy, thank you very much, he had just been out in the sun a lot more than normal and also he'd had cats jumping on him all day. He was overdue for a touchup…no that he knew where in the world Kai had gotten to….but there were other people in the world who knew how to recolor a fucking picture…though Kai knew him the best and most of this was his work….Shimazaki was probably fine.
But just to be safe he'd have to have Mob look him over.
"What? Shima-Ryou! You can't do that here, we're back in Japan!" said Mob as she reached over and pulled his shirt back down with her powers. He really shouldn't have even taken off his coat…well she was being kind of bossy there but…but this was Japan and it may have bene called the island of cats but normal people lived here too and normal people did not like people with tattoos for some reason.
"Alright, alright." Said Shimazaki as he let go of his shirt. He put his coat back on too even though it was hot as fuck out here.
"I'm sorry, it's just that we're back home and…and people don't like tattoos here…but when I, I mean when Dad, or maybe even Sho since he's nicer…when my family runs the world then I'll make sure that people like tattoos….I mean I can't tell people what to think…I mean…" said Mob
"I know what you mean and, yeah, we're back home. More rules around here and shit." Said Shimazaki with a wave of his hand.
"Things can be different, I mean we can go to a different place…the next time we go somewhere." Said Mob
"Which will be….?" Asked Shimazaki
"Whenever you want." Said Mob
"And we will be going to….?" Asked Shimazaki
"Wherever you want to go." Said Mob
"And there are how many cats here?" asked Shimazaki
"Um…I don't know, but I can count them for you if you want. I mean if you want…" said Mob. She wanted to stop thinking about this, about where they were going next. She had…she had to go somewhere after this, they couldn't live on the cat island. They had to go…she didn't know and…and she wanted to go back to everyone but if she went back then they'd know. She knew it deep down in he heart that as soon as people looked at her then they'd know and she'd have to deal with everyone knowing and…and that was the LAST thing that she wanted!
"Can you even count them? They keep on moving. Why couldn't it have been an island of turtles? That would have been a hell of a lot easier to count…not as fun to pet, though." said Shimazaki
"We can go to the Galapagos Islands if you want. There are giant turtles there, they're called tortoises, and I think that we could pet them…I don't know, though, because I've only seen about them on TV." Said Mob
"I'll find a way. If I can pet a sea turtle then I can pet a tortoise…and I did pet that sea turtle. Asked Toshi, they were there…actually we should bring Toshi to tortoise island…or not." Said Shimazaki. Her aura told him all that he needed to know. She was still being weird about Toshi…and he had no idea why. Toshi wasn't pissed at her, they'd said so, and yeah he hadn't expected Toshi to be so alright with this but he wasn't about to question a good thing.
"I…I mean we can…if you want. I mean I don't know how much fun they'd have since they hate being outside and….and it's important to remember that kind of stuff." Said Mob. Minegishi liked being inside where it was cold and there wasn't any weather and…and stuff. She just wanted her friend to be comfortable. She just…she was thinking of her best friend, that was all, she wasn't being selfish at all….or at least not very selfish….
"We don't have to bring Toshi, I know you're still weird about them, but…I don't know. I miss them and I want to go and see them but if I go then they're just going to think I'm a needy, selfish bastard and I don't even like the Seventh Division…those Scars are assholes-" said Shimazaki
"We don't have to go back! I mean….I mean I think Minegishi is back with Dad now and…and I…we can go back whenever you want to." Said Mob
"Well it's kind of up to you, isn't it? You're the one with the private plane money." Said Shimazaki
"I think we can get to Tokyo by boat…" said Mob. Boats took longer than planes…maybe they needed to take boats from now on. She had heard the expression 'the slow boat to China' and Japan was kind of close to China….but she was in Japan again so…was there a slow boat to Tokyo she could take?
"Well then you're the one with private boat money." Said Shimazaki
"I…I guess…but I don't want to go back unless you want to go back. I mean I miss Sho and Mukai and Minegishi and Shibata and…and everyone. Even my Dad…sort of…but we don't have to go back unless you want to." Said Mob
"We can go back, then, if you want to." Said Shimazaki. He read her loud and clear. She wanted to go back but she didn't want to ruin their trip. She was nice like that, thoughtful, but it could get kind of tiring going in these roundabout conversations just to figure out what they were going to do next. Toshi was always much more straight forward.
"I…um…ok. We can go back or…or whatever you want." Said Mob. She knew what he meant, she wasn't completely clueless. She knew that he wanted to go back to Minegishi and she had been wanting them to get back together for so long….but them getting back together meant Mob would have to be back too and….and also she would have to leave cat island….and she loved cat island…it felt like heaven must have felt like…..
But she loved her friends more.