When Katie woke up, she had a calico curled beside her, "good morning!" Mochi purred.
She chuckled, "You always say good morning," it had only been a few days since Sparkles catnapped then but it felt like an eternity. She was just waiting for Rachel to come back from New York, "has Hiro and his friends have gone to school yet?"
Mochi shook her head, "nope! It's a Saturday, remember? They don't have school!"
"Oh," Katie got up and stretched her legs, "man I'm getting lazy, you're rubbing off on me Mochi!"
"Being lazy isn't a bad thing, I enjoy lying around all day, but too much happens in this city," he meowed, rolling over to enjoy the extra space in his bed, "I'm gonna go back to sleep,"
"You do that," she started walking up the stairs to the bedroom. Ari was on her bed brushing her hair, she was already dressed and ready to go.
"C'mon," Katie hopped on the bed, "let's go."
Ari glared at her, "just a minute," she continued to brush, "I have to get this knot out."
"You said you'd let me tag along the next time you visit your friend," Katie twitched her tail with impatience, "hurry up!"
"Why do you want to go so badly?" Ari raised an eyebrow, she put the hairbrush back on the drawer.
"Curiosity," Katie shrugged, there was no way she was going to tell the girl her real reason.
Ari sighed, "alright, come on," she picked up the blue and began walking down to the cafe.
"I'm going out with Mikan, will be back before evening!" Ari shouted to Cass, the woman was working at the register.
"Alrighty! But remember that the Rosemary's are coming back tonight so don't be out too long!" Cass told her.
"Got it!" Ari exited the cafe, where her friend was already parked on the road.
"I didn't know this is my last day before Rachel picks me up," Katie hummed as Ari greeted Mikan and entered the car, "has it been that long already?"
Ari rolled her eyes, "yeah, I think that whole Sparkles thing makes it seem like a long time."
"Don't remind me," Katie shuddered, "I still can't get his crazy laugh out of my head."
"Though.." Ari leaned in and lowered her voice, "I know how you feel when it comes to being kidnapped."
Katie stared at her with genuine surprise, "I got kidnapped by this guy named Yama, I don't know what he wanted but I think his boss ordered him to abduct me. But luckily Big Hero 6 showed up to rescue these two other people he kidnapped and rescued me as well, one of the kidnapped people was Hiro, and he let me stay with him and his aunt until my memory comes back."
"I'm sorry that happened to you," Katie nuzzled the girl, "I hope your good memories come back."
"Me too!" Ari chuckled, "hey Mikan are those bags under your eyes? You look super tired!"
"Man..shut up."
Katie chuckled, guess Ari didn't catch what I meant, she thought, good. A part of her wanted to tell Ari the truth, but nothing good would come out of it. However, that part about Yama's boss kidnapping her for a strange reason was valuable information, she'd have to tell Rachel later.
"Um...whatcha got there?"
"A smoothie," Ari held a pink colored drink in her left hand, "we stopped for smoothies! I already drank mine but this is for you."
"Awww thanks Ari!" Juniper smiled, "but I meant about the cat on your shoulder," the crime dancer pointed to Katie, who was resting on Ari's shoulder.
"Oh yeah…" that was awkward to explain, "she blackmailed me into bringing her along, this is Katie."
Ari expected Katie to speak like she'd been doing for the past several days, but to her surprise Katie just meowed.
"Nice to meet you too Katie," Juniper smiled, holding out her hand for the cat to sniff, Katie purred and nuzzled her hand, "aww you're so cute!"
"Huh," Ari hummed, "she's usually more chatty, talks a lot too." Katie shot her a killer glare, Ari flinched and stepped back. Guess she doesn't want me to talk about her speaking ability...sorry Katie you could've told me that.
Juniper didn't get what she meant, and picked up the cat, "well maybe she's still tired, I'm a little tired too," she yawned.
"What's keeping you up?" Ari questioned., noticing the faint bags under her eyes.
"I don't wanna talk about it…"
"Oh, sorry."
"You're good," Katie purred and continued to nuzzle Juniper, "aww I think she likes me!"
Ari wasn't jealous, not at all, "huh, she tends to hiss if someone tries touching her."
"Cats are the ones who tend to do the touching," her friend explained, "not humans, has your memory been coming back more?"
"No," Ari shook her head, "I haven't remembered anything in awhile, it's a little concerning."
"Well, give it time and I think you'll remember again," Juniper told her, "just wait and see Ari, I know your memories will come back, you just gotta be patient.
Her friend's comforting words made her feel warm and fuzzy inside, "T-thanks,"
"Are you okay?" Juniper raised an eyebrow, "you're looking a little red there,"
Ari realised she was blushing and put both hands to her cheeks, "I-I'm fine! Uh..it's a little sweaty in here, isn't it?" What was not helping was Katie's stupid smirk! The blue was giving her a smug smirk and just ravishing in her embarrassment.
"Oh, maybe you shouldn't wear such a thick sweater inside then," lucky for her Juniper couldn't tell it was a blush.
"I like this sweater," Ari huffed, "though I don't know why…"
"Really?"
Ari rubbed her sleeves, "yeah..my sweater feels important..I don't want to take it off or wear another outfit, besides it's cozy."
Juniper chuckled, "maybe it's a memory thing, it does look like a cozy sweater!" Katie chirped in agreement, "see? Your cat agrees too!"
"Oh she's not my cat," Ari explained, "I'm cat sitting for my friend R-mmph!" Katie placed both of her paws on Ari's mouth.
"Hmm, guess it's a secret," her friend was oblivious yet again, "maybe you could send me a picture in your next letter? Cats are cute to look at after all, and Katie here is a super cute cat!"
Katie purred in agreement, Ari just rolled her eyes, conceited much?
"The nerve of you..the nerve!" Visiting hours had ended and Mikan was driving them home, and Ari was not happy with the feline's behavior.
"What? Jealous your little crush likes me more than you?" Katie chuckled, oh she had fun just getting on all of Ari's nerves.
"Shhh!" Ari placed a hand to her lips in a "shush" motion, "not so loud!"
"We're in a car y'know," Mikan spoke up from the driver's seat, "no one can hear us."
"Still! Don't say it out loud!"
Mikan sighed, "you are so dramatic.."
"Thanks again for driving me over," she turned her head around and saw Ari staring back with gratitude in her eyes.
"Pardon?"
"You didn't have to take me to see High Voltage..But you did," Ari smiled, "you're a good person Mikan."
"Yeah yeah," she huffed, stopping the car, "this is your stop, have fun."
"Bye Mikan!" Ari picked up Katie and got out of the car, "see you later!"
"See ya mermaid," Mikan waved, when they were out of sight the words Ari said started to sink in.
"You think I'm a good person? Heh.."
"So," Katie turned to the girl, "why are we chilling at Muihara again?" They were in the woods around the spot Gogo showed Ari whenever she did her birdwatching, she hadn't come back since that day, but..today felt different.
"To try and jog my memory," Ari told her, "I remembered my parents last time I was here, so maybe I'd remember more of them by coming back!"
"Uh huh," Katie twitched her tail, the tip submerged in the river water, "how much do you remember about your parents?"
"Ummm," Ari hummed, "a bit...we went on hiking trips, and they told me that I looked like my grandparents when I asked why I didn't take after either of them."
The feline twitched her whiskers, "do you think your parents were good people?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Do you ever think..The reason they haven't looked for you is because they don't miss you?" the words shocked Ari to the core.
"They would never!" Ari hissed, "I remember that they loved me! And I love them! Of course my parents miss me! They must be searching in the wrong places though!"
"Woah..calm down," Katie took a few steps back, "just asking, though Rachel says I have a dark look on things, and Sarah thinks I'm a pessimist."
"Well what you said was kind of negative," Ari told her, "did your parents not miss you?"
Katie frowned, "my parents are dead, they've been gone since I was a kitten."
"Oh…" she felt guilty now, "I'm so sorry."
"Meh, you didn't kill them, I barely remember them anyways. The Rosemarys and Rachel are my family now," the feline's were distant, "speaking of family..I noticed you are quite close with the Hamada's."
Ari nodded, "yeah, I care for Hiro a lot..not romantically because EW! And Cass is really great too, oh and I can't forget Baymax! He's a soft marshmallow that can make you smile even on sad days."
Katie hummed, "you remember anything yet?"
"No…" she pouted, "man this was a bad idea," she sat up, "let's go home…"
Katie hopped onto Ari's shoulder, "now now, this wasn't a waste, I think we became better buds!" The sun was starting to dip under the pines, "we better hurry or I'll miss Rachel coming back! I want to be in the cafe when she gets there!"
"Yeah..I'm sure you will."
They got back at the cafe before the sun fell, it was a little too close to the clock for Ari, but she was glad to be home after a long day. Katie spent the rest of her time at the Lucky Cat chatting it up with Mochi, the calico always had some juicy gossip for her. She'd made a mental note to come with Rachel whenever she visited the cafe so she could hang out with her friend.
"And then...guess what David did?" Mochi meowed, "he yelled at Fred! Fred! David never yells at Fred!"
"And you said they were just talking about that arrest of the sushi chef?" her whiskers twitched with amusement, "wow..David must be a huge fan of hers…"
"You could say that again," Mochi's eyes glinted with knowledge that he knew but she didn't, both of their ears perked up at the sound of the door opening.
"Katie!" it was Rachel and her father Elio who entered the cafe, the blue purred and leapt into her owner's arms, "I missed you!"
"I missed you too!" Katie nuzzled Rachel's cheek, "was New York fun?"
"Totally! I wish you went with us!" Rachel smiled.
"Thanks again for looking after Katie," Elio told Cass, "we were surprised to hear she wasn't giving you guys any grief."
"Oh she was a real sweetheart during our stay," Cass smiled, "she and Mochi became good friends."
"Yep!' Mochi meowed in response, but only Katie could understand the words.
"I'm gonna miss ya Katie," Ari gave the feline a small pat on the head.
"I won't miss you," Katie rolled her eyes in a teasing manner.
"Heyy!" Everyone chuckled at the joke.
Elio cleared his throat, "well it's late, I'm still sick from jet lag..so we're going to head back home, I'll be back soon for coffee though."
"Mom says if you drink too much coffee it'll become part of your bloodstream," Rachel pointed out.
"Too late Rachel, too late," Elio sighed, they waved goodbye to Cass and Ari, and exited the cafe.
Elio walked behind the two girls so they could have a private conversation.
"Katie, are you alright?" Rachel asked her, "I saw the broadcast of...y'know..I was worried sick during that time, my heart almost died when the rocket..I almost lost you."
"Well at least this time, the public is aware that Sparkles is a maniac," Katie grumbled, she brushed her face against Rachel's arm, "for a split second I thought he was working with..that guy."
"That guy? Which guy-ohhh that guy.." Rachel mumbled, "according to dad he's been off the grid, so I guess he's been poking his head down..for now."
"Yeah," Katie huffed, "we haven't seen the last of them, maybe we could ask the superheroes for help."
Rachel shook her head, "I don't want to involve Big Hero 6 in personal business, they have regular lives outside of superhero-ing y'know?"
"Yeah..I know.."
"I don't like this conversation anymore."
"Me too, so did you do anything life-changing in New York?"
"Well..I might have bumped into a superhero there or two.."
"No way!? Did you get an autograph?"
"Well I got an autograph from one, and the other..oh you had to be there Katie it was crazy!"
The two continued to converse about Rachel's New York experience, while Elio trailed behind them. It was nice to relax after both of them had a wild week. At least in San Fransokyo it would be peaceful right?
Oh how foolish they were to believe nothing bad would happen..Well to them at least, for others? A certain someone would not be having a good time for the next few weeks…
AN: Smh I can't believe Katie shows up, steals Ari's crush and is a cyptic for the rest of the chapter.
Also spoiler alert it's Hiro who's not gonna have a fun time. Cuz y'know...Obake?
Now for some questions!
Angelxoxo8: Where was Ari when Hiro introduced Skymax?
Probably with the Fern Kids or somewhere else. Or she was still asleep, she deserves some rest.
smooch119: Heroes in NYC?!
Haven't you seen the Avengers lol? Yeah some of the Marvel Heroes exist in HOF, not the ones from the Avengers movie but.. I will say there is a midquel in between arcs 1 and 2 that dives more into that.
On that note yeah there's some crossover stuff in HOF...Let me have fun!
Anyways my favorite part of writing this was Katie stealing Ari's crush like... Ari being jealous of this smug blue cat while the girl she thinks is rly pretty snuggles the cat.. I'm hollering guys
Question of the Week: Your overall honest opinion about Katie..who sometimes breaks world logic I SWEAR I WILL EXPLAIN HER TALKING CAPABILITIES ONE DAY
See you next time for..*groan* the robot of nightmares...that jingle will forever haunt me