Disclaimer: Final Fantasy, characters and everything associated with the Final Fantasy world belong to Square Enix.

A/N: It's 4AM in the morning and the plot bunnies have attacked me. This silly fic came about after a discussion in the Final Heaven CloTi discord server about how Cloud's pout was inspired by a cat.

I mentioned that I wanted to see Tifa holding Cat!Cloud and an artist there responded to my request with an amazing TifaxCat!Cloud artwork. So this fic is dedicated to Cloudy on the CloTi Final Heaven discord. Thank you for making my day and for the inspiration of this silly story.

Please enjoy!

Summary: In which Cloud ends up getting inflicted with a peculiar unknown status effect.

Warnings: Please note that some of the stories will contain spoilers or reference to the original game, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core and Remake. Also, this story is silly and stupid.

~Misfortune~

It was all a blur. He had been side blinded by a new mutated breed of Malboro, which most likely were the remnants of Hojo's horrifying experiments that escaped from the underground labs.

Why they have emerged now after so many months wasn't Cloud's problem. What was Cloud's problem was the unfortunate situation he was in now.

It was an urgent request by a concerned citizen to eliminate the disruptive monsters lurking around the now half destroyed Sector 7 slums.

People were trying to rebuild their homes and did NOT want to deal with monsters prowling about.

Cloud didn't think of it much and saw it as an easy task for quick money. So he journeyed to the exact location where the monsters were reported last seen, by himself.

Easy as pie. He didn't need any help.

Ex-SOLDIER strength and strategy was enough.

Boy, was he wrong.

He managed to only destroy the baby Malboros which was half his size, tiny little creatures that fit in the palm of your hand.

What he did not anticipate was the gigantic tentacle of the mother Malboro digging underneath the concrete where he stood.

The sudden blow to his head and from the debris of shattered earth knocked him to the side, causing him to lose his grip on his Buster Sword.

It was too late for him to retaliate. As soon as he came to his senses, he was met with the deadly gas spurting out from the mouth of the monster toward him.

Bad Breath was unavoidable and he inadvertently breathed in the poisonous fumes.

"Shit."

He knew Bad Breath would inflict multiple status effects, but he had been cocky and decided not to stock up on remedies.

He was shit out of luck, as the gas knocked him out, blurring his vision to pitch black.

Cloud finally stirred awake after what seemed to be hours since his unfortunate battle with the Malboros.

To his puzzlement, his surroundings looked a lot bigger than he remembered.

"W-what the hell?!" He expected his voice and actual words to come out but instead a soft mewl left his mouth.

Looking at the reflection of a murky puddle nearby, he was shocked to find himself looking at a cat with blonde fur. His belly area was slightly whiter and blended out with the blonde colors.

Aside from the mako colored eyes, an awfully familiar spiky chocobo styled mane was the key noticeable part of his features, mostly around the top of his head in between his two cat ears, which twitched. One ear flopped down, while the other was up. Then it switched.

Was this some sort of illusion? Or did he just straight up get turned into a damn cat?!

He had a fair share of getting turned into a Toad, and a simple Maiden's kiss would do the trick.

But what the actual f*ck does one cure a cat status if remedies were not available? Would a remedy even work?

A clash of thunder roared through the sky and droplets of rain began falling.

"Crap, crap, crap!" He had seen cats in the rain before and they looked miserable. With his thick fur, it was not going to be fun running around wet. It was going to weigh him down.

To top it off, in this puny form, he won't likely be able to drag his Buster Sword along.

When he was inflicted with Toad, the sword would magically shrink with time around however, he lost his Buster Sword right before he was attacked by the god awful Bad Breath. The sword was left intact, normal gigantic size, stuck underneath a rubble of broken concrete.

Growling at his own misfortune, Cloud scampered off hoping to find shelter.

What he really hoped was to find someone to help him.

Tifa began to wonder about Cloud's whereabouts. He should have returned from his quest rounds by now. She wandered aimlessly around where she last recalled seeing him and ended up trekking all the way to the Sector 7 train station.

She tried calling his cellphone but it went straight to voicemail. "That's strange…He usually picks up on the second ring…"

Tifa happened to overhear one of the surviving Sector 7 citizens describe someone that matched Cloud dashing deep into the half destroyed Sector 7 slums.

He had to be nearby.

"Where are you Cloud?"

Tifa wandered around the dystopian town, calling out his name.

She stopped in her tracks right where her old Seventh Heaven bar used to stand. Her heart clenched at the burnt down bar, where she had so many memories of with Avalanche.

Her one special memory she held close to her heart was reuniting with Cloud and the single yellow flower he gave her. It was long gone, buried underneath all the broken wood and bricks.

She was lost in a thought, imagining what it would be like now if the pillar and plates had not fallen.

A soft meow sound echoed from underneath the area where the stairs would have led up into the bar entrance broke her trance.

"Hmm…?"

Tifa took notice of the Mako colored eyes glowing in the darkness. A tiny blonde cat weakly crawled out toward her. He let out another mewl.

"Oh, you poor thing…"

Tifa could not bear to leave the animal alone, here where no one was around to protect it, especially with the rain and thunder coming soon.

She had a penchant to pick up stray cats and bring home.

The cat wore his face with an awfully familiar pout as soon as she picked him up into her arms.

She couldn't help but pet his head, stroking the spikey Chocobo styled hair, "You remind me of someone…"

The cat meowed affectionately at Tifa, purring at her gentle touches and scratches.

Tifa took one last glance around town and let out a heavy sigh, "I guess Cloud isn't here…"

She frowned for a split second before turning her attention back to the cat in her arms,

"You think he'll return home? Maybe I should have faith he will. He's a strong guy. We should wait for him then, right?"

The cat answered back with another soft purr, as if it understood her.

Beaming at her new companion, Tifa turned back toward where she came from, "I know the perfect place for you little guy."

Cloud was so relieved to reunite with Tifa. It was pure luck that she came upon him and he couldn't be any more grateful for that. Perhaps it was fate. She had always found ways to him, saving him from danger in the knick of time.

But when she placed him in front of Wedge and his family of evil cats, his entire mood shifted.

He was not at all happy.

The three cats narrowed their eyes, recognizing his scent and eyes of Mako and Jenova infused cells. The aura about him made them hiss in defense. Cats and Cloud never mixed well, even when he was a cat himself.

Cloud now wore a rather grumpy look upon his feline features.

Wedge took notice of the Cloud's grumpy look, "Awww, he must be hungry."

Pulling out a porcelain bowl of milk, Wedge pushed it in front of Cloud, "Go on, you can drink it. It's just milk."

Cloud glared at the bowl in silence, not budging an inch where he sat, close to Tifa's side, "Come on! What is this crap? I really need to get myself a remedy!"

He looked around the room, which had barely any essentials aside from a minifridge, bed, table, and dressers. It was a small house that Wedge had rented in the Sector 5 slums.

There was no remedy in sight.

Tifa glanced forlornly out the window, "I'm getting really worried about Cloud. He hasn't called back and the rain is coming down harder. What if he's hurt?"

Cloud pouted at her crestfallen face. He wanted so much to tell her that he was here. He was home. He returned home. Just in cat form,

"Tifa, I'm right here! I'm not hurt! Please, look at me!"

Of course only frantic meows came out. Cloud did everything he could to get her attention.

He pawed adorably at her shoes.

His tail swayed back and forth in excitement and he even rubbed his entire body across her legs.

Tifa looked down with puffy eyes, "oh, what's the matter sweetie?"

Sweetie. The sound of her calling him that made him blush. He let out a soft purr instead.

"He didn't drink his milk. Maybe he prefers drinking from a bottle…" Wedge suggested as he poured the milk into a bottle with a nipple.

Wedge attempted to pick up Cloud and give him the bottle, but Cloud refused to be held by the large man. Cloud clawed out of Wedge grasp with hiss and jumped straight into Tifa's arms.

"Ouch! I guess he isn't used to me. He seems to have taken a real liking to you though. Maybe you'll have better luck." Wedge handed Tifa over the bottle of milk.

Cloud narrowed his cat eyes at Tifa, "Tifa, if you dare put that in my mouth, I swear I'll—"

"It's ok, I got you. Shh…Don't worry..." Her soothing voice calmed him just a little as she let the bottle go straight into his mouth.

Cloud had no other choice than to drink the milk, as Tifa helded him like a baby, rocking him back and forth in her arms.

He gulped down the milk, his thirst for something to drink finally taking over him. He was about halfway done with the milk when Tifa placed a small kiss upon his furry crown.

"Who's a little kitty?" She cooed with affection.

It was at that moment that a bright light surrounded Cloud's body.

"What the heck?! What's going on?!" Tifa exclaimed in surprise.

Wedge stood watching in awe while his three cats hid behind him in terror.

Cloud had returned to normal. He was human again, in his SOLDIER outfit. He could feel his hands and fingers, flexing them in excitement.

His voice returned as well to his relief. "Oh thank god."

The combination of milk and a maiden's kiss was the god damn cure all along...maybe? It was a coincidence that he returned to his human form after Tifa's kiss and drinking the milk. He'd have to further research into this theory.

Tifa rubbed her eyes,not believing what she just saw, "C-Cloud? What happened? How did you...why…? I am so confused."

Cloud scratched the back of his head and shrugged. He answered as briefly and to the point, "Bad Breath. Marlboros. Hojo experiment gone wrong."

Tifa jumped into Cloud's arms, "I'm so glad you are alright! I knew there was something familiar about you..in cat form."

Cloud returned Tifa's hug, embracing her tightly for several seconds before pulling away, "I do NOT want to go through that again."

"Oh, that's too bad. You were such a cute cat." Tifa grinned as she stroked Cloud's hair gently, exactly how she did it when he was a cat.

Wedge chimed in agreement, "Oh you had such beautiful fine fur. You would have made a great show cat."

Cloud threw Wedge a sour face. Somehow he ended up hissing at the Avalanche member.

"Ok, I nailed it as a cat. Can we move on?"

He finally jumped to his feet and made his way out the door.

Tifa tugged him back by his wrist, "Wait, where are you going?"

"I didn't complete my mission. Still got some Hojo-mutant Malboros out there to hunt. Also need to get back my Buster sword."

Cloud paused for a moment then decided to take a few milk bottles from Wedge's mini fridge, "I'm going to need this. I'll pay you back later."

"Fine, but I'm coming with you this time!" Tifa pulled on her Purple Pain gloves and followed Cloud closely behind.

"Ok, but before I forget, let's stock up on remedies too just in case." Cloud knew better now then to fight any monsters without preparing first. He won't make the same mistake twice.

With their combined teamwork, Cloud and Tifa were able to defeat the last of the mutant Malboros with ease.

Of course, right before the Marlboro fell to its death, it spewed one last Bad Breath. Cloud managed to dodge roll and avoid getting hit.

Tifa on the other hand, was unfortunately inflicted with the cat status effect.

She turned into a dark furry cat, with a long flowing tail, with a ribbon tied at the end. The end of the tail had a familiar dolphin split. Tifa stared up in utter confusion up at Cloud with her ruby colored eyes.

Cloud could not help but secretly admit how adorable she looked before giving her the milk cure.

Nothing happened, even after she downed every last drop of the milk.

WIth a grin, Cloud placed a prince's kiss upon Tifa's cat-like nose.

Lo and behold, his theory was correct. Tifa immediately returned to her human form.

~owari