Yoji stuck his nose into the refrigerator. "As I suspected. It's empty. Who's turn is it to go shopping anyway?"
He went to the board on the kitchen wall that held several pieces of paper, a chore schedule, a shopping list and Omi's timetable. He put his paws on the wall to take a closer look and groaned, as he spotted his name on the schedule for grocery shopping with a big, red exclamation point behind it. Whatever ancient god was behind this evil plot it really had chosen poor him to pick on. He felt the desire to throw back his head and howl.
He was stopped by the sound of plastic containers being moved. When he turned around, he saw the badger draw out the vegetable compartment from the bottom of the fridge. When it was settled neatly on the floor, the massive gray animal cautiously balanced on the rim and put his head inside. It re-emerged with an apple in his muzzle.
Yoji raised his eyebrows. "I didn't know badgers were veggies."
"They are not," Crawford informed him after he had swallowed a piece of apple. "They are omnivore. But as long as you do not have the package of minced meat hidden in your freezer defrosted, I will stick to the apples."
Yoji blinked. And then blinked again. "You're a clairvoyant, aren't you?"
The badger did not answer, but Yoji was sure to see the hint of a smirk in the corner of his mouth. Fine, then be it. He was already used to people being all mysterious about themselves. Living with Aya had taught him a lesson or two. The only thing he was interested in were the contents of the overhead freezing compartment. He had to get in there and see, if it really held something valuable.
Yoji glanced around and deemed a kitchen chair sufficient for his task. He pushed it in front of the refrigerator, hopped onto the seat and carefully put his paws up the smooth surface. He clenched the handle of the freezing compartment between his teeth and pulled, but it did not open.
"You have to change the angle," the badger said between two bites.
"I noh dat," Yoji answered with the handle still between his teeth. He let go of it, positioned himself anew and tried again. Now the compartment opened and a cool breeze washed over him. His stuck his head into the cold box and really spotted an angular package in one corner. He slowly dragged it out and let it fall down. It hit the kitchen floor with a loud bang. Yoji winced at the sound and almost lost his balance.
"Great", he muttered to himself. "Now all I have to do is wait for several hours unless I want to break all my teeth at the frozen lump. Maybe I could lick it? Like ice-cream?"
He tried but the cold bit his tongue so badly that he refused to give it another go. He barked at the frozen meat in frustration. Meanwhile Crawford had finished his second apple and went for the third before he paused and reconsidered. Then he carefully picked up the apple between his teeth and headed towards the door.
"Where are you going?"
Crawford put down the apple and turned back to Yoji. "I want to bring Nagi something to eat. We need him functionable for the up-coming events."
Yoji tilted his head. "You live together, don't you?"
A hesitated frown answered him. "This is none of you business."
"Well, tit for tat, my friend. You came here for our help, you ate our food. The least thing you owe me is information."
"You are a very curious person."
"Some would even call it nosy." Yoji grinned. "Kinda comes with the job description. I was a private investigator before I joined Weiß."
Crawford looked at him unmoved. "I will not give you personal information on any member of Schwarz including myself."
Yoji laughed out loud. "You are more closed-lipped than Manx when I ask her for a date. I doubt she even has a personal living space. Maybe Persia hides her in his closet."
Crawford's eyebrows moved up an inch. "Manx? Persia?"
Yoji rewarded him with a sweet smile. "That would be too much information, wouldn't it? I'd like to see what Manx turned into, though. With those legs I would go for a gazelle or something like that."
"A domestic animal would be more likely considering the fact that all of you turned into...pets."
"Yeah, that was something I wondered about." Yoji walked up to Crawford and studied his black and white face. "What makes you so special that you become wild animals when everyone else turns into Animal Farm inhabitants."
Crawford's expression turned into a mask of pure haughtiness. "I doubt that you are able to grasp the level of our superiority. You know about my ability and you have seen Nagi move things just by thinking about it. Do you really need more explanation? Also this would even add to my impression of you. You Weiß are just a small nuisance, not even worth sparing a second thought about. We would not even need our gifts to keep you at bay. You only live because we let you."
A growl escaped Yojis throat. He had tried nice, but I looked like Crawford would not give that easily. "If we are that superfluous, why are you here? What do you want from us? What is it, that we can do that you oh-so-superior beings can't."
An uneasy silence fell between them. They stared at each other until Crawford finally turned away.
"I have to go and see how Nagi is doing," he said, took the apple and wanted to leave, when Yoji spoke up again.
"You don't know and that scares you."
Crawford stopped in his tracks. He seemed to consider how to answer to that.
"I am not scared," he finally said. "Fear is something I have abandoned a long time ago."
Yoji wanted to take the stupid badger by his neck and shake some sense into him.
"How well do you think we will work together when you do not trust us? Give me a break from all that preening and put your cards on the table."
Crawford chuckled put the apple down again. "If I did that, would that not make this a child's game? If you want to play with the grown-ups, you have to know how to guess your opponent's moves."
"I thought we are on the same side this time."
The badger's striped face turned into a smirk. "Who knows." Then he picked up the apple and left for good.
Yoji watched him climb down the steps to the basement and growled. "Who does he think he is? Besides a man with strange psychic abilities turned into a ball of fur. Just like anyone else. He is no better than we are. Or is he?"
Yoji shook his head so hard his ears flapped around. "These Schwarz are really getting on my nerves." He went back to the kitchen and shot the package of meat a look. "And so are you! Maybe I should get some fresh air. Go for a walk or something. Seems like a better idea than to try the bathroom again. Heeding nature's call in the bath tub again is not an option. So off we go. And when I come back, diner's ready."
With that thought in mind he left for a small stroll around the block. He really missed his cigarettes, but the spring sun warming his sand-brown fur was convenient enough to let him forget. Or maybe it was the delicate Irish setter lady with the shiny fur and warm brown eyes, that kept him distracted a little longer than he had planned. When he came back, it was already late in the afternoon and his belly was rumbling loudly.
"I guess, it's supper time", he said to himself, as he went up the stairs to the kitchen. He was just about to burst in, when he suddenly heard something. He cocked his ears and listened carefully. There were small, wet noises. As if someone was munching something soft. But what was it...?
He nearly growled, when he realized, what must have happened. Someone had come to eat HIS food.
I'll kill him. Literally. This badger has better said his prayers.
Yoji ducked down and crawled forward. It was a bit difficult to get his long legs in order, but he was used to that. He crept forth until he reached the door opening and tentatively peeked in. What he saw made his jaw drop. There was a cat sitting in the middle of the kitchen. It had teared the package of minced meat open and had spread the content on half of the kitchen. Yoji swallowed when the smell of the meat hit him and made his mouth water. But what a willful waste of this heavenly gift was going on here? He looked in disbelief, as the cat picked up another chunk from the package and tossed its head around. The precious food was spread in every direction and the stupid feline only got a small bite of it into its muzzle. And now it went to get another piece. This had to come to an end. Now!
"Hey!" he barked and shot around the corner.
The cat, Yoji now finally remembered was Aya, literally jumped up several feet and caterwauled at the top of his voice. Unfortunately, his leap was stopped by the kitchen table under which he had withdrawn to eat. The table began to totter, the coffee mug placed on edge dropped down and shattered on the kitchen floor with a ear-piercing crash. Aya shrieked again and was up on the table in no time. From there he hissed and spat at Yoji, who had crouched down, paws over his head, to avoid any damage from the flying ceramics. His breath caught, when he saw Aya's tail twitch and turn, until it finally hit the vase in the middle of the table. It toppled over and poured its green and wet content over the already defiled meat.
Yoji closed his eyes. "I know, I need more vegetables and fibers in my diet, but this is ridiculous."
He sighed and got up. "Hey, Aya. Calm down. It's just me, not a cucumber sneaking up on you."
Aya's eyes were wide, his fur ruffled. He looked like a fluffed out sofa cushion with a bottle brush attached to it.
"What the..YOJI!"
"Live and in person. More or less."
"Where have you been? And where is everyone else?"
"Omi's still in the basement with Nagi and Crawford, I guess. I don't know about the others, though."
"You don't know?" Ayas expression changed from disheveled to disapproving. "Why don't you know? I was gone for almost three hours. What did you do in the meantime? Why didn't search for Ken and the other two Schwarz, if they are missing?"
"Well..." Yoji sat down and scratched behind his ear with his hind leg. "You see, at first I wanted to get something to eat, but then I got into a fight with Crawford instead." Aya's did not look the least satisfied so Yoji continued.
"After that I went for a walk. I did not want to stay and look at the meat I just could not eat."
He spared the kitchen a glance. It looked utterly devastated with pieces of meat and the broken mug all over the floor, the flowers withering on top of that and water dripping slowly from the table. The only neat thing left was Aya.
"A walk..." Aya said in a tone that made clear, he did not believe him. His almond-shaped eyes stared at Yoji as if he had something written on his forehead. Yoji instinctively draw back a bit.
"Mm-mhm. I needed to pee, you know, and after that..."
"Yes?" Aya leaned forward. He looked like he was ready to jump from the table and sink his claws into Yoji's nose. "What did you do after that?"
"Well..." A complacent grin decorated Yoji's face. "It seems like being a dog does not make me any less irresistible to the ladies. And dogs are much lees complicated when it comes to courting." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"Eww, Yoji, stop! That's gross!" a high-pitched voice came from the kitchen door. "I wish I had fingers, so I could put them in my ears." Omi was sitting in the door frame and looked around with big blue eyes. "What happened? What did you two do to the kitchen?"
"That wasn't me!" Yoji immediately vetoed. "And you should be grateful I had such nice company. Otherwise I could be chasing you around to get diner as Aya ruined mine. Primal needs, you remember? Feeding them seems to lead to being more of your human self again. However, I cannot guarantee how long it will last."
Aya ignored Yoji's speech and focused his attention on Omi. "How far have you come with the mission plan?"
"It's almost complete. We still have to discuss some details, though. There is..."
Whatever Omi wanted to say was drowned in a loud crash from the basement followed by angry barks and shouts. The rabbit went alert, raised his ears and sniffed towards the kitchen door, his whiskers vibrating furiously.
"That's sounds like Ken. We should go and help him."
"Right behind you," Yoji answered. Nevertheless, he overtook Omi in the hall and went down the stairs in a rush. More shouting and growling could be heard somewhere near. He followed the sounds and came to the door that led to the shop. Behind it he could hear Ken bark intimidations and Schuldig's nasal voice answering him in a mocking tone. Yoji did not hesitate any longer. He jumped up, opened the door, went in and froze on the spot.
Music: Bulletproof - La Roux