AN: And time for a quick, cute oneshot regarding Ayumi and Ai's friendship, because it is the most precious thing of them all. Until next time, thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave a review!

The Cat's Meow

Characters: Haibara Ai, Yoshida Ayumi

Summary: There's basically no way she could say no to that face- either of them, really.

"But Ai-chan, they'll die if we leave them here!"

Ai opened her mouth to protest- there was no doubt that on a street with heavy foot traffic as this one, that someone would eventually come along, who was far more well equipped to deal with this situation. As much sympathy as she felt for the creatures- the four kittens, almost as tiny as her hand, neither of them really had the ability to take them in. Ayumi's apartment didn't allow for pets, and there were too many dangerous things lying around the Professor's place for her to bring them home with her.

She didn't know which expression caused her to shut her mouth however, causing her to rethink her words. Was it Ayumi's pleading expression, pulling at that big sister instinct that she had been developing for the younger girl? Or perhaps it was that of the kitten that she all but clutched in her arms, who for all the world looked as if she was pleading for Ai to take her with her. Perhaps it was both, both expressions tugging at her heartstrings in ways many things couldn't.

At the very least, it was only the two of them here now. She didn't want Conan of all people to see her with this kind of expression on her face. He'd never let her live it down, nevermind the fact that she was the older of the two, if only by a year.

Heaving a long sigh, half feeling like she was going to regret this, Ai reached out, carefully taking the kitten from Ayumi's arms. It was so warm to the touch, and all but curled up in her grasp as she took it, letting out a faint meow, soft paws pressing against her chest. Unable to keep such a thing off of her face, a tender expression surfaced, as she lightly reached out a hand, scratching the kitten underneath the chin. As it purred at her touch, Ai's soft smile only grew.

"Very well, Ayumi-chan." Ai said after a long moment, turning back to her. "I suppose that we can't exactly just leave them here. Someone bad might come along for all we know, and these babies deserve better than to have to deal with that."

"Thank you, Ai-chan!" Ayumi's bright smile all but lit up the very air around her. Turning back around on her heel, she gazed cheerfully down towards the other three kittens, reaching out her hands and petting their little heads, listening to the meow every time she tried to move her hands away from one of them. "Did you hear that? We're going to find you all nice places to live!"

"We can't take them to my place, or your place, so the question remains- where exactly should we take them?" Ai asked, carefully placing the kitten that she had been cradling in her arms back down in the box with it's siblings. The kitten carefully made it's way over towards them, rubbing herself against them, curling up with them, looking quite content for a poor thing that had been thrown out so heartlessly. "Either way, we should probably give Kobayashi-sensei a call soon, and see if she can arrange something with the school to help us find homes for them."

"I don't think we could take them to Mitsuhiko-kun's place. Ayumi thinks his mom's allergic to them." Ayumi said with a frown. "And Genta-kun's place is a store, so I don't think we can bring them there, either."

"What about that place then?" Ai asked after a moment, a slightly sly grin crossing her face. "If I recall correctly, sometimes they look after a cat there already, so I don't think they should have any protests to looking after these sweeties for a few days."

That was how they ended up at the front door of the Mouri Detective Agency, box of kittens in hand, both girls putting on their best pleading looks as they tearfully begged the detective to look after the poor abandoned darlings for at least the next few days while they found them proper homes. And whether it was because of their own tearful expressions, or because of the pleading meows of the kittens, just as Ai predicated, Mouri Kogoro eventually was forced to cave in.