Chapter 2 : I'm Not A Cat!
They had just arrived into Kouta's apartment. It wasn't a big one compared to human's size, only consisted of two bedrooms for Kouta and his sister, one small kitchen aligned with dining room that also functioned as a living room. But to a cat, that apartment was more than enough. Kaito noticed how small his feature was, as he eyed Kouta's feet who just changed into his slipper. He was still couldn't believe the drastic change he undergone just a few moments ago. Was he destined to stuck in that form? Was there any way out of this?
Suddenly he was being pulled again, surprised because he was deep in his thought. Kouta took the drenched cat into his small room and put Cat Kaito on his small square-shaped table on the floor. The dark-haired man then went into his drawer and rummaged the insides to find a pair of of towel. He slung one into his shoulder, but he dried the cat first. He looked keen on the golden-eyed cat, making sure he dried it quickly, Kouta didn't want the cat to catch pneumonia or something. "I guess it was quicker if I just use a blower.. but I don't think you're gonna like it, huh?"
Why the hell didn't Kaito like it? It was a hell lot faster, but damnit, he just got to make his point. So he started to duck Kouta's towel and growled to get him the hair dryer. He knew he couldn't talk, but he just had to try. "Huh? You want me to use the dryer?"
Kaito nodded a little (thank God he still could nod), while Kouta got into his knees." Okay, if you said so.."
A moment later, the dark-haired man returned with a hair-dryer. It was fortunate that he lived with a sister, you never knew when you will need things like a dryer. The first time he turned the dryer on, Kaito jumped from the table, really surprised at the sound. Now he understand why cats hated vacuum cleaners, their ears were just too sensitive to hear loud sounds. Now Kouta looked at him apologetically, the man knew cats wouldn't like it, even though he set it on the lowest temperature to reduce the blower's sound. But Kaito was not an ordinary cat, so he tried his best to calm his nerves and sitting still on the table, cueing Kouta to start drying him.
"You're one strange cat, you know?" said Kouta, clearly indicating his interest.
As his rival dried his body, Kaito could felt warmth coming back into his body. Now he felt much more relaxed than a few moments ago. The phrase 'a wet cat is an unhappy cat' was right indeed. Now he sit on the table, silently enjoying the fingers that unravel each of his fur from the water drops, as Kouta slowly restored his prime form.
The dark-haired man hummed as he brushed the mane around the neck. He rarely saw a cat with a striking feature like this. Kaito's cat form reminded him of a small lion, with lush fur and gorgeous stripes. This cat must have come from an upper-class house.
"Where do you came from, Neko-chan? I bet you got a very nice home," said Kouta."Although.. if you have an owner, why didn't he gave you any name tag or something?"
That's because I'm not a cat, you idiot, said Kaito's inner-self. Boy, he had to get used talking to himself if he had to spent the rest of his life like this..
Kouta beamed again while poking the cat's head, "Are you running away from your home? You naughty cat~ or maybe you got a secret lover somewhere?" Yes, this reminded Kaito why he couldn't stand Kazuraba Kouta. He was too naive and flirty and annoying to be considered his equal, and he wondered why he couldn't beat this man to pulp yet.
The sound of the rain already diminished, Kaito felt that it was the time to disengaged himself from this idiot. His small features moved swifter than he was in human form and headed into the door. Kouta jolted as his companion turned into a blur of stripes before he realized the cat just wanted to go out again. Kaito just mewled again, asking to open the door. "Hey, take it easy, Neko-chan! I just dried up your fur! Are you sure you want to go out now?"
The cat flashed a look as if it was scowling into Kouta, so he obeyed, opened the door and let the cat with the mane walked out. Luckily, the cat wasn't in any hurry so Kouta could follow behind. The man wondered about the cat a lot. He used to be fascinated with cats long time ago, but he could't keep any in his apartment because the rule said so. Cats weren't supposed to be possessed this level of intelligence and a sense of self-conscious. Yet, Kouta found himself stuck with this strangely smart cat and he just had to know who's the owner of such a great cat. He recalled his memories of where he found the cat, but looks like the cat wasn't heading into that direction. Although the man with the blue parka was sure the cat knew its destination, because its head and gaze kept up the whole time.
For a while, the pair was silent as people starting to fill the streets again, relief that the rain has gone. Kouta recognized this area, it was the way towards Team Baron's base. Maybe it was just a coincidence.. or not?
Kaito actually was running out of option. He didn't really have any choice, other than trying to contact his former team mate. At least he knew Zack and Peco would always be there for him. But given this situation, he doubted that they would recognized him, but he would not give up.
With his cat eyes, he easily spotted his team. But it seemed as if they wanted to stroll out from the base. If Kaito lost them, it will be hard to find them again, so he dashed towards the base.
Kouta, who didn't expect the cat to suddenly run like that, instinctively followed the cat, while amazingly hurdled a few metal fences on the street. Just when the cat reached a crossings, the traffic light had just turned into green light for the opposite way, making a few cars to speed up. The cat was in danger, but he couldn't thought of anything as his mind was too occupied with the chasing. He reached the cat, but his vision was black after that.
Author's Note : I tried my best to describe what would cats do.. since I don't have any pets. It's pretty fun to write about creature other than human, lol :)
I think I need to restraint myself from over-writing, because it tends to make me forgot about glossary and tenses.. Any corrections for my writings is gladly accepted..