A/N: I'm still thrilled that people are liking this fic. Thank you so much! XD

Pages of a Storybook

Chapter 04: May 26 - Misplaced Concern

Kei frowned as a stranger bumped against his shoulder while another brushed against him arm. The shopping district was packed with people and being one of the taller persons roaming the streets, he could see the top of hundreds of heads moving in a steady pace in all sorts of directions. The honking of horns and growling of car engines coupled with the endless chatter of the different people surrounding him caused his eyebrows to narrow together in distaste.

He hated going to this part of the city. There were far too many people making a racket directly in his ears that it was giving him a headache. People were also huddled so closely together that sometimes he found himself pinned at the center of it all and tugged this way and that. He did his best to avoid being stuck in that nasty situation because it provided strangers a wonderful opportunity to take advantage of him.

And boy, how they abused him whenever he was forced in such a state! There was one time when he had been groped so much that he glared and jostled as frantically as he could just to get free from all those dirty hands. That experience had left him scarred for life.

Ten minutes passed until he finally saw the shop he was looking for. There weren't as many people flocking the entrance, but there were a number of excited kids pointing and laughing at the store's glass windows. Different pets in fancy cages were lined up to attract the animal lovers while discount banners in gaudy colors decorated the store's sign. Tiny bells jingled merrily as he entered the store and an elderly lady manning the counter greeted him with a crooked smile.

"Ah, Hazuki-kun... Good to see you again." She adjusted the round spectacles on top of her nose as she motioned for him to come closer. "What do you want today, my boy?"

Kei's eyes softened at the good-natured old lady and gave her one of his rare smiles. "Ah... the usual, please."

"Oh! Cat food again, eh?" She cackled as she slowly rummaged one of her cabinets. "That's the second time this month! Have you been adopting cats off the streets again?" She teased as she handed him a rather large sack of cat food. Her scrawny hands trembled at the weight and Kei immediately took the heavy load off her arms. "I swear if I didn't know any better, I'll start to think that you're the one eating this and not the cats."

Kei grinned at the old lady's teasing. The last time he entertained her jokes, she had refused to give him cat food for a month and instead offered him some of her home-cooked meals. It was sort of a good thing that she had forgotten about it a few weeks later and even wondered why he never came to the store as much as he used to anymore.

After saying a brief goodbye at the old woman, Kei slipped out of the store and into the bustling streets again. The load in his arms was heavier than usual and he stopped to take a closer look at the package inside the paper bag, checking if she had correctly given him what he had asked for. The cats at the school were surprisingly picky about their food and since he hadn't been able to visit them as much this month, he wanted to give them a nice treat as compensation.

"Hazuki-kun!"

Still a bit distracted by the thoughts of the cats and the food clutched in his hands, it took a few more seconds before he realized that he was being called. His eyes landed on the copper haired girl's smiling face. "Hm? Oh, it's you."

Her smile dropped and she looked up at him with a curious expression. "What's with that response?" She then noticed the large package he was carrying. "Oh, were you shopping? So what did you buy?" She edged closer to have a closer look as if the sack in his hands was the most interesting thing in the world.

"Food." He answered simply.

Her eyes widened considerably as soon as she read the label. "Cat food...? Ehh? You're not going to eat that, are you?" She took a step back and pointed disbelievingly at him. She didn't even give him the chance to explain before she rattled on. "You shouldn't! It's better to eat something more normal for humans, you know!"

"...Is that so?" He raised an eyebrow at her mild scolding. Her reaction was definitely strange. Normally, people would assume that someone owned a cat if they saw that person buying cat food.

His back visibly stiffened. How in the world did she figure out that he had eaten the stuff before?

Well... He HAD been staring at the sack for quite a while now. He couldn't help it. The tasty smell was just too tempting to resist.

"That's all you have to say...?" She frowned before crossing her arms over her chest.

"But they seem to really enjoy eating this." He frowned, thinking about the cats at the school grounds and their insatiable appetites. This brand of cat food was their favorite and for good reasons, too. He didn't see the point why he wouldn't enjoy it as much as the cats.

"...They?"

"Cats." He supplied, his mind a bit elsewhere now. He was getting a bit hungry. Would the cats mind if he ate with them? "The ones that live behind the gym."

A hot blush began to spread across her cheeks at the realization. "Oh... I-I see." She scratched the back of her head in embarrassment and her gaze darted everywhere except to his face. "Of course I knew that. Aha... Hahaha..."

"Right." He said, wondering what she was so embarrassed about. He leaned forward a bit as if he was telling her a closely guarded secret. "Besides, this stuff actually tastes pretty good." If it wasn't so unhealthy, he'd even make it a point to nibble on the stuff if he got the chance.

Her reaction was priceless and he left her standing in the middle of the street with a dumbfounded expression.

It took him an hour later to realize that she had only been worried about him and his weird choice of snacks, but in return for her concern, he had indirectly suggested that she should try eating some cat food herself.

He briefly wondered how strange that must have sounded. Shrugging it off, he entered a convenience store and started to look for the milk he really liked.

Cat food with milk was the best combination, after all.

A/N: Ahh... cat food. In a way, I can relate to Kei's curiosity about its taste. I own two cats and their food DOES smell unbelievably tasty. I'm too afraid to try eating some, though. Hehehe! XD Kei's a pretty weird character but he's sooo freakin' adorable! I really think he's not as serious as he looks.

Thanks so much again for reading and reviewing! You guys are the best!

darkness01: I'm so happy you think so! XD I also tried calling Kei for a date every week, but he gets annoyed if you do it often. Hehehe!