Felis Domesticus

A/N: I actually have legit excuses. But who wants to hear an author ramble about that? Please carry on as if the unexpected and unannounced two month-long hiatus never happened…

Which, of course, it didn't. Obviously.

5

"Ichi-nii… Ichi-nii…"

The voice sounded distant. It also sounded extremely familiar, the pitch distinctly that of a small girl's. The tone was urgent, as if the caller had something important to say. However, his mind protested awakening, insisting on a little more sleep. The voice continued despite his unwillingness to respond. Then he felt a small hand rest on his arm, beginning to shake back and forth. Karin? No, too soft and gentle. Yuzu? … Yuzu!

Suddenly, he found that he couldn't breathe.

His mind immediately wrenched itself out of the semi-conscious state, fueled by his rising panic. Something heavy and thick was blocking his airway, resting directly on top his face. Something lumpy… something furry… something alive… and denying him oxygen. With a muffled gurgle, which only resulted in a mouthful of fur, Ichigo grabbed the offending animal off his face and tried to fling it across the room. He immediately bolted up in bed, gasping for breath and clutching at his chest. He tried to give his best early morning glare to the cat, but was countered by a hiss and a snarl from the creature.

Before he could start spewing some choice words at the feline, his mind completely awake now, his attention was diverted to the presence beside him. He turned to see his youngest sister at his bedside, an urgent look adorning her small face. "Ichi-nii! If you don't get up now, you'll be late for school!"

Ichigo swung his head around to glance at his clock, confirming Yuzu's words. He was about to shout another choice word when Rukia stepped inside the bedroom, already wearing her school uniform. "Eh? Ichigo! You still haven't gotten up yet? We'll be late!"

The redhead could feel a vein beginning to twitch on his temple; his efforts to control it were futile. He rounded on Rukia, simultaneously trying to push past Yuzu and get ready for school. "Your stinkin' cat tried to suffocate me in my sleep! He's nothing but a little demon!"

Rukia rolled her eyes, half expecting her friend's dramatic reactions. "Stop exaggerating and acting like a woman. Aoi-chan was just trying to be friendly!"

Knowing he had little time to argue, Ichigo settled with grumbling incoherently under his breath. He dressed and washed up in almost record time, then scrambled after Rukia downstairs to stuff as much breakfast as he could down his throat. He berated himself internally for the mess-up; Kurosaki Ichigo being late for school was almost unheard of. He scowled deeply, deciding to blame the demonic furball of a cat for his rare tardiness. Leaping up from the breakfast table, he was right at the front door when he noticed Rukia holding back.

"So, we're just going to leave him home?" The female Shinigami sported a pout on her face. Reluctance was evident within her large eyes as she stared down at her feet.

Ichigo was quite beside himself. He stared incredulously at his dark-haired friend, his ears not believing what he had just heard. "Of course we're just going to leave him here! That's how it's supposed to be! You want to take him with us to school?!" Not for the first time, the thought of Rukia having some serious issues popped inside Ichigo's head. They were running late as it is!

"Well… n-no…" Rukia sputtered, trying in vain to defend herself.

Ichigo gave a frustrated groan, seized his friend's arm, and dragged her behind him out the front door.

They made it just in time.

The duo reached their seats as the teacher began roll call. Sitting in the classroom for the first few minutes of class, Ichigo couldn't help but think that arriving at the last minute had its merits. There was no running into Asano Keigo trying to inappropriately touch him. (Honestly, that man just couldn't get a clue.) There was no passing by Arisawa Tatsuki and her group of girls looking like she still wanted to smash his face in. There was no bumping into Ishida Uryuu and inevitably exchanging petty insults. Ichigo sighed, how could he just now realize that all the small things in his life had become a comfort? Something constant and able to rely on in his chaotic life.

He allowed his eyes to wander around the classroom, picking out the select people who had grown close to him. Who had fought alongside him. Of course, there was Rukia sitting right next to him in an unusually bouncy mood. There was Sado Yasutora, his large presence that was always reassuring to Ichigo. Lastly, there was Ishida, the Quincy's behavior just arrogant enough to annoy Ichigo to no end. But relieving the memories of his friends brought a sudden and quick spark of pain within his heart. One of them was missing. One that had brought a unique, cheerful, and invaluable personality into their group. Now she was gone, and Ichigo couldn't help but miss the warm 'Good morning, Kurosaki-kun!' that greeted him every day without fail. Pulling himself out of his morose reverie, Ichigo let his eyes wander back to the Quincy, noticing that Ishida was raising an eyebrow in Rukia's direction.

"Is something the matter, Kuchiki-san?" Ishida finally voiced aloud. "You seem rather… excited."

In response, the female Shinigami rotated her head around so fast it was a wonder she didn't get whiplash. Her large eyes sparkled with much glee, as if she was just waiting for someone to ask. "Ichigo and I got a pet!" She burst out loudly to everyone within her vicinity.

Upon hearing the announcement, Ishida couldn't contain an amused snort. "Didn't know Kurosaki was the pet type…"

By now, the ticking vein from earlier was back with a vengeance on Ichigo's temple. His face had taken on a crimson shade, and his brown eyes shot flames at the Quincy. "It wasn't my idea! We found it on the street and I was all for letting it go, but then Rukia had to act the saint and take it in! The thing even bit me!" The redhead all but ranted in fury. In his fit, he hooked two fingers over the collar of his school uniform and tugged it down to reveal the bite mark, the skin still tinged a slight pinkish-red around the wounds.

"Kurosaki-kun!" An indignant shout from the front of the classroom broke the conversation. Ichigo quickly glanced up, seeing his teacher give him a strict look. "Please refrain from indecent exposure and pay attention to my class!"

The classroom's explosion of laughter was almost drowned out by a wail from Keigo. "Ichigo! You got yourself a girlfriend and didn't tell me?! You traitor! I thought we were best friends!" He was about to bawl on further, but didn't get the chance to as a well-aimed pencil case collided with his skull, sending him toppling off his seat in a dazed heap.

Ishida smirked and pushed his glasses higher up his nose with one finger, staring at an enraged Ichigo, a pencil case missing from on top his friend's desk. "Tch. Admit it, Kurosaki. You're getting soft from hanging around women all day." He punctuated his statement by pointedly averting his gaze to Rukia.

If it was possible, Ichigo's face became even redder. Steam all but blew out from his ears as he focused all his anger at the smirking Quincy. "Who are you calling soft, Ishida?! You sew and patch up girls' plushies! How many guys these days can sew for god sa-…?!"

"Kurosaki-kun!" Once again, Ichigo was interrupted by the same indignant shout from the front of the classroom. "For the last time, stop yelling during class and pay attention!"

Ichigo swiveled around in his seat, facing the front. He made himself a mental note to give the Quincy a punch in the face when the next opportunity came.

The class quickly became extremely boring after the brief clash with Ishida at the beginning. Ichigo tried to force himself to concentrate on the quick secession of numbers and letters the teacher was scribbling on the blackboard. He thought he heard something about an upcoming quiz on the topic, but the teacher's droning voice had quickly become a dull buzzing noise to his ears. It didn't help that his eyes were starting to hurt from the lack of sleep the previous night and when he looked down at the notebook on his desk, he was dismayed to see notes that looked more like chicken scratchings in a barnyard. Yes, he definitely thought he heard something about an upcoming quiz.

The redhead groaned in frustration. Stupid cat… It was all the cat's fault. He knew he should've just tossed the infernal thing out the damn window when Rukia wasn't looking. Who knew it would be such a pain to care for?

Rubbing furiously at his weary eyes, he glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. Barely an hour had passed since the beginning of school and Ichigo already wanted to just go back home and collapse on top his bed. Scowling deeply, he shifted his attention to the open window right beside him, gazing out at the beautiful morning sky. Abandoning all futile attention to the lecture, he let his eyes wander across the Karakura Town skyline, picking out familiar buildings. His eyes traveled even lower, sweeping across the empty school courtyard. He could also see the track field and beyond that, a low wall that separated the high school from the street.

He was about to shift his attention elsewhere when he suddenly spotted some commotion near the wall. The commotion became louder and louder until Ichigo realized the sound to be the screaming and laughter of small children. Then, a streaking black blur shot across the empty courtyard, the color contrasting sharply against the dull cement background. A gang of small children chased after the black blur, creating a general racket that pierced through the quiet morning air.

Ichigo couldn't help but lean over further in his seat, mildly curious at the scene. The children didn't show any signs of stopping, continuing to chase the small blur around and around the courtyard and field. The redhead wondered what could be interesting enough to make children chase after it endlessly. It couldn't be a simple ball; the blur was very much a live thing. It was too large to be a rabbit, but too small to be a dog. In fact, it was just the right size to be a cat. Ichigo's eyes were trained on the thing; it was looking increasingly familiar by the second. Just then, a ray of sunlight peeked out from behind a cloud, casting the entire courtyard in a bright glow. The sunlight struck the racing animal, and Ichigo's eyes widened as patches of dark blue flashed from the black fur. Realization hit him harder than the pencil case he threw at Keigo's head.

He didn't think; he just acted. Turning once again to the front of the classroom, Ichigo shot his hand up into the air, effectively catching the teacher's attention mid-sentence.

"Yes, Kurosaki-kun?"

Ichigo blurted out the first thing that came into his mind. "My stomach doesn't feel well. Can I please be excused?"

Without even waiting for a response, he rose from his seat so fast, the chair made a loud squeaking noise as it scraped against the floor. Then, he tore out of the classroom and raced towards the exit as fast as his legs would carry him.

Rukia was startled, to say the least. The redhead had just been spacing out beside her, and the next thing she knew, he was running out of the classroom. Obviously, some kind of emergency had happened. Her first thought was a Hollow attack, but she hadn't sensed any Hollow reiatsu from anywhere close by. Besides, his Shinigami badge hadn't lit up. Then what was the problem? Her curiosity winning out in the end, she raised a hand as well. "Uh… me… me too!" She hastily blurted out. Mimicking the teen, she also dashed out the room as soon as the words left her mouth and proceeded to follow her friend's trail.

Bright sunlight filtered down from the heavens, hitting Ichigo's face and making him wince at the glare. He ran towards the courtyard directly beneath where he was sitting a few minutes ago, his insides already beginning to simmer with annoyance. Questions clouded his mind, the foremost being 'how the hell did the little furball get out of the house?!'

"Hey! You little brats! Quit chasing after my cat!" The children, seeing an angry high schooler running towards them threateningly, promptly shrieked obnoxiously and scurried off the school grounds.

Diverting his attention from the giggling horde of children, Ichigo sprinted even faster, eye on his pet which had begun to slow down upon seeing the children leave. The redhead bent down swiftly, scooping up the unsuspecting cat right into his arms. Any doubts that the animal was his beloved Aoi-chan flew out the window when it bit him on the chest again in greeting, at the exact same spot as the first bite. "Gah! You're impossible!" He ground out, trying to ignore the sting of pain and to keep the squirming animal from leaping out of his arms.

"Ichigo! ICHIGO!" The clacking of fast-paced footsteps approached them, and the redhead turned towards the voice calling his name, only to see the small figure of Rukia speeding across the courtyard. She screeched to a halt in front of the teen, looking curiously at the feline trapped within his arms. "Eh? What's Aoi-chan doing out here? How did he find us?"

Ichigo shrugged and scowled darkly. "Hell if I know. I saw a gang of children chasing after him, so I came down." He held tighter when the cat struggled again, hissing and scratching at his chest.

He glanced at Rukia, seeing a blank look across her small face. He looked back up at his classroom, noticing that they hadn't attracted any attention. At least he could get a breath of fresh air and out of that mind-numbing classroom lecture. "Come on, Rukia." He turned around swiftly, heading for the school grounds exit.

Rukia was startled again; what was her friend up to now? "Ichigo! Where are you going? Back home?" She rushed to catch up to him, then slowing down until she fell in step.

The redhead only continued on. "Well, since we're out here already, we might as well visit Urahara. No use delaying."

Flap.

Flap. Flap.

Urahara Kisuke was in a good mood. He was currently sprawled out on a rocking chair on the porch of his shop. In one hand, he held his signature fan enjoying the breeze against his face, and the other hand was rhythmically stroking the sleeping black cat stretched out on his lap. It was a nice spring day, the weather hinting at summer and the air blissfully quiet. He was glad he had sent Jinta and Ururu out on an errand; now he could enjoy lazing around in peace.

Yes, Urahara Kisuke was in a very good mood.

A wind casually blew past, ruffling his blond hair underneath his striped hat. It was a bit cooler than the other breezes, and Urahara suddenly frowned. The wind felt a little odd, like it was warning him that change was about to happen. He snapped his fan shut; his good mood tarnished a little. Yoruichi stirred within his lap.

Someone was coming.

Urahara heard rather than saw; it was the rhythmic tapping of footsteps on the pavement that gave it away. In fact, there were two people coming. The blond lifted his head in time to see his two favorite customers casually walking toward his direction. It was not an uncommon sight: Ichigo and Rukia frequented his shop for one thing or another. But what is this? Urahara mused in curiosity. An almost identical black cat was nestled within the redhead's arms; it's fur on end.

The blond sighed wistfully, knowing that his peaceful rest had come to an end. Such a pity it was so short. He quickly shooed Yoruichi off his lap, meekly apologizing when she gave him a glare before running off. He straightened his attire as much as he could, adjusted his hat, and smoothly slid open the front door of his shop. "Welcome, welcome. Anything I can do for such lovely customers?"

Ichigo rolled his eyes, stepping right in. Rukia had the decency to reply in earnest. "Urahara-san! We just thought we'd stop by for you to check on something. It's really not a big deal, but Ichigo insisted."

Urahara waved his fan in the direction of the back of his shop dismissively. "Yes, yes. Just set it down on the table and I'll be right there." He slid the door closed again, something telling him there would be an interesting conversation coming up. Nothing with those two was quite boring, it seemed…

As he entered the backroom of his shop, the blond was greeted by two anxious Shinigami, an empty tabletop, and Tessai shuffling about trying to serve everyone tea and cookies. The scene looked almost normal, except Ichigo was forcefully holding down the black cat in his arms, restricting its limbs. Urahara blinked down at the animal. "I assume that is what you two want me to take a look at?"

Rukia nodded, shoving a cookie into her mouth. "Ichigo's being paranoid again…" She then went on to explain their situation, about the finding of the cat, her conclusions, and finally ending with complaining about Ichigo's constant paranoia. "I'm pretty sure it's just a poor cat at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"It's just better to be safe than sorry!" Her friend obstinately argued, still restraining the squirming cat.

Urahara hmm-ed in thought. Hollow attacks on animals were almost unheard of, but not entirely impossible. The scenario in front of him was indeed a little interesting, and his curiosity was piqued. Even if the creature turned out to be just an ordinary animal, it wouldn't hurt to have an examination.

"Alright, alright. Settle down. I'll do a quick reiatsu analysis on it. That should tell us all we need to know." Urahara quickly grabbed ahold of the cat from Ichigo, mindful of its protruding claws. However, the feline only struggled even harder, hissing spitefully at the blond shop manager. "Feisty one, isn't he?" Urahara managed a weak chuckle, before disappearing out another door in a hurry.

Urahara Kisuke knew a sticky situation when he saw one.

He sighed again as his instincts proved right once more – nothing with those two really was boring. Right now, he found himself furiously trying to decide what to do with the situation before him. In truth, he had never seen anything like this in his entire life, and doubted he would ever again. Unless, of course, that thief Aizen became an even sicker bastard.

Staring back at him, with the most malicious cerulean eyes, was a cat. No. He corrected himself. An Arrancar. He at first couldn't believe the data from his reiatsu analysis, but there was no possibility for any errors during the testing. Somehow, the Arrancar had shape-shifted into a cat and its reiatsu dispersed around it, unable to be reached. Of course, he already had formulated a few theories, but each one seemed more unlikely than the one before.

His first guess was espionage. Aizen wanted an extremely discreet way of monitoring human and shinigami activities in the human world. But something of this scale was ridiculous. An animal spy had many risks and was too defenseless, which was just proven by Rukia's story. Besides, Aizen hardly needed any spies; he knew the entire mechanics of Seireitei better than the back of his hand and anything in the human world was too trivial for him.

There was also the possibility that Aizen was merely experimenting. The ex-captain had shown a high interest in transformations, tweaking around with nature until one thing was changed into another. The Arrancar before him could just be another hapless victim of Aizen's twisted experiments. However, the data showed that the creature was a powerful Arrancar: its dispersed reiatsu contained massive potential. Aizen wouldn't risk one of his precious Arrancars for such experimentation, not with the expected war looming so close on the horizon.

Maybe, everything was just one horrific accident. Urahara had considered that, but dismissed it when he reminded himself that Aizen did not take lightly to mistakes. There would be no reason for an "accident" to wander around in the human world. Aizen would have quickly disposed of the problem.

In fact, there weren't many tools in existence that had the ability to transform other things at all. Only the most prestigious and ambitious scientists of Soul Society delved into that particular field. The last known item with a transformation ability was the Hougyoku that he himself had created, but of course, it wasn't for the purpose of shape-shifting.

A light bulb suddenly flashed within Urahara's mind. While it was true he didn't develop that small orb for trivial shape-shifting, who knew what Aizen could do with it while it was in his grubby hands. By now, the little thief had probably transformed hundreds of masked Hollows and knew every little secret there was to Urahara's prized invention. There was a possibility that Aizen could have adjusted the Hougyoku to better suit his needs, even use it to shape-shift Arrancars into house pets.

Though, why he would so such a thing was a mystery to Urahara.

"If you were indeed transformed by the Hougyoku, you should still be able to understand human speech since your mind shouldn't have been tampered by it." The blond announced in a clear voice.

The malicious cerulean orbs never ceased its glare, but a very slight nod was distinguishable.

Ah! So it was the Hougyoku! Urahara thought triumphantly. "You also should know by now that I know exactly what you were before and I have no qualms about telling your owners in the other room, so I will advise you against any rash behavior."

But what exactly was he supposed to do? He had the creature successfully backed into a corner and held its life in the palm of his hand, but none of this hinted at what he should do. By all rights, he should have ended its existence the moment he knew it had a Hollow nature. That was what being a Shinigami dictated and he could feel Benihime stir within her confines inside his cane. But then, weren't Vaizards of a Hollow nature as well? The line drawn between Hollow and Shingami wasn't so clear anymore. Also, Urahara was very curious.

"Well, Arrancar, it seems we're both in a pickle here. I don't know what your leader is planning or what he means by transforming you into cat. But I'm sure you can tell me eventually." He paused, making sure he had the animal's full attention before continuing. "From what I can gather, there is a chance that your reiatsu can condense and you can fully access it if you are near another being with high reiatsu levels. Meaning, there is a possibility you may be able to transform back into an Arrancar without experiencing the Hougyoku again. Though, you must understand there are no guarantees."

The feline was paying rapt attention to his every word, giving another slight nod.

So why was he telling it all this? "There is still much more research and knowledge that could be gathered from your current state, even if you do eventually transform back. I could be able to find out exactly what Aizen has done to adjust the Hougyoku, or I could test your dispersed reiatsu for more information on the Arrancars in general. So I'll make you a deal. I won't reveal your true identity to your owners in return for more opportunities in the future to examine you. If you refuse, I'll tell them and leave your fate to their hands."

Urahara knew he was playing with fire, but damn if he would let an opportunity like this go. After all, he had a promise to keep to the Vaizards.

He waited with bated breath until finally, finally, the animal gave its consent. There wasn't much of an option in the first place, and it knew that it was cornered. Though, the searing death glare never lessened in its intensity. "Excellent!" Without warning, the blond's mood took a complete turn and he almost beamed. Quickly, he gathered the animal in his arms and proceeded to return to the back room.

A quick cough announced his presence to the room's two occupants. Two pairs of eyes immediately landed on him, waiting expectantly for the verdict. Urahara deliberately waited a few seconds until the suspense was quite ready to choke. "Well, it would seem Rukia is right this time. I suppose you two have just simply found a very special cat." He calmly waited until Rukia's outburst of 'Ha! I told you so!' quieted down, before continuing. "However, you might want to bring it back for regular check-ups in the future, especially if you sense any change in its reiatsu level."

Rukia grinned happily, walking over to carefully take back her pet. She expected a few more scratches from the energetic animal, but was surprised when it just sat still in her arms. Perhaps it was finally tired? "Thank you, Urahara-san! If there's nothing else, we'll get going then."

The blond's eyes twinkled at the girl's words, and he whipped out his fan in a perfect sneaky salesman imitation. "Actually, a large shipment of Soul Candy just arrived today and I believe you mentioned something about being low on supply of Chappy the Rabbit…?" He quickly steered Rukia back towards his shop, commenting on the low prices.

"Hey! What about me?" The duo turned around to face an indignant Ichigo, completely left out on what had just occurred.

Urahara once again waved his fan dismissively. "You can sit on the front steps outside until we're done." He started to turn back around, before suddenly remembering something. "Oh! It'd be easier if you took your cat too."

Before long, Ichigo found himself idly waiting outside on the front porch of the shop. He was scowling heavily at the dirt ground, kicking a pebble every now and then. Rukia sure took her sweet time deciding which color of Chappy the Rabbit dispenser looked better. Maybe visiting Urahara that day was a poor choice on his part. He was now rotting outside in the sun rather than rotting inside a classroom. Besides, that stupid cat turned out alright after all. Now, there was absolutely no chance of it going anywhere other than under his roof. Not that fortune was ever on his side anyway.

The front of his worn sneakers stopped midway in front of another stray pebble when he spotted the source of his annoyance slinking out the front door. If it was possible, his mood sunk another notch. The feline bounded over to the edge of the porch, blinking down before turning its impossibly blue eyes at the teen. It swished its sleek black tail from side to side, and then a small pink tongue appeared to lick off a speck on its cheek.

Ichigo, of course, did not give in to what dozens of schoolgirls would label as 'cute'. "What do you want?" He spoke rather callously.

He had half a mind to return to his sulking, ignoring the cat, when it suddenly surprised him by padding over and nudging its way into his lap. "The hell…?!" Ichigo sputtered, not knowing whether to push the pet away or to abruptly stand up to let it drop or to call Rukia for help. A pathetic feeling of lameness washed over him as he cursed his own inexperience with animals. He froze for a brief moment when he saw that the cat just laid there in his lap, doing absolutely nothing. No scratching. No biting. Just stretched out looking cozy in his lap.

His first thought was that it was all a trap. The little furball had upgraded to a new level of evil and had decided to play nice at first, gaining his trust, before giving him another dose of pain in the chest. But Kurosaki Ichigo was a smarter man than that and never underestimated his opponents. He sat there for a few more seconds, staring at his lap suspiciously. A few more moments ticked by and the cat still showed no sign of movement.

Maybe miracles did happen. Whatever Urahara did in his analysis apparently made the animal suddenly turn non-aggressive. Ichigo became increasingly aware of the growing warmth on his thighs from the cat's body heat. If it always acted like this, then Ichigo would be more tempted to let it stay. Hesitantly, he lifted a hand in the air, bringing it down gingerly on the black fur. He waited another second for a reaction, but still nothing came. The fur felt softer than it looked, almost silky. Before he knew what exactly he was doing, the pleasantly surprised teen was slowly stroking the soft fur of cat's back, occasionally using one finger to scratch between the two upright ears. His scowl softened a little. Maybe Rukia was right in more than one way. He might as well get used to it if the animal was staying permanently.

He never liked fighting losing battles.

A/N: Yes, Ichigo is being used.

Kudos to Urahara to steer things in the right direction. XD