Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my OCs (although there are a lot of those by this point.)

Shizuo let out a sigh of relief when he got home and found Tania and Rimiko weren't back yet. He could hide the package without worrying about his daughter finding her present early. Once the package had been properly hidden, the blond found himself unusually tired, and decided to lay down on the couch for a nap while he waited for his wife and daughter to get home.

When Tania opened the door and let Rimiko dart into the house, she frowned. Where was Shizuo? He should've beaten them home, and when that happened, he usually came to greet her at the door. Maybe he was in the bathroom or something.

"Mom! Mom, look!" Rimiko, who had dashed off into the apartment as soon as the door had opened enough for her to fit through, came skipping back to her mother with what appeared to be a large bundle of golden brown fur.

"Rimi-chan…is that a cat?" Tania asked, astonished. The girl beamed.

"Yep! Feel how soft he is, mom!" How had a cat gotten into the apartment? The feline – which was large for a house cat, with its shaggy gold fur making it seem even larger than it actually was – blinked up at Tania with huge brown eyes. There seemed to be an odd mixture of emotions in the cat's gaze – hope and fear and anger and love – and Tania wondered if maybe she was dreaming because that cat looked so familiar somehow, but she was positive she had never seen a cat like this before.

"Where did you find him?" the teacher asked. Her daughter grinned.

"On the couch, tangled up in one of Dad's outfits," Rimiko answered cheerfully. Tania blinked. Why on earth…? Her phone chimed, alerting her to a new text message. When she checked, she saw it was from Celty, and dread filled her. Had something happened to Shizuo when he went to Celty and Shinra's home to fetch the package? Was Celty texting to tell her that her husband was hurt?

'I'm really sorry, but Shizuo may turn into a cat if he hasn't already.'

Tania blinked. What…? It wasn't like Celty to make jokes like that. Involuntarily, Tania glanced at the now-somewhat-disgruntled cat in her daughter's arms and watched for a moment as Rimiko cooed over the feline, petting it and cuddling it.

"Mom, can we keep him?" Rimiko asked, staring up at her mother pleadingly, her caramel-colored eyes wide and hopeful. That look was usually enough to make her father cave in and agree to pretty much anything (there was a memorable incident of him allowing Rimiko to put ribbons in his hair and her using that look to get him to wear them to work), but Tania – who occasionally resorted to using a similar expression to convince her husband to cooperate – steeled herself and shook her head.

"Look how healthy he looks. He's probably somebody's pet. We can't keep him," she told her daughter, who sighed dejectedly. "You know we can't have pets in the apartment anyway. We should take it to the shelter, in case someone is looking for him."

"I know…" the girl pouted, cuddling the large cat even more now that she knew it would have to leave soon. Tania's phone chimed again. Another message from Celty.

'I know you probably won't believe me, but I accidentally turned Shinra into a cat overnight. He bit Shizuo's finger, so Shizuo might turn into a cat too!'

Tania blinked. Now that she thought about it…the cat's golden brown fur looked like a mix between her husband's natural hair color and the dye he used.

Now is not the time to play jokes, Celty. Not when there is a large cat with fur that's very similar to Shizuo's hair color and eyes exactly like his… Another chime, another text. Tania grimaced.

'I swear I'm not joking! Shinra turned back after a couple of hours, but he says he doesn't know how long it'll last for Shizuo!'

'All right already,' Tania replied. 'Rimiko just found a large golden-brown cat. You don't think…'

'OH NO! SHIZUO!' The teacher sighed at the Dullahan's reaction.

Great. Just great.

"Rimi-chan, let me hold the cat for a minute. I'll check to see if he has a microchip," she said out loud. Her daughter reluctantly held the animal up to her. Tania took it and settled the feline comfortably in her arms, muttering under her breath, "Zuo, if that's you, I'm going to kill Shinra." The cat twisted around to look at her, brown eyes wide. "Does that mean it is you?"

The cat nodded.

"Darn you Shinra," Tania growled, mindful of the girl watching her and the golden-brown cat she was holding solemnly. There was a knock at the door. Without thinking, Tania shoved her phone into her pocket and held the cat with her other hand, reaching out to open the door.

Arlua and Izaya stood outside.

Oh yeah. Arlua said she wanted to stop by to have a look at the computer, since it's running slowly, Tania remembered. The teacher opened her mouth to greet her friend, ignoring the informant. Before she could say anything, though, the cat in her arms let out a furious yowl and launched itself out of her hold, flinging itself at the information broker. The cat's teeth sank into Izaya's arm, drawing an enraged shout from the informant.

Oh, crap. Is the flea going to turn into a cat too?!