Kids promptly jumped on the spot, suddenly startled by a loud rattle and movement from the object she gripped in her right hand. The little black kitten had moved, and stared right at her through the holes of the cage. The teen stopped and stared back, bringing the cage closer to her face.

They were in the middle of the sidewalk, a few blocks down from the pet shop, and there was next to no one on the road, save for a few occasional cars. They stayed like that for a few seconds, before the cat stood on its four legs and began walking in a circle, taunting her. The green-haired girl puffed her checks out in frustration before setting the cage back down to continue walking, not before giving the cage a good shake first.

The sound of a feline hiss made her lips curl up in a smirk.

The sky darkened slightly, the sun hiding behind the tall buildings in the distance. The light illuminating the area around Kido turned from a bright yellow to a soft orange glow. The lack of sounds and the ambient lighting made the place seem so very peaceful, a stark contrast to Tsubomi's life at home and at school.

She decided that maybe the trip home could take longer than she planned.

Not that anyone would notice, at least.

Taking a detour back home, she stumbled across the town's quaint little park, empty and seemingly abandoned. Walking through it, she noticed everything looked awfully old and unused. Benches rusty from all the years, swing sets squeaking and groaning, rusty metal against rusty metal rubbing against one another.

The sight made Kido sad to say the least.

This very park was the same park she went to when she was little. She would go there practically everyday with her sister, playing around in the playground and occasionally with the other kids.

It was a stress reliever, a happy place for kids and a peaceful slice of land for everyone else. The tall trees and low branches making them perfect for climbing, and setting the whole place into a winter wonderland when they were graced with a white Christmas. The worn-down path Kido walked upon called to her, feet pushing past the tiny pebbles underneath her soles.

Before she knew it she was in the heart of the park, completely surrounded by trees. The path leading to a fountain, dry and dirty, that worked as a landmark, an intersection. The fountain was surrounded by four paths, one for each direction, Kido coming from the south. Staring at the waterless fountain, she failed to notice the cage rattling beside her.

The cage rattled once again and, upon further mental deliberation, she decided to open the door.

She set the cage down in the middle of path, making her way to sit by the trunk of a tree, leaning back against it. A few seconds of stillness made Kido tilt her head in confusion.

About to stand up, the girl stopped herself, frozen in place by the little black head that popped out of the cage. Hesitantly, the cat stepped out, one foot at a time. It looked around before its eyes made contact with hers, tilting its head slightly to the right. She looked on confused, before shifting her head back up so quickly she may have gotten whiplash, cheeks burning in embarrassment.

It had been a habit of hers, leaning her head a little to the right whenever she was confused. She never really thought much about it, no one had ever really commented on it, so she found little use for worrying, but now, that little cat had found a way to taunt her again.

Seemingly understanding her embarrassment, the cat- she really had to come up with a name for it- slowly turned its head back, before dashing out into the trees so quickly, Kido was unsure it was even there.

She stayed still, wondering what had happened, before realizing the consequences of coming back home empty handed. Scrambling to get back up, the panicked teen ran to the direction the cat had disappeared to.

She couldn't let it away.

Hours had past and the green-haired maiden had not come back. A few hours had past where Kano Shuuya, temporary worker at Kano Pets, had felt a little worse for wear.

The dirty-blond-headed teen sighed, it definitely hadn't been 4 hours, 13 minutes and 7 seconds since he had last seen the mysterious green-haired girl, not that he had been counting at least.

It's not that he was interested in her- he just found her interesting-

Not that it was the same thing.

That and he's only had 2 customers in the past 6 days, 12 hours and 28 seconds.

The former being some old man in need of dog food, the latter being a beautiful, green-haired teen seemingly the same age as him, who else was there to think about?

Surely not the old man.

Kano settled in his usual spot by the cashier desk, one covered in grime, dust and dirt from the strange lack of customers in the recent days. He slumped down ungracefully on the chair behind said counter, the chair groaning in tandem to his sighs as he picks at a dust bunny hidden beside the cashier.

He had only started working here to fill in for his mom, who's family had owned the shop since before he was even born. His mother had (basically) forced him to work here since she was out of town for a few days to attend a 'family matter', to which he was, of course, not invited to. He unwillingly accepted his mother's (undeniable) request. And unwillingly because honestly, he was still in his third year of high school and he did not want to spend any of his time- and free time nonetheless- somewhere where he had to converse and negotiate with people.

Actual people.

How absurd.

Shuuya sighed once again, dust flitting upwards from every possible area, the golden light from the sunset streaming from the windows giving the shop a magical hue, a sign that it was going to get dark soon. The boy turned to the shop front, checking once more for possible customers, before standing up and making his way to the door. It's not like there would suddenly be a customer at this kind of hour...

Right?

Making his way to what he thought of as his favorite place in town, he made haste, wanting to reach it before it got dark.

The east entrance to the town's one and only park was the entrance least used, back in the day when the park was visited at all at least. Back then, the park was bustling. Kano remembered playing around in the see-saw with the other kids, and pranking everyone in the area, such a troublesome child.

That was back when everything was happy.

When his mother fell into a craze, he originally found little reason to keep going to the park, but he constantly made his way there anyway, subconsciously wandering around the park, eventually memorizing the entirety of the area. The park was his happy place, a place where no one could touch him, no one could hurt him,

Especially not his mother.

So after he graduated middle school, his visits to the park were practically everyday. Memorizing the paths and detours, personal landmarks and secrets. Hidden messages, words carved into trees by young lovers, letters hidden in the ground by old dreamers, he had seen them all.

The east arc above his head was covered in ivy and green goo, the only word being distinguishable was the word 'east', as well as the letter 'p' from 'park'. He made his way inside, taking the path to the fountain, before turning right, walking into the trees.

About four minutes into walking, Shuuya had found the perfect tree, his tree, and inspected it, prodding the bark with his finger. It was tall and sturdy, much older than the rest, and it was placed it a small little clearing, separated from the other trees.

It was his favorite tree to climb.

His right hand gripped the lowest branch tightly, feeling the hard bark dig into his palm. Left hand on the trunk, he effortlessly lifted himself up off of the ground, feet finding purchase on specific branches, certain parts of the tree.

He knew that if he stood there, right there, he would most probably fall. He knew that that leafy branch far up there was the only way he could get up, and that the branch nearest to him would collapse if he pulled on it just right.

Making his way to the top, his hand grabbed on a larger branch, a place Shuuya would usually be seen taking an afternoon nap, but instead of hard wood, his hands gripped a soft, furry object. Seven or so feet from the ground still, he made quite an unmanly sound before letting go, his body smacking against the trunk of the tree as his other hand found purchase of the nearest branch-

Oops.

Tumbling to the ground, hitting a branch or so along the way, his eyes found the eyes of a black cat, sitting on a branch,

His branch.

Before he could react properly, his back hit the grassy forest bed, effectively knocking the air out of his lungs. Kano wheezed, gripping the front of his pale brown shirt, right above his heart.

Staring up at the leaves of his favorite tree, his view was suddenly blocked by a mass of black fur. The cat had made his way down, and was currently rubbing against the teen. Reassuring him? Oh no, that cat had used his branch! He even made him fall! Such a mischievous little being,

They would be great friends.

Okay, maybe it was his own fault he fell, but still! If the cat had not been there, he would not have fallen on the ground. He sat up, cat falling onto his lap, before he grabbed the furry creature and lifted him up.

His coat was very beautiful, pure black. Expressive, yellow eyes. Soft, well-kept fur. The owner sure knew how to take care of their pets! A little tag around its neck caught his attention.

He pouted, so it did have an owner. Part of him wished he could just keep it, but now that Shuuya knew he had an owner he could never come to do that.

Probably.

The teen signed as he read the words on the tag,

"~Kano Pets~

Contact xxxx-xxx-xxxx"

Wait.

Kano Pets?

Shuuya blinked owlishly, giving the cat an opportunity to walk around him once more. He had a feeling he knew the cat. This was the anti-social one! The cat that always liked to eat alone and the one no other cat wanted to play with! It was also the cat that was adopted by-

that green-haired girl earlier that day...

What did she say her name was? All he could remember was a flower bud, innocent and sweet, barely flowering. Perhaps that's what he would call her.

Speaking of the flower bud, why was her cat in the middle of the park? Where was she? Was she walking in the park? What if she was watching him right now? The thought made him scramble to get up, fixing his attire and flattening wrinkles in his shirt.

The cat had rubbed against his foot, passing in between his legs and tapping his shins with its little paws. His walled heart opened a little, just for the furry creature demanding his attention. Maybe he opened his heart a little easier than any other time, maybe he, for once, wanted his heart to be open, wanted his heart to stop hiding behind masks and barred walls.

Shuuya's face softened, his ever-present smirk disappeared long ago, rubbing his palm affectionately against the black cat as he kneeled on one knee.

He guessed some more time alone with the cat wouldn't do anyone any harm, he was sure that if little flower bud had let it go, it wouldn't be a bother anymore, and if she had lost it then, well,

Staying still would make it easier to find.

Minutes passed, and Kano and the cat played around. They tossed acorns, chased squirrels, did things happy kids would normally do with their pets. It was now getting dark, and Shuuya decided to take a little break and sit under the tree, back resting against the cool bark.

The cat had been trying to catch a butterfly, failing repeatedly, causing the male to laugh. The butterfly eventually flew a few inches from Kano's face, where he took time to admire the beautiful colors of it's wings, before the cat leaped forward to grab it, landing right on the teen's face.

Laughing hysterically, Shuuya grabbed his stomach, leaning forward to stop the pain of laughing so hard. It had been such a long time since he'd felt this pain, and he decided he kinda liked it.

Before he could go and pet the furry creature, it suddenly dashed forward, disappearing a little ways into the tree line before he heard a feminine squeak, and something hitting the tree right in front of him.

Too dark to see, Kano stood up.

A pained cry followed by a loud thud brought the attention of Kido. It was maybe a few more yards away from where she was, and she was debating on whether to go follow it or not. The park wasn't necessarily the safest place on earth, after all, anyone could enter it, but the darkening sky and the rustle of birds going back to their nests left her with little options.

Hesitantly, she made her way to the sound, silently praying it was just her cat playing tricks on her.

She barely knew it and yet that's what she was sure it would do.

Many minutes had passed and Tsubomi was growing weary, had she really heard it? Honestly, all those hours alone must've played with her head. Turning to leave, the green-haired girl froze, she was sure she heard laughing.

She turned back and looked around, was there someone else there? It was getting darker and darker and being completely honest with herself, Kido was terrified. She just wanted to grab her cat and run home,

But she'd never tell anyone else that.

A male laugh bounced around the trees again, followed by a soft meow, and Kido managed to find the courage to keep moving forward.

It was extremely dark, so dark, that she did not see the cat that had stopped right in front of her left shoe, and apparently so dark she also did not see the tree right in front of her face-

-SMACK

Leaning against another tree, Kido kept her palm to her forehead, rubbing tiny circles to stop the pain. She had tripped on something and fell forward onto a tree, and she was sure she had little bark imprints pressed onto her forehead. Shaking it off, she bent down to see what she had tripped over, only to find nothing there.

Huh?

Confused, Tsubomi turned her head up, and her eyes lit up. The cat! There it was! She could finally go home! The creature had been sitting a little ways away from her, and was waving it's tail around tauntingly. She quickly dashed forward to grab it, but it was quick to sprint back to where it came from.

Too desperate to think, she quickly followed it, stumbling onto a tiny clearing, face to face with her black cat.

The person holding it up, however, was not what she was expecting.

"Uh, hi?"

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A/N: IMPORTANT NOTE!

I just wanted to apologize to EVERYONE who has read this story, and who has waited for my updates. I'm so sorry! I know what it's like to hate waiting forever for updates and that makes me a hypocrite like that, but I don't have any excuse for keeping these updates. I'm sorry you have to wait practically a year for an update that doesn't even have much content in the first place, and I know most of you must have given up on this story long ago already, I know I have at one point. But to all those who didn't, thank you. I didn't actually start this story with something in mind, but my original plan was too ambitious, I think, so I didn't want to make everyone wait two years for an ending so, I'm going to make this just a short little story.

Don't worry! There may be one or two more chapters left depending on my mood, and I will make sure to update sooner! I'm already planning the next chapter. (I'm sorry I'll have to update next year huhu New Years jokes) and since I've been holding onto this chapter for a while, I decided to keep adding stuff and in turn kept deleting stuff, so hopefully you guys like it!

So sorry this AN is so long, but I felt like you guys needed to know and I needed to apologize first hand. Sorry again.

I've also been planning to make a one-shot collection! If you've read my profile, I have so many plots and AUs in mind, but I can't really do it justice by writing a long little novel about it so, I was planning on just writing short little one-shots for kagerou project (and other stuff heh) and if I get messages and requests to continue one I'll do it!

I'm announcing it now so if anyone has something they want me to write, be it a prompt or an au or anything, please tell me! I need more ideas and I plan on adding as much as I can!

(Note: I'm sorry, as I can't really write if I'm not experienced in it, so same gender romance will be really hard for me, if you want to see that I don't think you should ask me. I am not against it, I believe you can fall in love with anyone, but I can't write it well, sorry) (also lemons are hard pls don't do this to me)

SORRY FOR THE LONG AN PLEASE FORGIVE MEE T^T

(And again, sorry the chapter is so raw, I didn't want to keep everyone waiting, I'm sure I'll look over it again sometime and fix all the mistakes, but in the meantime please enjoy~)

Please fav and review! It means the absolute WORLD to me~

Ah! And happy new year everyone~

:33