Tanimoto shut the gates of his manor behind him, getting ready to head out to Yokohama with a plate of freshly-baked sesame cookies… and his feline companion. Bizarre. Why did he even go to the trouble of finding an excuse to walk her home? It's too late for regrets now.

And as he turned to view the girl, he took in the sight of the martial artist strutting towards him with a cat-like sway of the hips, enthusiasm brimming just beneath the surface.

She's so…

…

"You're becoming a major threat in my book, you know?" he mutters, cobalt eyes briefly drifting towards those promiscuous hips before quickly averting.

And all that enthusiasm from Renka's demeanor drains away, replaced with uncertainty. "H-hey! What do you mean by that?!" It was probably an insult. It's always an insult.

"Because you know too much about me," he grunts, strolling towards the nearest train station. A sense of dread and regret starts to sink deeper into his gut. Knowledge is power, and to think that someone could even have any sort of power over him is sickening…

"Whose fault is that? Not mine," she snips back, following at his heels.

And his only response was a silent scoff. She's not wrong. And it's annoying that she's not wrong. A moment of weakness allowed him to be vulnerable with the cat, and now she knows about his dark past. Hopefully, this doesn't bite him in the ass later.

A few minutes of silence pass as the two arrive at the station; as if almost on cue, a train bursts forth from the darkness, and the doors slide open.

"Lead the way, daddy, " the snarky cat blurts out, corners of her lips turning upright as she gestures for him to go first. That's what he gets for his pathetic attempts to fluster her!

And Tanimoto's starting to regret saying that, too.

"Somewhere you're still considered a lady, so you go first."

Nothing shakes him, does it? She'd never admit it, but the back-and-forth banter forming between them was … actually kind of fun.

"Aw, you're so nice to me, aren't you?" Renka sarcastically replies in a melodramatic tone, stepping into the train as Natsu followed. A grin plants itself on her face, the cat wholly unaware of it.

"Only so I can crush you without remorse," the blonde retorts, coldly brushing past Renka with his shoulder to prove his point.

She scowls at the back of his moppy blonde head. That little jerk. Without wasting any time, she trots ahead and shoves him aside with her hip, giggling shrilly as she knocks him off kilter. Of course, only another martial artist could even break his iron foundation.

Tanimoto had a satisfied smile until he suddenly stumbled, princely features contorting.

"Damn it! If I drop these cookies, I will make you pay." He'd bump her back, but who knows what she'd do to the goods in his grasp. Besides… she's likely still injured…

"... It seems you're healed," he tacks on dryly, wondering if the courtesy of discreetly walking her home is entirely unnecessary.

"Not entirely, nyah. But the pain is worth it to make you mad." Another ear-piercing giggle permeates the air as she sits down on the train.

"Hmph. Then I won't hold back next time."

"Please. As if you'd actually do that. Then you wouldn't have a kitty to play with once you kill me," she teased again, one leg crossing over the other.

There's no response as the sullen prince stares out the window, watching the imagery of the city scroll by. What if he actually did end her? What if he just took his victory that day and left her for dead? Then he wouldn't be here in her company, making the effort to accompany her to Yokohama. Does it matter? It's just a one-off, right?

And yet, there's the creeping feeling that this sequence of events has started a chain reaction of … something. Something he can't control. Something that may inadvertently trap him into a situation he never intended to exist. It stirs some sort of anxiety within him. But then again, what doesn't? He's had a lot on his plate with all the current events surrounding Yami, his training, his company…

As soon as the train doors open, he darts off towards Renka's restaurant. The sooner he can get this over with, the better.

… But the sounds of the bells behind him were becoming faint, forcing him to turn back to watch the slowly-approaching cat.

"I thought you were faster than that, daughter of Ma."

"Don't rub it in! It's not my fault I can't keep up with you!" she yells out, eventually coming to a stop in front of him. "It hurts." Her pout deepens, pigtails sinking, eyes quivering…

… And Tanimoto groans. Why must she look like that? So vulnerable and so… cu…

"Don't think that your little pout won me over or anything," he sighs, crouching slightly for her to climb up on his back. "I could probably outspeed you with you on my back. Now hurry up. I don't have all day."

… Oh. Renka blinks at the sight of the prince acting as her noble steed, bracing himself for her to climb up on top. That's so… weirdly sweet?

Without thinking too hard about this bizarre situation, her arms encircle his neck as she hops into position, and the prince wraps his arms around the back of her thighs to keep her stable. The cat's going through the motions, shell-shocked by what's occurring. It's something she'll think about later when she lies in bed at night, rolling around and analyzing the day's occurrences…

Her chin perched up on his shoulder as he sped forward, her warm breath tickling his neck. But he scowls, concentrating intently on the path ahead of him— trying to remove focus from her breathing, the way her heart's beating rapidly up against his burly back, how soft her thighs are despite being a seasoned fighter…

His focus is broken by a murmuring cat, half-whispering "you smell funny" near his ear. And truly, she meant the exact opposite. It seemed the prince was sporting some kind of cologne? Or maybe that's his body wash? There's no exact scent that she can pinpoint beyond calling it the 'cute boy' smell, the kind that drives the girls wild at school. No wonder they all flock to him.

"And your breath is melting the back of my neck," Tanimoto retorted. On the contrary, it sent tingling sensations directly up into his spine— more distractions he was attempting to fight off by glaring at the path ahead. The Gekirin's coming up soon. Just gotta hold on.

"Oh, yeah?" Renka giggled, promptly deciding it was time to annoy the pretty boy once more; she blew in his ear to irritate him, interspersed with shrill laughter.

Ugh. His head hung low, and as Yokohama Chinatown came into view, he snapped back. "Can you seriously not do that to me?"

"Awww. Such a party pooper. You should learn how to have more fun! Like… Kenichi, nyaaaah!"

"I'm quite sure Kenichi is having fun with his girlfriend," Natsu teases in response as the Gekirin finally reveals itself through the usual nighttime crowd of tourists.

…

And then, to his surprise, there was no response behind him. The cat suddenly felt stiff in his hold.

… Shit.

Did he say the wrong thing? It's not as if Shirahama and Fūrinji are an actual couple yet, as far as he knows, but … well, Renka's crush on the gardener is obvious. He should've had the foresight to know that the cat wouldn't take well to any thoughts of Kenichi being with Miu, given that it seems those two were rapidly progressing. Official couple status was likely due any day now— not that he kept close tabs on that dumbass's love life.

Damn it, how was he supposed to know that Renka's crush on Kenichi was supposed to be that serious? He figured she was just being a pest to the multifaceted fighter because that was her nature!

As they arrived in front of the restaurant, he gently let the cat down, who stepped to the side in silence. Pigtails flat, gaze averted from the blonde, and staring into a distant corner with a solemn expression. One hand gripped onto her other elbow— a closed-off body expression that Tanimoto can easily read. She's upset.

"Renka…" he starts, unsure how to repair the chord he's struck.

"Thanks for the ride," she curtly replies, without a hint of seduction or the usual bratty brashness. It almost feels wrong; he never thought he'd miss being irritated at her.

She turns and steps into the restaurant, Tanimoto watching her helplessly. Is it truly irrecoverable for the night? What could he do to fix this?

But he might as well follow through with why he came there to begin with, accompanying her inside to find her uncle. Guilt weighed him down as she watched the cat shuffle towards the kitchen, mind scrambling for solutions.

… And suddenly, laughter came about— a maniacal cackle escaping the prince's lips, palm pressed into his forehead. This bizarre display was enough to turn the cat's attention towards him again, concerned for his sanity.

"What?"

"To think that I dared to care," he continues to laugh as he closes the gap between them. "I should've just destroyed you and carried on with my sad life. Instead, I'm trying to do something that I would've never even considered doing. You really are bad luck to me."

She's certainly something, that's for sure. A pain in his ass. Annoying. A dumbass that gets him feeling something other than apathy. It's downright ridiculous.

"I have no idea what you're talking about— what are you even trying to do?!" Renka snaps back, thoroughly bewildered now. Is he screwing with her? Frankly, she's not in the mood now!

"If I tell you, then I will lose what little sense I had, sad kitty."

"... I'm not sad!" she retorts, defensive but without her usual bite. "I don't know why you'd think that…"

"Sure, you're not," he sighs, passing the plate of cookies to her. "Forget about giving these to your uncle. Just eat these and stop sulking."

And before Renka could respond, he rushed out of the restaurant, hoping that his impromptu gift to her would be enough to patch things up. What if she stops talking to him because of this? What if this puts a halt to their strange little banter, so soon after finally making some sort of connection with her? Why does he even care?

Ugh. Stupid. She's an enigma. Got him baking cookies and giving piggyback rides without losing a single game of Othello. Cat-brained, airheaded…and yet there's a deeply emotional side he never knew she possessed.

Just like the protective, brotherly side of him that Renka never imagined he'd ever have.

They could agree on one thing, at least: this was the most bizarre Thanksgiving in their lives thus far.