**KURO'S POV**
As I woke up on a Tuesday, I washed my face, brushed my teeth and combed my hair in order to get ready to go to school. I slipped on my highschool uniform while walking out of my room and into the kitchen to turn on the radio on the kitchen table. This was my usual routine.
"Good morning residents of Morioh!" The rail host sang in a catchy tune as I took the bento I made last night out of the fridge. "On this beautiful Tuesday, it's going to be bright and sunny all day. My name is Shigeru and I'm here with my co host Kenji. How's it going Kenji?"
"I'm great! Now for our weather forecast for the week! It's going to be clear skies except on Saturday. On that day, expect a meter of snow! This will be the most snow we'll have in 12 years."
Yes! Finally we're having snow! I can't wait!
I opened up the box lunch. Inside were mini sausages in the shape of octopi, a rolled omelet, three miniature hamburger steaks and three rice balls that were filled with tuna. I always pack more than I can eat because Josuke and Okuyasu have a tendency of sneaking pieces of my food while I'm not looking. Plus it's hard for me to get mad at them or tell them "no".
I packed my bento box and stuffed it into my backpack.
"Our next topic is something a bit disturbing." Kenji started. "Recently, there's been reports of womens underwear being stolen across Morioh."
"Womens panties?" Shigeru questioned.
"Yep. Apparently a lot of women that hang their clothes dry are missing all of their underwear from their drying racks."
"How gross! I wouldn't be surprised if an old pervert was behind this."
"Ladies, if you see an old pervert stealing your underwear, please contact the local authorities."
An old man stealing women's underwear huh? Since the Kira incident, there's barely any crime that happens here in Morioh, but petty crime like this? I guess it's normal in every town in Japan.
Even so, that's just gross.
Hearing this news reminded me of the dried laundry that I have hanging outside on a laundry rack in my backyard. I glanced at the clock on the wall.
7:25. I still have time to put away the laundry.
I headed outside into the backyard with a white laundry basket in my arms. On the clothes rack hung a few of my red highschool uniforms, a couple of pink bras and pink and blue and white striped panties.
I started removing my school shirts first until I noticed a white furry feline in the corner of my eye. It was sitting on the trash can in my backyard.
"Awww" I said out loud. I walked towards the cat and reached my hand out to pet it. It's furry body cuddled between my fingers and purred, making me smile. "You're so cute."
Suddenly, the cat pounced on my head and grabbed one of my striped panties and ran out into the front yard.
What the hell? WHAT THE HELL?!
"Hey! Get back here." I yelled. I dropped the laundry basket on the grass and chased after that cat. I ran as fast as I could until the cat was cornered between the two fences of my backyard. "You can't run away now huh? Now give me back my underwear!" The cat hissed back at me with its mouth still hanging onto my panties.
Then, A green circular portal spawned on the wall of the fence. The cat turned green, leaped through the portal as it was starting to close up, leaving no evidence of its appearance.
What the hell?
A stand…just stole my underwear.
Class went by as usual with nothing special going on and lunch rolled around in no time. Koichi, Josuke, Okuyasu and I headed to the rooftop of the school to eat while the weather was still nice. Josuke and Okuyasu had the standard school cafeteria lunches while Koichi and I had our own bento boxes.
"Guys, I saw a stand this morning." I said. I grabbed an octopus shaped sausage with my chopsticks from my bento and popped one into my mouth.
Koichi, Okuyasu and Josuke gawked at me. "You saw a stand user?!" They said in unison.
"Yea. It took the shape of a cat. Wait, why are you guys looking at me like that?"
"Well, most stand users usually turn out to be enemies." Koichi said.
"What did it do? Did it hurt you?" Josuke asked as if he was interrogating me.
"Well…"It took the form of a normal white cat in my backyard. It stole something from me. When I chased it, a portal came out of nowhere. The cat jumped through it and then It was gone."
"Another cat stand huh?" Okuyasu said. I could see him eyeballing the mini hamburg steak in my bento lunch. I passed my bento over to him, allowing him to grab the mini hamburger patty and took the box back. "Well, what did it take?"
"It took my…my…" I started to blush. Just the thought of mentioning what's been stolen is turning my cheeks red. "You know! The thing that starts with the letter P!"
The three stand users just stared at me. I moved closer to Josuke, grabbed his ear, and whispered the item that was stolen.
He laughed.
Hard.
He started rolling on the floor, holding his stomach in. "AHAHAHAHA!"
My face turned red. " It's…IT'S NOT THAT FUNNY JOSUKE!" I yelled. I used my fist and hit his pompadour, making him wince in pain.
"Wait, so what did the cat take?" Okuyasu asked. "Tell us Josuke!" Josuke pushed himself up from the floor and whispered into Okuyasu's ear. He started blushing. "Wait…so right now…you aren't wearing…" I could feel both of their eyes stare at my legs.
"Of course I'm wearing underwear right now! The cat stole my panties while I was taking them down the laundry line this morning." I crossed my arms around my chest. Why did I even bring this up?
"Okuyasu, Josuke, don't make fun of her," Koichi said as he patted my back.
"Koichi, I'm not making fun of her. I'm just teasing her."Josuke wiped a year from his eye. "She knows that she likes it."
"Yea but…" I puffed my cheeks out and pouted. He's right. Every time he teases me, my heart skips a beat. I can't help it. I turned to Koichi. "It's fine Koichi. Here," I passed Koichi a hamburger steak from my bento box and placed it into his. "You can have this."
"Thanks Kuro." Koichi said as he used his chopsticks and popped it into his mouth.
Josuke's eyes looks down at my lunchbox and his eyes meets mine."Can I,"
"No,"
"I didn't even finish what I was about to say!"
"That's because I know that you're going to ask for my hamburger steak!" I popped the last hamburger steak into my mouth to Josuke's disappointment. He puffed his cheeks out and pouted. "But still, on the radio they said that a lot of women's underwear have been stolen over the past week. Maybe that cat is the same culprit."
"But if that's true, do you really think one singular cat could steal that many panties over the past week?" Koichi questioned as he ate the bento Yukako made for him. "And I don't think a cat has the mentality to steal something so…sensitive."
"Maybe the cat is the stand and the user is controlling it remotely like Shigechi's stand." Josuke suggested.
"Either way, because it's a new stand, they're related to whoever is making and killing new stand users." I grabbed one of my rice balls and took a small bite. "Be careful everyone."
I could feel Josuke eying my bento box again. "Can I at least have an octopus sau-"
"No."
After school, Koichi, Josuke and I decided to stop by the convenience store before the three of us walked me home. Okuyasu had to take care of his dad so he went home on his own. I grabbed a strawberry ice cream cone, Josuke got a steamed bun while Koichi got the latest Shounen Jump Magazine. After paying, we stood outside the front of the building as we enjoyed our bought items.
I noticed Josuke looking at my ice cream cone as he took a bite from his steamed bun. "Damn, " he cursed. "I should've bought an ice cream."
"Do you want some?" I offered as I moved my cone towards him.
He raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"
"Of course. What do you mean?"
"It's just that," my pompadour friend's cheeks flushed as he scratched his neck.
"Nevermind." He then bent over to reach my height to take a small lick of my ice cream. He then straightened his back and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Thanks."
"No problem." I went to take another bite but it struck me.
Josuke's lips were just touching the spot that I ate at.
If I eat it now… would that be an indirect kiss?
I could feel my cheeks warm up as I stared at my cone.
I need to stop thinking like that! Josuke is my friend! He wouldn't think of this as an indirect kiss now would he?
I took a small bite from my ice cream; around the same spot where Josuke made his bite. An indirect kiss huh?
"Kuro, is that the cat you were talking about?" I turned to look at Koichi. He pointed at a white cat, just standing in the middle of the sidewalk.
"That's the cat!l" I shouted as I rushed over to Koichi.
The cat started to purr as Koichi ran his fingers through its fur. "It doesn't seem like a bad kitten, or a stand at all."
"Heck it could be any cat that we happened to run across." Josuke added, as he squatted down to pet the cat as well.
"You have a point." I added. The cat then wandered towards me and rubbed its furry body against my legs. I couldn't help but to smile. "But how can we tell if it's the right cat?" I bent down and picked the cat up by its sides. I looked underneath its stomach and at its round face. There were no signs of a scar left from an arrow. "Maybe this is just a normal cat."
"What exactly happened when the cat took your underwear and ran away?" Josuke asked.
"Well, once I was able to corner it, it's entire body turned green. A portal then opened up on the side of the fence and the cat jumped through it as the portal closed."
"Then, all we need to do is to make the cat open up the portal, if this is the cat we are holding right now." Koichi said . I placed the feline back on the grown as the three of us stared at it.
"…how long will that take us?" Josuke sighed.
"Maybe the cat needs a reason to open up the portal." I suggested.
Josuke looked at me. Our eyes meet. "Kuroko."
"What is it Josuke?"
"I have an idea, but I don't think you'll like it." I cocked my head to the side. I could feel his eyes staring at my legs. "What if we give the cat your,"
"No,"
"You didn't even let me finish!"
"Josuke, I've known you for years! I know what you're going to say!" I argued. "I'm not giving the cat my underwear. Especially…"
"Especially what?"
My cheeks turned red. I turned my back towards them and instinctively twirled a strand of my red hair between my fingers. "Especially in front of you two."
"…Kuro,"
I turned my head around. His blue eyes meet my gold ones.
"You're cute when you're mad."
"…oh shush."
Suddenly, the white cat jumped up to reach Josuke's hand, snatched the steam bun in his hand and ran down the street. "Hey! Get back here!" Higashikata yelled. He started to chase after the cat.
"Josuke! Wait for us!" I called out as I chased after him
"Yea!" Koichi added as he followed behind me.
The three of us chased the cat through the alleyways of Morioh behind The convenience store and behind Kame-Yu until we cornered it against two brick walls.
"Act 3!" Koichi yelled. His stand materialized above him.
"Act 3!" The stand shouted. "Three freeze!" A yellow aura glowed around the cat. The ground cracked beneath its paws as it was unable to move.
"Nice one Koichi!" Josuke complimented.
"Was all that really necessary though?" I asked. "I could've just bought you another steamed bun."
"Yea but like you said earlier, this could be the cat that's a stand." He said as he walked towards the cat who still had his steamed bun in his mouth.
Just when we thought we caught the cat, it it turned neon green. The ground beneath its feet spawned a green portal and the cat fell through it.
The three of us looked through the portal.
"If we climb through the portal, maybe it will lead to the stand user." I suggested.
Josuke scratched the side of his pompadour. "Yea but…"
"How do we know that it's safe to go through?" Koichi asked.
An idea struck me. I reached into my school bag and pulled out a sheet of notebook paper. I then tore the paper in half, gave one half to Josuke, and then crumbled up the second half and tossed it into the portal. "Josuke. Use Crazy Diamond to fix the paper!"
Josuke's eyes lit up and he smirked. "Great idea Kuro!" Josuke then said his stand name attempted to pull the other half of the paper back through the portal.
It was a success!
The paper flew back from the green portal and connected itself it it's former half as if nothing has happened to it. "Great. I guess it's safe then!"
"Kuro, just because the paper made it through doesn't mean it's safe!" Koichi yelled
But it was too late, I was already half way into the portal, and I crawled out onto the other side.
The other side was a pitch black room with an earthy scent. I pushed myself off the ground and looked behind me to see the portal still opened. I poked my head back through the portal to end up on the other side with Koichi and Josuke. "It's safe! Crawl through it!"
I popped back through on the other side and held my hand out through the portal, acting as an anchor between sides. The first one to take my hand was Koichi, who came through with ease. Josuke on the other hand, bent down and took my hand with caution. "I don't think I can crawl through like you two.
I reached my other hand into the portal. "I'll help pull you through if you get stuck."
Josuke nodded his head and carefully started crawling through the green portal. And he was right. Halfway, he stopped moving. I tugged on his arms a few more times.
"Pull harder!" He demanded.
"I'm trying!"
Nothing. I then summoned Iron Maiden. He then summoned Crazy Diamond. His and my stand grabbed each other's hands as I used my stand to pull him out of the portal.
I guess I pulled him a bit too hard, because when Josuke came through the portal, he fell on top of me with his chest against mine. I could feel his heartbeat racing against my chest, When he lifted his head up from the ground his eyes locked on mine.
"Josuke, you're heavy." I said as I tried to push him off me.
He then pushed himself off me and stood up. "Sorry."
Blindly, I slowly made my way to the closest wall and felt the surface in search of a light switch. I suddenly felt the light switch and flipped the switch on.
The ceiling light flickered a few times before staying on, showing the three of us standing in a cluttered traditional style Japanese room. The floor was covered in souvenirs, nick nacks, bagged snacks and laundry.
"Where are we?" Koichi asked as we looked around the room.
"Looks like a hoarder's house." Josuke complained.
"Yea." I struggled to walk to the other side of the room and opened the blinds that draped over the window, letting even more light in. A grassy plain spread across as far as I could see with the sun setting. The few houses that I could see across the field had similar Japanese style architecture. "I think we're still in Japan though. I'm not sure if we're still in Morioh though.
"Kuro, look." Koichi whispered as he pointed to the door. I stumbled towards the door and cracked it open quietly. Although we came though a portal, we are still technically trespassing.
I stuck my head through the crack I made, only to see the back of a kid, sitting on the floor playing video games in the dark.