Disclaimer: I don't own jack!
Of Butterfly Wings
Chapter Fifty-One: Cat Distribution System
Kagome glanced around their now fully renovated home.
Four months had passed in the blink of an eye.
The water-logged carpet and molded ceilings had now since been replaced. A fresh coat of pain had been recently applied to the new dry wall and the home itself was almost ready for move in. She just needed to get furniture for the place and slowly prepare it for their wedding.
"So," Touya curled his arms around her waist. "What do you think of it now?"
Kagome leaned into his embrace, "It's perfect."
She'd left the sliding glass door open in order to hear the sound of the ocean waves breaking against the bulkhead. It was such a peaceful environment that she couldn't wait for their wedding day to arrive.
The heavy thudding of feet upstairs made the pause before they heard his siblings arguing over which room would be 'theirs'. Although they couldn't move in, Touya did give his siblings a chance to 'claim' a room as theirs for whenever they wanted to visit.
Kagome laughed as she heard the two brothers wrestling upstairs.
"Hey!" Touya called up to them. "That master suite is ours, the rest is free game!"
The thudding grew louder as Natsuo and Shouto wrestled with each other for the room with the best ocean view.
With the contractors having finished their work, they'd decided that it'd be a good time to show his siblings what their house finally looked like. Fuyumi and Shouto had been begging to come for ages now, so this was their first time seeing it in person.
"Just how many kids do you two plan on having?" Natsuo teased as he and Shouto finally made their way downstairs.
She heard Touya laugh, "What are you talking about? We already have three in you idiots."
Kagome fought the urge to laugh with him. He wasn't entirely wrong about that. Although she wouldn't tell any of them that. Both Natsuo and Fuyumi had their sense of pride.
"Guys, come look!" Fuyumi suddenly cried out.
She and Touya shared a look between each other as they made their way outside. His sister was crouched by the side of the house. A worried look overtook her features as she reached for something tucked deep within the underbrush.
"It's okay," Fuyumi cooed. "Come on out."
Kagome sank onto her knees beside her friend. She carefully pulled back thickets of the bush to reveal a tiny kitten. Its fur stood on end while its emerald eyes narrowed at them in fear.
"Let's give it some space." Kagome lowered the bush's leaves. "We'll leave some food and water out for it. It's probably just terrified."
Trying to pick the tiny animal up now would just stress it even more. If anything, they would need to build trust with the little creature for it to feel comfortable emerging from its hiding spot.
"Feeding strays is a bad idea. That's how you'll get a whole colony of cats hanging around your place." Natsuo warned.
Shouto crouched on his knees beside her. He stared into the bush longingly but kept his hands tucked close to himself.
Kagome threw the boy a short smile, "Cats are finicky at the best of times. It's easier to let them come to you when they feel comfortable. So let's give it some space."
She'd be lying if she said that she wasn't worried for the kitten. It looked incredibly small for its age. Which meant that it'd been on the streets for some time and likely hadn't had a good meal in ages.
"Touya," Kagome gave her fiancé a pleading look.
He held up his hands in defeat, "Yeah I hear you. Shouto, want to head to the pet store with me to get the cat some stuff?"
The boy clamored to his feet and followed after his oldest brother. Natsuo joined them, leaving just herself and Fuyumi behind.
"I wonder how long it's been out here." Fuyumi peered over at the kitten's hiding place with concern.
Kagome could see its eyes peeking out from the bush, watching them with the upmost caution.
"It's hard to say. We haven't seen many strays in this area, so I have no idea." Her brows furrowed at the thought.
She watched as the kitten steadily inched its way out from under the bush it'd hidden itself in. She and Fuyumi held still as the tiny cat eventually made its way towards her.
"Sorry little one, you're just going to have to wait until your food gets here." She opened her hand so that it could smell her at its own pace.
Its fur was a deep shade of black and it felt rough to the touch when it'd brushed against her fingers. A loud cry of discontent echoed from the little animal as it clamored into her lap.
It was very clearly starving if it was willing to approach her this boldly.
Kagome gently stroked the line of its back, taking heed to pause or stop completely if it showed irritation.
The feline's tail twitched in agitation as it doubled-backed to her several times.
"Aw, it must really like you." Fuyumi sat closer to her, observing as the stray nestled itself securely upon her lap. "Do you plan on keeping it?"
Kagome glanced down at the kitten. It's tiny body was barely the size of her palm. Its piercing cries were so loud and desperate that it made her heart wrench beneath her chest.
"I'd like to." She answered honestly.
Touya also said that he'd wanted a cat before too so she didn't think he'd be opposed to adopting it. The real issue was where would they keep the kitten until their move in date? They couldn't stay at the house during the week to care for it. Plus, his father had a strict no pets rule at the Todoroki Estate. She had no idea how Sesshoumaru would react if she just brought it back to his manor without permission.
"We're back!" Touya called out from the front door.
She heard the sound of feet thudding across the ground heading in their direction. The kitten hissed in terror. It climbed its way up her torso and quickly tucked itself underneath her hair.
Kagome fought the urge to laugh as she felt its claws sinking into her shoulders in a desperate attempt to cling onto her.
"We've got everything." Touya sighed, dropping an array of toys, treats and general cat supplies near her feet. "Shouto got a little carried away."
Natsuo shot him a look, "Don't lie, you bought just as much as he did! Look!" He pointed towards an oversized cat tower nearly as tall as herself, "You were the one that insisted on dragging that back here."
That time Kagome did laugh. Touya's face flushed as he redirected his attention on getting the kitten's food set up. He opened a small sample bag of cat food and poured it into a bowl.
She felt the creature's claws dig further into her skin as its hissing grew louder.
"I hear it but I don't see it." Touya cocked his head to the side curiously, "Is it still in hiding?"
Kagome lifted her hair just a bit to reveal the little animal perched on her shoulder.
"I think it's decided to stay." She laughed at the boys' shared look of surprise.
Much of the rest of the afternoon had been spent with the siblings each trying to coax the feline away from her but to no avail. It hissed, spat and clawed at anyone he drew to close. Often darting under her hair to hide when it was feeling overwhelmed.
Eventually the siblings gave up.
"Here, I made some ohagi for everyone!" Fuyumi beamed as she opened open a lunch container that she'd brought with her.
"Thanks Fuyu-chan!" Kagome grinned, reaching for one of the treats.
The group watched as a tuft of black fur darted out from her shoulders and made a beeline for the food. The little cat yowled and growled, attacking the meal with a ravenous fury.
"Ah, the food!" Natsuo cried, trying to pry the little cat from the lunch box. However it yowled even louder, munching down on the ohagi before they could reach it.
Once satisfied, the creature darted back up to her shoulders once more. It let loose a contented mewl while they were left to contend with the fact that it'd devoured their meal in an instant. Leaving half-bitten balls of food in its wake.
"Well I guess we know what to name it." Kagome laughed heartily, "Ohagi."
She'd take the kitten to be seen by a vet a little later tonight when they made it back to Tokyo.
She met her fiancé's face, "Can we keep him?"
Touya made an exaggerated gesture towards the pile of cat supplies around them, "As if we weren't going to anyways." He then smirked, "We're splitting custody until the wedding."
That got her to laugh even louder. Ohagi gave a low hiss of discontent as he struggled to remain upright on her shoulder.
This was just one more thing for them to look forward to.