Pet Shop
Of course it was raining. Why wouldn't it be? Haru had forgotten to bring an umbrella, for starters, and it always seemed to rain when this happened to her. If she were smarter, she'd make sure to always have at least a small umbrella on her just to jinx this from happening again.
'Any second now,' she couldn't resist thinking numbly as she treaded the usual walk of shame down a street she didn't recognize.
Almost as if summoned by the thought, a passing car drove by and splashed her lower half with water that had been overflowing from the nearest gutter.
It could have been intentional or an accident, but it was hard to tell. At least it was different cars each time she went through this, or she'd suspect someone was orchestrating her humiliation over, and over, and over…
Who could she have annoyed to go this far to hurt her? Who could her mother have annoyed? Her grandmother?
Her eyes distantly looked ahead, seeing that she was approaching a bridge. What was below it? Would it be something she could survive?
… Would anyone care if she didn't? She was valued at work, but thanks to this problem that everyone decided was more important than her friendship, it was almost a competition to see who could keep her in the dark about social gatherings the best until after they were over. Her mother was already gone, so what consequences would there be?
Her feet were already moving of their own accord at a steady pace toward the bridge, so she didn't see a reason to change course or speed until something flashed at the corner of her eye.
She didn't really care what it was, but since the day was completely dull and grey, her attention was still drawn to her right.
It was a silk tapestry inside a shop that had been catching the light in its metallic threads. A glance upward revealed the place to be a 'Count D's Pet Shop'.
Pet shop. Isn't that what she threatened to do if this happened even one more time? She blinked slowly at the bridge, decided it would still be there if things didn't go well, and forced herself to change direction and cross the street to get to the shop.
There was the familiar merry jingle of bells as the door opened and closed for her, and a warm wave of perfumed air caressed her, inviting her to come in.
It had been years since she'd been inside a pet shop, but she was surprised that the front room didn't look a thing like the place sold animals.
If anything, it looked like a living space with every inch of wall covered with elaborate Chinese tapestries and room dividers with more tapestries lit only by candles despite the fire hazard.
A step was slowly heard, and a long-nailed hand pulled aside one of the hangings.
Haru wasn't completely sure if she was looking at a man or a woman but was too numb to care. "Hi," she tried politely.
The person looked her over once with a small frown. "Please wait there, I'll return shortly." Without another word, the elegant hand let the hanging fall back into place.
Haru didn't see a reason to do anything else. She spent the few minutes until the person's return rubbing warmth back into her arms and looking at the tapestries decorating every wall and divider.
Snakes, birds, dragons, fish, tigers. It was almost a zoo just on the embroidered fabric, each one a work of art. She did some work with sewing herself thanks to her mother, so it wasn't hard for her to tell that each of the hangings was done by hand. That must have cost a fortune, why decorate a pet shop with these?
The person soon returned with a large towel. "Here, dry yourself," he commanded, just revealing himself to be a man from the deepness of his voice, though Haru was still a bit unsure.
"Thank you." The towel was warm enough to have been hanging next to a fireplace. Could he have known someone would drop in on such a rainy day? Haru dried her hair and limbs with relief.
"Now please follow me," he directed, turning and leading the way without a backward glance.
Haru followed him, still exhausted but feeling a bit better with the still-warm towel around her shoulders.
After a while, he pulled aside a different tapestry, revealing a small table set for tea and two chairs, one of which he had lined with towels. "Please take a seat. The water is still warming up for the tea, but it shouldn't be long."
Haru blinked. "Um, actually, I was hoping to look at your cats."
He looked at her coolly. "I'm sure you've noticed that this isn't an ordinary pet shop. No one looks at my animals unless I decide they are a good match. Now please sit down. No one comes into my shop like that unless they've got a story to tell."
Haru tried to blush, but her body heat was still a bit low. Since she couldn't decide on what else to do, she helped herself to the towel-covered seat and enjoyed the heat radiating from the nearby fireplace. 'I'm shocked that this space isn't running on electricity.'
After checking the kettle hanging in the fireplace, the strange man poured a steaming stream of water into a lovely teapot decorated with a Chinese garden. "I hope you don't mind waiting a bit for the tea to steep. Now, tell me your story."
Haru looked down at her lap, though the hands on the towel turned white-knuckled at the thought of just telling a stranger she hadn't been introduced to yet. "Are you Count D?"
"Indeed," he affirmed before taking the opposite seat. "And you are?"
"Haru Yoshioka," she decided to say, since if this turned out well, he'd be seeing her name on her bank card anyway. "You're probably not going to like what I have to say, it's a bit of a sad story."
That seemed to capture his interest. He leaned forward on the table, bracing his chin on his hands as his elbows balanced on the elaborate tablecloth. "I've heard a great many sad stories. I'm sure I can handle yours."
A bit unnerved by how much he was reminding her of a vampire, Haru resumed looking at her lap. "I don't know if it's a curse, but my family's been half-joking about being cursed at least since my great-grandmother's time. I don't know how or why, but romances just never end well for us. My great grandmother never divorced, but her husband cheated on her a lot. My grandmother had the same problem, but my grandfather died a strange death that no one could prove was suicide or homicide after she found out about his girlfriends. My… sperm donor left my mom after cheating on her and paid a ridiculous amount of child support in exchange for never having to see me or hear from me. I guess he didn't want to be reminded that children get cheated on as well," Haru growled while wiping away a tear. "I have half-siblings I've never met, and all of them don't have love trouble unless they inflict it on themselves. I don't know or care if they know about me, they're not family at this point."
"I suppose they wouldn't be," Count D noted without much emotion, but Haru took it as an invitation to keep talking.
"I thought I was doing okay with my precautions, and I could have done worse, but it always seems to get turned on me when I find out a boyfriend's been cheating on me. The first one didn't like that I wouldn't kiss him on the second date, the second one didn't like that I was saving myself for marriage, the third one was pretty insulting while telling me that engagements don't have to be all that long when I mentioned a year engagement was ideal when he talked about proposing. As a result, I don't have any children with deadbeat fathers, but I do have a lot of shattered dreams. There's only so many times I can walk in on my boyfriend with another woman or finding evidence on his phone or couch before I lose my mind."
Count D frowned, but decided the tea was ready enough to pour into a teacup for each of them.
"What's worse is the way I'm treated at work!" Haru continued angrily, carefully taking the teacup and stirring in a bit of milk and honey. "There's a get together at least once a month, but it's generally encouraged to bring spouses or significant others to them, and they think it's too awkward to have someone there without a partner, so they go out of their way to keep me from finding out until after it happens and hope I don't find out or don't raise a fuss about being excluded. I don't know if they see me as a threat to their own relationships or just don't want to hear about how I got cheated on again, but I am lonely. I stopped really having friends after finding out my 'best friend' was who number two was cheating on me with. I'm lonely, and tired, and it happened again today. I even told this guy about all the cheating that's happened to me and my maternal family, and that if he did it to me too, I was going to give up on humans altogether and get myself a cat. That way if they do something with one of the neighbors it won't rip me apart like a boyfriend does."
Haru sipped at her tea, feeling its warmth travel through her system. "You should have heard number four convince me to give him a chance, too. He actually sounded like one of those cheap movies where the protagonist has to win over a love interest with a troubled past, and after many hijinks they live happily ever after. Yeah, he swore he wasn't that kind of guy and if he fell in love with someone else, he'd have the decency to break up with me first." Haru took a longer sip, as if to punish herself with its intense heat. "Guess what he 'forgot' to do other than cancel our lunch date at his apartment today."
Count D frowned as he sipped his own tea.
"I didn't scream this time," Haru noted numbly. "I normally scream and throw stuff, but this time? I just unhooked his apartment key from my keyring, tossed it where he'd have to hunt for it, and closed the door after me. It's always raining when I find out, too. I always just seem to miss a bus or taxi, and wind up wandering the wet streets like a loser and wonder what's wrong with me that absolutely no one thinks I'm worth loyalty or honesty. I don't want to pass this on if it is a curse or someone that hates my family so much, that they orchestrate each and every heartbreak for generations. I still think the sperm donor's callous internet posts bragging about his wife and their children contributed to my mother's death, and I'm tired of hurting. I'm tired of having each relationship last just long enough to get my hopes up before I find out I'm dating yet another brat that cares more about his 'needs' than having a lifelong partner. I just want to be happy, and I'm out of reasons to give humans a chance, no matter what they say."
She took another sip, distantly wondering about the flavor. She wasn't normally one for tea, but this was a good one. She'd have to ask where he got his tea leaves.
Count D seemed to be a bit more sympathetic than before. "May I see that?" he asked, holding his hand out for her cup.
Since it was about empty, she handed it back to him. He took one look at how the tea leaves had settled at the bottom, and an actual shudder ran up his spine.
"Wait, you believe in reading tea leaves?" Haru couldn't resist asking. "What do mine say?"
He gave her a look that made it clear he'd rather not. "Unless I miss my guess, Miss Yoshioka, you are correct. Your family line is definitely cursed to never find true love with a human. I suppose that was to cover any gender loopholes."
Haru closed her eyes painfully. She wasn't sure if she believed in tea leaves, but hearing an outsider say it after listening to everything seemed to solidify her worst fear. "Then I will do my would-be descendants a favor by letting them be born to other families. I can't let this continue." 'Too bad the tea leaves don't say how the curse fell on us.'
He thought hard for a moment, standing up while setting her teacup down. "Wait right here, I know the perfect feline for you." With that, he almost ran out of the room, somehow still looking elegant as he did so.
Haru passed the time watching the fireplace, privately imagining both her previous boyfriends and their little 'playmates' to be burning and writhing in agony.
She was petty enough to enjoy the show enough that Count D seemed to take no time at all before he was setting an enclosed pet carrier on the table and a contract directly in front of her.
Haru could hear something moving around inside the carrier, but the black mesh was too dense to let her see anything.
"I don't carry ordinary animals, Miss Yoshioka. There are specific rules that have to be followed in order to obtain the happiness you crave. Please read over the contract carefully, and think before you sign."
Since that was literally what she was paid to do at work, Haru couldn't resist holding the contract between her hands and looking it over carefully the same as any other contract. She had been mentally preparing herself for a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo as usual, but it was clear that Count was a straightforward sort of businessman.
I, Haru Yoshioka, will comply with the following rules in addition to my purchase;
I will only feed my pet fish, cat-friendly produce, tea and sweets in moderation.
I will keep all windows covered after sunset.
I will tell no one that I am a cat owner, or provide proof to the same. This includes showing the cat or pictures of the cat to anyone.
Haru looked up at him. "I thought cats didn't have a sweet tooth," she said suspiciously.
"Ah, you know about cats!" he exclaimed, delighted that she wasn't new at owning one. "But yes, Baron has a sweet tooth. Angel food cake is his favorite, by the way."
Haru chewed on one finger worriedly. "Is water allowed, or just tea?"
"If you must do water, daylight hours are best, but definitely not after sunset."
Haru kept staring at the contract. The last rule was the strangest of all, but what would it hurt?
What would it change?
"I mostly keep my windows covered no matter the time," she noted out loud, reaching for the pen that he was holding out for her. "I like my privacy."
He handed it over with a smile.
Haru signed and dated the document. "And honestly, if I have a cat to talk to, I'll completely lose interest in talking to humans anyway. That's why I've held off this long, and it's not like I associate with anyone that deserves to know little things about me. What are his favorite types of fish?"
"Oh, any you can get your hands on as long as it's not breaded or processed. He's very affectionate, so as long as you obey the rules, you shouldn't have any problems with him," Count D assured her with a smile before telling her how much the cat was worth.
Haru handed over her bank card without complaint, since this was clearly a pet shop that took itself seriously.
Besides, if this cat was as ideal for her as he insisted, then Baron was going to be worth every penny.
Count D looked over the receipt once before nodding and handing it over with her card after running through the purchase. "I highly recommend you return home before you introduce yourself, or you won't be able to keep him dry on the way home."
"Right," Haru agreed, feeling better as she returned the towel a bit sheepishly. "Thanks for helping me, and sorry about any trouble."
"No trouble, but this one's on the house," he added while pressing an umbrella into her hand. "You'll have to take better care of yourself, you know. Who will take care of your cat if you let yourself get sick?"
Haru beamed at the words. "You're right. Thanks again," she repeated before he led her out of his shop.
Thankfully she was able to flag a taxi to get back to her apartment, and carefully make sure all the windows were covered since sunset was fast approaching. Once that was taken care of, she noticed her phone on the side table, forgotten when she went out for her date that afternoon. Her stomach turned as she saw it was flashing with messages, but Haru blocked the number they came from without a thought, since she hadn't been worth one to him before the deed. She placed the carrier on the carpet before lying flat on her stomach. She slowly unzipped the bag's opening, praying that the Count hadn't played a cruel scam on her.
An orange tabby cat experimentally poked his head out to look at her with large green eyes.
"Hello, Baron," she greeted him warmly. "Welcome to your new home. I'm Haru, I'll be your family from now on."
He stepped out of the carrier, but instead of exploring her apartment, he approached her, sniffing her face and hair since she was low enough before licking her on the nose.
She giggled and responded by scratching his neck and back. Baron stretched and purred at the attention before nuzzling her face a bit more fiercely than before.
"You're a good boy," she laughed while sitting up, gathering him into her arms and pressing a kiss to his forehead. "I'm sorry in advance if I'm a bit clingy. I've been waiting my whole life for you."
Haru wasn't sure how it happened. One second, she was cuddling her new cat in a happy embrace as he purred into her ear contentedly. All she did was blink, and that was no longer the case.
Instead of a tabby cat, there was now a startlingly handsome man in a sharp grey suit kneeling in front of her, and his own arms were wrapped tightly around her even as she tried to release him in surprise.
But what made him striking was that his eyes were exactly the same as when he was a cat, and he was still purring.
"And I've been waiting for you," he responded with a confident smirk before kissing her forehead as well. "I'm greatly looking forward to seeing whether our curses really do cancel each other out."