Chapter 10 - The Favor
"SENKUUU...!" Kohaku hopped onto Senku's bed, landing smack-dab on his stomach, knocking all the wind out of him. Not exactly a pleasant way to be woken up in the morning.
"Lioness, what the hell? I don't remember asking for a wake-up call, let alone to be flattened like a pancake."
"Ha, ha, sorry. But Senku, guess what day it is." She looked at him with expectant eyes and a dazzling smile.
"Tuesday?" he answered unenthusiastically, rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes.
She shook her head at his answer. "Guess again."
"Oh, right. Today is Christmas Eve. How could I forget?"
"Nope! Think harder." The smile on her face only seemed to grow wider.
"Other than it being Christmas Eve and a Tuesday, what else is there?"
"It's the fourth day!" she declared excitedly as if he should already know the significance of what that meant.
"The fourth day?" He raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You mean since the day we met? Is that supposed to mean something?" He failed to connect the dots, but in his defense, he had just woken up.
"Of course it does. Just look at me! Notice anything?" She paused and gave him a moment to inspect her for anything noteworthy.
He scanned her up and down and quickly became blatantly aware of the fact that she was currently straddling him. Furthermore, the white cashmere sweater she was wearing had a deep V neckline that exposed her cleavage and also clung to her body, accentuating her curves and leaving little to the imagination.
Senku felt the heat building on his face and quickly averted his eyes before his hormones got the better of him. Was the lioness trying to torture him? "I give up! Just tell me what's so special about today already. And wouldya get off me while you're at it?"
Kohaku pouted in discontent. "Senku, I'm still human!"
"Yeah, I can see that. And?"
"And it's the fourth day," she reiterated, getting a little annoyed that she had to spell it out for him.
"Yeah, yeah, you said that already. What's the..." He stopped when it finally sunk in, immediately sitting upright and grabbing her by the shoulders.
"You're still human," he repeated. "The three-day time limit! It expired, and your transformation hasn't been undone. That means..."
"...it means I don't have to be a cat anymore! I can keep this form for as long as I want. Isn't that amazing?" In all her elation, she wrapped him in a backbreaking embrace.
"Yeah... it's great news. But it'd be even better if you weren't trying to crush my spine," he said through clenched teeth.
Realizing her mistake, she immediately loosened her hold on him. "Sorry, I'm just so relieved. I was afraid this was all just some kind of fluke and that I'd wake up as a cat again, or worse... that I'd be sent back to Cat Island." Her expression became saddened by the thought alone.
Then slowly, she raised her head and locked eyes with him, giving him a gentle smile. "But that didn't happen. And it's all thanks to you, Senku. You're the reason I have my freedom. I owe you so much. I don't know how I can ever repay you."
Her intense stare and close proximity left him captivated. His eyes were instantly drawn to her lips, and an image came to mind—one that Kohaku read loud and clear.
"Hah! I guess that's a good start." Happy to oblige his unspoken request, she shut her eyes and leaned in closer.
Meanwhile, Senku's hands, which he had been keeping firmly planted a safe distance away on the bed, suddenly came to rest on her waist. He also leaned in and began to close his eyes. They were only a hair's breadth away from joining lips when suddenly...
"Hey, Senku! Look who..." Byakuya stopped mid-sentence upon entering Senku's bedroom unannounced.
They both froze instantly and turned in the direction of the door. This was just great. The worst possible person, with even worse timing, just happened to show up at that exact moment to catch them in a compromising position. He would never hear the end of it from the old man.
"Shame on you, Senku. If you two lovebirds are gonna do those sorts of things, at least have the decency to close the door first." Byakuya feigned disappointment, but the amused look on his face completely gave him away.
Regardless if it was a joke or not, it achieved the goal of embarrassing them both, and Kohaku wasted no time in getting off Senku's bed.
"Shove it, old man. We weren't doing anything, so you can keep your remarks to yourself. And KNOCK before entering someone's bedroom." He wasn't in the mood for his father's antics and launched a pillow at him in annoyance.
"Hey, easy." Byakuya blocked the pillow with minimal effort. "I was just bringing by a special guest who wanted to see you."
"SENKU!" called a cheerful little voice.
The brand new arrival emerged from behind Byakuya's legs and came running toward him, stopping at his bedside. It was Lillian's kitten, which had really been a bakeneko all along. Learning the truth had been quite the surprise to everyone. The memory of that day was still fresh in his mind.
Two days prior~
Lillian stood in the entryway looking absolutely distraught.
"Y'all remember my kitten? Well... this is her," she said, holding up a little girl who looked to be around five or six years old.
Her revelation left everyone dumbstruck with their mouths hanging wide open as they stared at the young girl in Lillian's grasp.
"HUH?!" Byakuya was the first to break the silence. He was downright incredulous. "You mean that sweet little kitty was actually another cat monster the whole time? And you're just NOW finding out?"
"I know how it must sound, but that really is her. Honest!" Lillian searched each of their faces for any indication that they believed her. And that's when she noticed...
"K-Kohaku?" Her eyes widened in disbelief.
Byakuya raised a brow at the mention of Kohaku's name and followed the direction of her gaze, only to be astounded when he found the aforementioned standing beside his son.
"When did she get here?" he asked more to himself.
Kohaku suddenly felt everyone's eyes on her and waved awkwardly with a nervous "hello".
Lillian was so shocked that the little girl slipped right out of her hands, landing safely on the floor and immediately running over to Byakuya. Then Lillian made a stern face and marched right up to Kohaku, who avoided her gaze. She still felt a twinge of guilt for how she had treated her and couldn't bring herself to look her in the eyes.
However, Lillian wouldn't stand for this and took hold of her face, forcing Kohaku to look at her head-on. When both pairs of blue eyes met, Lillian scrutinized her, trying to discern if she was real or not. After a moment or two, she decided she wasn't a hallucination after all and enveloped her in a warm embrace.
"It really is you."
Kohaku was surprised by this and felt like she could cry at any second. "You mean you're not angry with me? You don't... hate me?"
"Course not! Nothin' you could do would ever make me hate ya. I'm just so glad to see you and to see that ya finally got yer wish. So if yer happy, then I'm happy for ya."
Hearing that was a huge relief to Kohaku. She couldn't fight back the tears any longer and returned Lillian's hug.
"Uh... I'd hate to interrupt this touching reunion, but can I get a little help over here?" pleaded Byakuya.
Everyone turned to look at him and saw that the little girl had wrapped herself around his legs and was currently nuzzling her cheek against his knees.
"Are you positive this is your kitten?"
"Like I said, that's definitely her. I saw her transform right before my eyes. If ya don't believe me, just pick her up, and you'll see."
"Pick her up?" Byakuya murmured to himself, reaching down to grab the girl. "What'll that prove?"
"You'd better not, old man. You'll throw your back out again," warned Senku.
However, contrary to what one would assume based on her size and human appearance, Byakuya discovered that she was actually quite light. He was able to hold her at eye level effortlessly.
"What the...? She weighs next to nothing." He raised her even higher to prove it.
Senku was shocked by this. Then he remembered how Kohaku's mass remained consistent regardless of her size. Meaning this girl would weigh as much as her kitten form. It was fascinating and got Senku excited to have a new supernatural subject to study and learn more about Kohaku's nature.
Meanwhile, being lifted into the air was great fun for the girl and made her giggle happily.
"Oh, you like that, huh? Well, how would you like to be a plane?" Byakuya turned her parallel to the floor and held her above his head.
"NEEEEERRRRRR..." He imitated the sound of an airplane flying overhead as he ran around the room with her, making her laugh joyously.
"Tch, leave it to the geezer to act like a five-year-old."
Kohaku couldn't help but smile at Senku's remark... or at the scene of his father playing with the little girl. They looked to be having such a blast. And the girl looked so unbelievably adorable as she laughed that she couldn't resist running after them and joining in on the fun.
"HEY! Quit running before the downstairs neighbors call the cops on us!" With his father goofing around, Senku had to be the voice of reason and get them to settle down.
"Yeah, and while ya might find this entertainin', I still got a huge problem," Lillian pointed out. "What in the world am I supposed to do with her now?!"
"Hmm, I see your point." Byakuya stopped dead in his tracks and handed the girl over to Kohaku, finally getting serious. "Sorry, girls. We'll have to save the playtime for later."
Both gave a collective "Aww..." in disappointment.
"Okay, for starters, the kid needs a name. Got any ideas yet?"
"Well... I wanted to call her something cute like Sweetie-cat, but I can't use that name now."
"BAH, HAH, HAH! Sweetie-cat?" Byakuya doubled over from how hysterically he was laughing. "You seriously couldn't come up with a better name than that?"
"Hey, don't laugh at me."
"How can I not when you would actually consider naming a cat something like Sweetie-cat? HA, HA! That's like naming a human child Good girl." His own comment made him laugh even harder.
"Oh, shut up. Let's see you come up with a name then." Lillian crossed her arms in annoyance.
"Phew." He wiped a tear from his eye and, with an exhale, brought his laughter under control. "Alright, I will. And I'll even use your terrible name as a base."
"If you take the first syllable of 'sweetie' and the first half of 'cat' and put them together, you get Suika—a perfectly acceptable girl's name here in Japan."
"Suika!" chirped the little girl excitedly.
"I think she likes the name," said Kohaku, still holding her in her arms.
"Suika?" Lillian repeated the name as she approached the two girls and leaned forward to be at eye-level with the younger of the two. "Ya like that name?"
"Uh-huh." The little girl nodded vigorously.
Her enthusiasm brought a smile to Lillian's face. "Then that's what we'll call ya."
"Yay!"
Lillian's heart melted from how adorable she was, and she couldn't resist taking her in her arms and hugging her lovingly.
"Hey, Lillian. I've got a few questions for you," Senku interrupted their bonding moment. "Starting with where exactly you found her."
"Hm? I found her right outside the guesthouse we stayed at."
"And did you see anything that looked even remotely like a shrine?"
"Uh... No. Nothin' like what we saw on the trail."
This admission threw a wrench in Senku's theorizing. Without a shrine, the presence of a second bakeneko only created more questions rather than offered answers.
"Although..." Lillian added. "Now that I think back, the hostess did show me the burial site of a poor little kitty that passed away not too long ago. I wanted to pay my respects and went back to leave a saucer of milk by the grave marker. It wasn't long after that that I found this little one."
"That's gotta be it!" Senku's eyes gleamed like he was on the verge of a breakthrough. "Did you make a wish or offer a prayer?"
"She wished I could've known a mother's love," answered the newly named Suika, drawing everyone's attention.
"And that's exactly what she showed me. A mother's love! She's my new momma!" Elated by her own announcement, Suika hugged Lillian around the neck and started nuzzling her nose into her cheek.
"M-m-momma?" Lillian was stunned. She had suddenly gone from a cat owner to a full-blown mother in the span of one conversation.
"I think I need to lie down." Suddenly feeling faint, Lillian placed Suika on the floor and walked over to the sofa to do just that.
"Alright, based on what you've told us and my own situation with Kohaku, here's my theory."
"I'm thinking that the wishes we made are like a contract. And by fulfilling the contract, a permanent bond is established between a bakeneko and the human whose wish they grant."
"So you mean...?" Kohaku started to ask.
"Yeah. When you gave me Byakuya's flash drive, you sealed the deal and solidified our bond. That's probably what made it possible for me to summon you here even though we were thousands of kilometers apart."
"So what? Now you two are stuck with each other? And Lillian's stuck with the kid?" wondered Byakuya.
"That looks to be the case. We're all ten billion percent screwed now. Tch, heh, heh."
"But why did she transform now and not earlier?"
"Take a look at the kid's neck," suggested Senku.
"Huh?" Byakuya did as instructed and found she was wearing Lillian's choker.
"She needed a personal item to act as a catalyst for her transformation ability to awaken."
"Oh, I get it now. Well then... congratulations, Lillian! Welcome to parenthood!"
"This ain't a joke, Byakuya!" Lillian automatically rose to her feet in protest. "I can't raise a kid on my own. I got my career to consider. Who'll look after her while I'm on tour?"
"Speaking of which, what are WE supposed to do with the lioness?"
"Well, there's a simple solution to both those problems. Kohaku and Suika will just have to move in with us. Lillian, you can come and visit her anytime. And don't worry about space. We'll just have to find a new place to live." Fully committed to his word, Byakuya stood tall and proud like he was some kind of grand hero.
After a minute of stunned silence, Senku finally came to. "Have you finally gone senile, ya geezer? You can barely afford THIS place, let alone an apartment for four."
"Who said anything about an apartment? I was thinking more along the lines of a house."
"A house? In Tokyo? You ten billion percent can't afford that!"
"Sure, I can. I didn't become an astronaut for nothing, ya know. I earned plenty of money these past five years. And a house is a good investment. So don't worry so much and just trust your old man."
Senku couldn't say anything in response to this. He knew there was no talking the old man out of his harebrained schemes.
"Byakuya, I can't..." Lillian tried to refuse his offer, but he wouldn't give her the chance.
"It's fine, Lillian." He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and gazed intently into her eyes. "There's no reason to turn your whole world upside down 'cause of some freaky mishap. And unlike you, I already have experience raising a kid. So leave Suika in my care and go and live your life freely."
"But I…"
"It may not seem like it right now…" he cut her off. "...but I believe it'll all work out in the end."
His sheer confidence in regard to such a daunting situation left her fully captivated. She didn't know what to say.
"And hey, if one day you decide you'd like to step up and take responsibility, then you absolutely can. Just do it when you're ready. Now let's not sweat the small stuff and focus on what really matters?"
"And what's that?" she asked breathlessly.
Suddenly Byakuya's confident façade devolved into an impish grin. "The fact that Senku finally got a girlfriend," he replied with a snicker, instantly killing the romantic spark that loomed between them.
"And just in time for the holidays too! C'mon, Suika! Let's go buy everything we need for the ultimate Christmas party." After scooping her up, he practically ran to the door.
"Yeah! But what's Christmas?"
"Only the best holiday ever! You'll see." And with that, he exited the apartment, together with Suika, leaving everyone else behind for once.
"Ugh, that big ol' man-child. Can't he take things seriously for once in his life?" Despite her disappointment, Lillian trailed after him.
"C'mon, Senku. Let's go too. I wanna go see the real-life Tokyo." Kohaku grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him out the door as well.
"Hey, wait. Let me at least grab a coat. It's less than ten degrees outside."
The rest of the afternoon was spent shopping, starting with getting Kohaku and Suika some modern-day clothes, followed by a trip to a nearby park where the girls could run around and play to their hearts' content.
As Senku watched Kohaku enjoying herself and living life so freely, he couldn't help but smile. And Lillian, being the ever-observant one, noticed this and came up next to him.
"She sure looks happy, doesn't she?"
"Yeah, well, you'd be happy too if you finally got to leave your prison of over one hundred years," he replied dryly, keeping his eyes fixed on Kohaku.
"Ha, ha! Good point."
"But it's more than that. The reason she's so relaxed and carefree and able to enjoy life to the fullest ain't just 'cause she finally got off that island. It's 'cause now she's got something to look forward to. She's got a whole new life ahead of her with someone she cherishes a whole lot. She's happy... 'cause of you."
Lillian's words hit deep, and Senku finally turned to face her.
"Yep. It's a good thing ya finally came to terms with yer feelings, 'cause lemme tell ya. I ain't got a doubt in my mind that she wouldn't have been nearly half this happy if she had come back here with me." A slight smirk pulled on the corners of her mouth as she attempted to play around and get a rise out of him.
"Heh! Yeah, I'll admit I felt ten billion percent better once I stopped making excuses and accepted how I felt."
His sudden openness on the matter took Lillian completely by surprise and left her at a loss for words. But he wasn't done with admission just yet.
"Like you said earlier, I wasn't living up to my own ideals. I might not know how things will turn out now that the Lioness is here to stay, but I won't get anywhere by giving up and taking the easy way out."
"Striving for what you want, no matter how unattainable or unrealistic it may seem, is always the best course of action in my book. Would highly recommend."
"Oh! Well then... I'm glad you took away such a valuable life lesson from all this." Something about the way he expressed all of that gave Lillian a nerve-wracking feeling.
"Of course, that being said, I have to wonder what your next move will be."
"Huh?" Lillian tensed up, uncertain of where he was going with his sudden inquiry.
"Have you come to terms with your feelings?" he asked with a mischievous smirk.
"Feelings? I don't know what..." she tried to dodge the question, but Senku continued to press her.
"Will you step up to the plate and fight for what you really want, or will you take the easy way out and leave the old man to carry the brunt of the load? Personally, I wouldn't mind having someone else around to occupy the geezer's time and get him out of my hair, but the financial burden of raising three kids is no joke."
"But at the end of the day, it's not like I get a say. After all, I'm just a snotty teenager, right?" Once done taunting her, Senku walked off, leaving Lillian to stew in her own thoughts.
After that brutally rude awakening, she was left absolutely shaken. Her initial goal of ruffling Senku's feathers by teasing him a bit had backfired explosively. Now she had some serious thinking to do and some hard choices to make. But could she make one that's best for everyone? Only time would tell.
In the meantime, she decided to cherish this time with people she'd come to grow fond of and hope that the answer would eventually come to her.
By nightfall, they had all built up quite the appetite and decided to have some sushi for dinner, which the girls absolutely loved. And at the day's end, Kohaku and Suika accompanied Lillian back to her hotel, where they'd been staying every night since.
Present day~
"Senku, let's go play together." Suika's gleaming eyes looked up at him, begging him to answer.
Two days later, Senku was still adjusting to the idea of having these two as permanent additions to his life.
"Yeah, sure. Just give me a chance to get changed first."
"YAY!" Raising both fists into the air, Suika began running around and then out of the room.
"Wait for me, Suika." Kohaku immediately chased after her.
"Heh! Aren't they cute together? Just like sisters."
"Yeah, precious. Now wouldya get out, old man, so I can change?"
"Not so fast, Senku. There's something that I need to ask you first. What are your plans for tonight?"
"Huh? What else? Stay home, eat fried chicken, and do more research. I wanna continue studying the data from the International Space Station."
"Uh-huh. I figured that's what you'd say. Well, change of plans! Tonight, you're taking Kohaku out to enjoy Christmas Eve Japan style!"
Senku's face fell into a deep frown upon hearing this.
"Yeah... not happening," he refused without a second thought. "You know better than anyone that I don't have even a millimeter of interest in all that romantic crap. And if the lioness isn't expecting it, then there's no reason for me to take part in any of the standard traditions. That's one of the benefits of her not having been predisposed to societal norms."
"Senku, this is her first Christmas ever and your first Christmas with a girlfriend. All I'm asking is for you to take her out for a few hours. Maybe go on a walk with her and show her some lights around town. Or take her to dinner and give her a small gift."
Going out on Christmas Eve would be a nightmare with couples roaming around in droves, and Senku would rather avoid it at all costs. "Give me one good reason why I should."
Byakuya frowned at Senku's attitude, appalled that he wouldn't do this small gesture for the girl he essentially dedicated the rest of his life to. But he wasn't giving up so easily. He still had one more card to play.
"How about the fact that you still owe me a favor?" he reminded, making Senku tense up instantly. "The deal was that if I gave Kohaku my flash drive, then you would have to do any favor of my choosing. Well, I'm calling in that favor now. So what's it gonna be?"
After a minute of weighing his options, Senku gritted his teeth and groaned in defeat.
"Alright, I'll do it. Better to get your favor over and done with than to let you lord it over my head for the rest of my life."
"That's the spirit! I knew you'd see it my way." Content to have fully convinced him, Byakuya turned to exit, then paused at the threshold and looked over his shoulder.
"Oh, and one more thing... If the romantic atmosphere of the night draws you in and you find yourself at a hotel... make sure to act responsibly."
The sly grin on Byakuya's face irked Senku to no end, prompting him to launch another pillow at his father, nailing him in the head this time.
...
And that's how, come sunset, Senku found himself in a taxi, alongside Kohaku, headed for Tokyo Midtown. Their destination was Midtown Garden, a Christmas Eve hotspot for young couples where they could see plenty of illuminations for free. Of course, the fact that it was free only led Senku to suspect that it would be that much more crowded as well. The night he was in for didn't excite him one millimeter.
Kohaku, on the other hand, was ecstatic just to be able to ride in the taxi. She was quite familiar with boats, but she had never seen a car before. And on her first day in Tokyo, she saw several of them zooming by on the roads. They were so fast and made her wonder if she could keep up with them. Then Senku informed her that her top speed was probably around forty-eight kilometers per hour but that a car was easily capable of twice that speed.
This left her truly impressed, which only made the car ride all the more thrilling for her. Not only that, but the view from inside was also a marvel. Everywhere she looked, there were buildings with lights that fought back the darkness. She looked up towards the sky to confirm that it was indeed nighttime and was surprised to see nothing but pitch black.
"Senku, look! I think there's something wrong with the sky. It's gone dark, but there aren't any stars. Should we be worried?"
"Relax. That's normal here in the city. See, the luminosity of all the surrounding man-made lights is..." Before he could go off on a long-winded rant, he stopped himself, remembering that Kohaku needed simplified explanations.
"Well, simply put, the stars are still there, but man-made lights are ten billion percent brighter in comparison, making the pupils dilate, or shrink down. When that happens, less light passes through the eye, and dimmer objects, like distant stars, seem invisible. So basically, the city lights are outshining the stars."
"Oh, so you're saying that humans made lights that are stronger and more powerful than even the stars? And we're on our way to see a whole bunch of those lights? Hah! Consider me intrigued."
"Heh, heh. Relatively speaking, yeah. But in reality, stars are infinitely brighter than even Xenon bulbs, the brightest light bulbs in the history of mankind."
"Huh? Now you're saying stars are brighter? Which is it?"
Senku was pleased to have piqued her curiosity and gladly went into more detail while still keeping his explanations simple and concise. Kohaku listened intently, growing more and more excited as the conversation went on. Before they knew it, they had reached their destination.
"We're here! Come on, Senku." Kohaku flung her door wide open and began pulling him by the arm, eager to see all there was to see.
"Wait, Lioness. I gotta pay the driver first."
After paying the cab fare, Senku turned toward the plaza and saw no sign of Kohaku, only a swarm of people.
"Lioness?" Senku called out to her but got no response.
—Shit! Did she seriously run off? Not good. This place is huge, and she could be anywhere. I'll never find her in this crowd— Senku was on the verge of panic when...
"Hey, Senku. Come look."
He followed the sound of her voice and found her crouching in front of the plaza statue, a wave of instant relief washing over him.
"This strange figure has a hole big enough for my entire body to pass through. See?" Typical of her child-like nature, Kohaku stepped through the hollow of the statue.
Senku sighed in exasperation. Taking her hand, he pulled her back through the statue and over to his side.
"Do me a favor and don't go running off anymore. There are people everywhere, making it easy to get separated. So just stay close to me, alright?"
"Oh, well, if you're worried about getting separated, then it's better if we walk like this," she suggested, linking her arm with his.
The thought of walking around in public together, arm in arm, was too humiliating. Senku quickly unlinked his arm from hers and opted to take her hand instead.
"No, this should suffice." Content with this compromise, he began leading her towards the garden but didn't even make it three steps before he was spotted from afar.
"HEY, SENKU!" shouted a rather loud, yet familiar voice.
Senku tensed up and reflexively let go of Kohaku's hand.
"OVER HERE," yelled the same boisterous voice. "IT'S US! TAIJU AND YUZURIHA."
He cursed under his breath as he stood in front of Kohaku. Of all the people walking around Roppongi tonight, they just had to run into these two? His luck was absolute shit for sure.
To be continued...
A/N: Hey there, I've been working on the epilogue for this story but it's gone on for much longer than I expected, so I'll be breaking it up into three chapters. Here is chapter 10. Chapter 11 is already up on my Patre0n for anyone who's interested. And Chapter 12 will follow shortly. You can find the URL in my profile.
Thanks for reading and I'll catch you in the next update.