บท 22: Cat distribution
A moment later he comes back with a drink, sitting down in the chair across from me as someone comes with a bucket and a mop. "Uh, actually-" I say though he waves his hand, smiling at me. "I don't plan on sticking around for long, when your friend comes back I'll leave." He says and I nod, stirring my drink lightly. "So, how much will it cost?" I ask as he offers me the change for the drink he bought. "$7.45." he says and I push the change back towards him. "That should cover it, then." I say, taking a sip of my drink, though now it tastes a little bitter. Perhaps it was the company, considering what had happened between me and Yuki. I pick up my phone, stopping the recording and saving it just in case, though I doubted I'd need it. "You look really good. How long has it been?" Yuki says, reaching for my hand though I pull away, leaning back in my chair. "I haven't really kept track." I say, wrapping both of my hands around my drink as the person beside us finishes cleaning the spill, placing a wet floor sign. "I see… Any interesting guys in your life?" He asks, though it was a loaded question, one that had always been a sore point for us; if I, or rather, if my legs were open.
"There's quite a few actually; things have changed quite a bit for me." I say simply, though he leans back, sliding his legs until his knees touch mine. "Is that right?" He asks and I scoot my chair away, sending him a glare. "Hey! Sorry I took so long!" Toru chimes, walking over and looking between Yuki and I. "Little Cutie, who's this?" Toru asks, sidling up behind me and laying his hand on my shoulder. "Oh, nobody. He was just leaving, right?" I ask and Yuki chuckles, sliding out of the chair and offering his hand to Toru. "I'm Yuki Jokval, an old 'friend' of Kimiko's. It's a pleasure to meet you…" Yuki says and I tense as Toru takes his hand, shaking it lightly. "Toru Oikawa." Toru says, seeming to pick up on my tenseness and keeping it brief. "It's nice to see your tastes haven't changed, Kimiko. If you want, you have my number." Yuki says, taking his drink and walking away. "Sorry Kawa-Senpai, your drink got spilled. I didn't know what you got so I couldn't get you a new one." I mumble, though Toru was staring after Yuki, seeming put off. "Spacykawa." I say, seeming to snap him from his thoughts as hums, looking down at me, closing his eyes and giving me a forced smile.
"If you don't want to smile at me, then don't force it. If you don't want to look at me, then just don't. You can have my drink, yours got spilled. I think I'll be going now." I grumble, grabbing my crutches and standing to leave. "Hey, hey! Slow down, I don't want you to leave!" Toru says, setting his hands on my hips and stopping me from moving. "It's not you. I just wish I had stuck around so you didn't get put in such a predicament. What all happened? How long was he here?" Toru asks and I sigh, laying my head against his chest. "He had just got here. Your drink got spilled on his jacket and I offered to pay for his dry cleaning." I mumble, taking a deep breath of his calming lavender scent. "I'm glad I got here then. Come on Little Cutie, let's go look at all the cute pets waiting for adoption." Toru says, taking my crutches and tucking me under his shoulder. "So… what happened to your cheek? Was that him?" Toru asks tensely as I grab my drink, shaking my head. "No, he would've been knocked out." I say simply and Toru laughs, beginning to guide me out of the food court. "Yeah. The mark seems way smaller than his hand anyway." Toru says and I can't help the small twitch of my lips.
"They had one thing in common, they were despicable." I say simply and Toru leans down, kissing my cheek lightly. "I'm sure they got it worse." He chuckles and I grin at him. "Oh yeah, definitely. You'd think they'd never been hit before." I chime, making him laugh as I take a sip of his drink. "You know, I'm honestly curious about how well you fight. You manage to keep Mad Dog and Arthur in check, and the only person I've seen keep Mad Dog in check is Iwa-chan." Toru says and I hum softly, lifting my fist. "Want me to punch ya?" I joke, though he quickly shakes his head, lifting my hand and kissing the knuckles gently. "Uh, no, I don't want to die- I mean, I'm a lover, not a fighter! I could totally, absolutely take you on if it wasn't my vow to not fight." Toru chimes, making me laugh as I smile widely at him. "Of course~ I wouldn't put you flat on your ass~ no way." I joke, making him laugh as he lifts my hand to the one draped over his shoulders, twining our fingers. "It'd be interesting to see you and Iwa-chan go at it though." Toru chimes and I giggle, squeezing his hand lightly. "I don't like to fight unless I have to, and I'm pretty sure I'd lose in an arm wrestle." I chime and Toru laughs, squeezing back.
"Oh, his arms are scary strong! I mean, he's pretty good at all kinds of things, but spiking and arm wrestling? He'd snap my arm off like it's nothing!" Toru says, shuddering lightly and frowning. "I've been hit by a few of his spikes. Not fun, not fun at all…" Toru mumbles, making a weird face that makes me laugh. "I'll take your word for it." I giggle as we finally arrive at a little pet shop and he opens the door for me. "Welcome! If you need anything, just let us know!" A woman chimes and I nod, offering her a sweet smile as Toru gets me settled in my crutches. "Come on, the pets are all over here." Toru says, his hand on the small of my back, guiding me over to the far wall. There were glass cases with an assortment of animals inside, the wall itself making up a display of animals in cages. It made me kind of sick seeing so many waiting to be adopted- I can't imagine what it's like to be caged up all day, no sunlight, no freedom to speak of. I wandered around, looking at all of the wiggling dogs that didn't seem to have a care in the world, happy to see a human coming over. Dogs were friendly and active, but that also meant that they needed lots of attention, discipline and care.
I made my way over to the cats, seeing the more apathetic and lazy creatures, curled up in balls and staring off into nothing. A small movement caught my eye and I peeked over into one of the cages, seeing a small calico kitten swatting at an older gray cat's tail. The kitten caught the tail, biting onto it playfully. The older cat rolled over onto the kitten, the kitten scrambling to get away. I couldn't help but giggle at the sight, the kitten dashing off to play with a small mouse toy. The older cat seemed to notice me, sliding up and stretching, turning to me and sitting down. In a display of elegance the older cat's tail curled around the lean form, their eyes assessing me. The kitten dashes over with the mouse toy in hand, dropping it before the older cat. The older cat leaned down, beginning to groom the kitten- it was then that I noticed that the older cat was missing it's hind leg. "I see you found our mother daughter duo!" The lady from earlier chimes, coming up beside me and smiling at me. "Oh? They're mother and daughter?" I ask, the lady's smile spreading as she nods. "Yes! They are the last of their family to be adopted." The lady says and I hum, Toru coming over and peeking in the cage.
"I'm assuming they're to be adopted together?" I ask and the ladies smile falter. "Yes, they formed a special bond together and are now inseparable. We're looking for someone to adopt them together." The woman says and I offer my crutches and drink to Toru, crouching down to the two. The kitten seems to finally notice the attention, dashing over to us. "The mothers leg, what happened to it?" I ask, wiggling my finger at the kitten as the mother cat watches cautiously. "It got run over before she was rescued; unfortunately, it had to be amputated." The lady says and the kitten puts her little paws to the glass, trying to bat at my finger. "Are there any other health concerns? Does she need any special attention?" I ask, the lady seeming to perk up. "Nope! They're both perfectly healthy and mobile." The lady chimes, sounding hopeful as I hum. "Can we meet them?" Toru asks and the lady claps her hands excitedly. "Of course! I'll show you to the room; no food or drink, but we do have a place where you can put it." The lady says and Toru helps me stand, helping me over to the visiting room, leaving our drink outside the room on a desk.
The lady brings the duo in by cage, the kitten excitedly skittering out while the mother waits in the cage. "I'll give you four some time alone. If you need anything, you can use this button to buzz me and I'll come as soon as I can. Feel free to use any toys you see." The lady says, leaving us alone and shutting the door behind herself. I slide off of the bench, sitting on the ground as the kitten dashes over. She meows at me and I hold my hand out for her to sniff, though she just nuzzles my palm, purring happily. I can't help but smile at her, petting her gently before Toru grabs a stick with a mouse attached by a string. The kitten dashes over, batting at the mouse happily while still purring. I turn my attention to the mother cat, lightly reaching my hand towards the cage. She gives a warning hiss and I stop, looking away while holding my hand still. I watch as Toru plays with the kitten, giggling when he gets the kitten to jump for the mouse. I feel something light on my fingers and I slowly turn back, seeing the mother cat was halfway out of the cage. "Hello, sweetheart." I say and she looks up at me anxiously, though I slowly blink at her. She sniffs my hand and I wait patiently, holding still.
She seems satisfied, slowly trotting from the cage to the far corner of the room, sitting and observing. I take a small mouse toy and slide it over to her, though she just looks at it, then me. I don't move and neither does she- the kitten suddenly dashes over, grabbing the mouse toy and trotting it over to me. "Oh? You play fetch?" I laugh, taking the mouse and bouncing it lightly before I flick it to the other side of the room. The kitten dashes off, grabbing it and bringing it right back to Toru. Toru takes the mouse, tossing it for the kitten, who catches it midair. "Ohh, good girl!" Toru laughs, taking the mouse that the kitten drops in front of him. "So? What do you think of them?" Toru asks, still playing with the kitten while I stretch my legs out, humming softly. "The kitten is energetic, which is nice and lively, but the mother… I'd like to get a better feel on her before I say anything." I say, Toru humming as he scoops the kitten up into his lap, petting her softly. "But… if you like them, would you take them home?" He asks and I lean my head back on the bench, looking over at him and the small kitten. "She sure is a ball of energy, isn't she?" I ask, reaching over to the kitten and itching her chin softly.
"I think Nen and Akira would love to play with her." I say, sighing softly though I roll onto my stomach, crawling over to the mother cat. She doesn't hiss, just stares at me as I slowly reach my hand for her. "It's okay, sweetheart. I've been hurt, too. If you let me in, I can take you and your baby somewhere you can live in peace." I whisper softly, gently stroking her with my thumb. "You can have all the space you want, you can trust me and I'll take good care of you both." I whisper and she just stares at me before she lightly purs, closing her eyes. "It's a deal then. I'll take you home." I say, giving her a light scratch under her chin and smiling at her. "If that's okay with you, Toru. You are going to be helping, after all." I ask and he flashes me a wide smile, the kitten curled up in his lap, purring. "Oh, the more the merrier." He chuckles, making me smile as I pull away from the mother cat, though she looks at me curiously. I pull myself using the bench, pressing the button the lady had pointed out before. She almost instantly appears, seeming anxious as I sit down on the bench. "How long would the adoption process take?" I ask, her face curling into a wide smile.
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