Chapter Text
Kenma sees Cat turn a corner and hears the faint steps of the boy climbing the wooden staircase; it creaks beneath his weight. He follows him but by the time he climbs up the staircase he’s already out of sight. Walking down the hall he saw what seemed to be a family portrait. A mother, a father, and a son. He wasn’t smiling. Looking away from the portrait, Kenma sees a single white door at the end of the hallway. Slowly he begins to walk towards it and as he enters through it he makes his way down the threshold of yet another narrow hallway.
Upon entering the new room, he concluded by the wooden beams decorating the ceiling that he had entered the attic. For whatever reason, there were two rows of coffins within the room. In front of him stood a rather tall man wearing a suit. He looked prim and proper despite his rather messy dark hair that made it seem he had just gotten out of bed. The man looks both ecstatic and terrified to see him as his mouth hangs agape with wide eyes.
“Um...Hello,” Kenma greets cautiously and the man just seems to shake. He extends a hand out to the boy that held a familiar material. “Oh! My scarf! You’re giving it to me?” The man says nothing as he just intensely watches the shorter male before him. The onyx haired male steps back several feet as Kenma wraps his scarf around his neck. “Thank you.”
He opens his mouth to say something but no words comes out.
‘It’s a magical scarf.’
Kenma jolts in surprise when he hears an abrupt voice within his own mind. He gasps, “What was that?”
The man simply gives a lopsided smile.
‘If you wear it, you’ll always be warm and safe.’
The boy knits his eyebrows together, “Was that you?”
‘Just like when you’re with your dear old Tetsurou.’
“Who are you?” Kenma frowns at this.
The man seems hurt and he gives a self deprecating smile.
‘Please,' His voice quivers as it echoes within his mind, ‘Please, remember.’
With those final words his body seems to disappear in thin air, leaving the boy alone in attic with the plethora of coffins. Hesitantly, he opens one that reads “Here lies Yaku” and was relieved to find there wasn’t a corpse inside but a crystal swan. In front of Yaku’s coffin was another that read “Here Lies Yamamoto” and inside was a small, copper coin. Kenma began sifting through the coffins and found that some of them wouldn’t budge. In a coffin that read “Here lies Alisa” there was a brilliantly red rose. In another coffin, one that wouldn’t budge, it read “Here lies Tetsurou” and he remembered how the man from before referred to himself as that. He couldn’t possibly be dead, right? He just saw him!
In the back of attic was another door and like always, Kenma entered it with caution. In front of him was a blonde monkey with its fur shaved on its sides as it stood next to a popcorn machine. There was a cinema booth and as he approached a voice yelled at him that there were no more tickets. Next to the both was the nutcracker he offered the peanut to when he was trapped in the basement. As they met eye contact, it spoke,
“The Sphinx...She’s so nice,” It sighs, “But she looks so sad…” Kenma remembers her well. Her red kimono that seemed to wash out her pale skin but adorned her petite form despite this. He thinks for a moment and offers the red rose to the nutcracker.
“This will make her happy.” He says. Surely she must love red in order to have everything she owns to be in such a color.
“A red rose? Yes, surely this will make her happy!” It beams as it twirls the red rose in its wooden hands. “Here take this.” It offers him a ticket to which he takes with some reluctance.
Suddenly, the short male with brown hair approaches him. Ever since their encounter with the taller male he had been uneasy as he feels a shiver rip down his spine.
“Is that a crystal swan?” He questions and Kenma nods slowly. The male grins, “I can have it, can’t I?”
“Uh...sure.” Kenma shrugs and hands him the crystal swan.
“Thanks! You’re the best!” He chimes, giving him an eerie grin, “Someone ruined my last one. Here, take this.” He hands the bleached blonde a key. Without warning, a voice on an intercom speaks,
“The play is about to begin. Please make your way to your seat.”
Entering the theater, Kenma took a seat in the front row. In the other seats were the short boy from just a few moments ago, the nutcracker, and the sphinx who was holding a red rose. She hummed softly, tracing her thin fingers over the crimson petals.
The curtains draw open and a tall male with freckles awkwardly walks across the stage. He clears his throat and speaks, “This story takes place long ago. Sixteen years to be exact. It is a tale of rue and woe. And this is the first act.”
“I don’t want to do this…” A familiar soft voice whispers from behind the curtains. The freckled boy’s expression softens but he beckons the voice onto the stage and it complies. Cat walks onto the stage and stands in the center, expression devoid of an emotion.
“This is Cat! And he is ten years old!” He says as he pulls out a prop that resembled a bed before walking offstage. Soon, Faust the dog walks onstage wearing a strangely familiar red kimono.
“Cat!” The dogs booms with a feminine voice, “I am your mother! Time for bed, Cat. Cat! Would you like to hear a bedtime story?”
Cat remains silent for a brief moment before sighing, “I would like to hear one.”
“How about a story with her mother sheep and her son?” She offers and the little boy nods with no resistance, “Once upon a time, there was a mother sheep and her ram son!”
This was Mommy’s favorite story.
“But one day! A pack of wolves came...and ate her son! Mother sheep was very sad! But also relieved! The end!” The dog huffs. What terrible acting.
The curtains closed as the voice on the intercom spoke again,
“We will now break for a short intermission.”
Leaving the theater, Kenma saw everyone that was watching the play shrouded in one area, munching on popcorn.
“What a strange play,” The sphinx muses, “I’m sure they’ve worked very hard on it.”
Behind her was a door that almost looked like it was a decoration to the wall due to how well it was camouflaged. Stepping behind her, Kenma tried to turn the rusty doorknob only to find that it was locked. Remembering he had a rusty key to match, he pulls it out of his pocket and inserts it within the lock and turns it. He unlocks the door but breaks the key while doing so. Stepping within the hidden door, the boy fixes his flaxen eyes on the crystal swan sculptures resting on marble pillars. At the end of the room was a grandfather clock that didn’t appear to be working. There was likely a gear missing, he figured. Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Kenma jolted and spun around to find the man who labeled himself as Tetsurou looming behind him with a fixated stare that never seemed to falter.
‘This clock doesn’t work anymore. It's been frozen for years. Cat, do you remember yet?’
“What’re you-” He frowns, confused but is cut off.
‘No? Here, let’s try again.’
Kenma blinks and there’s a white flash before his eyes. When he opens them he finds himself in the theater once more, watching the play as he had prior.
“Cat!” The dogs booms with a feminine voice, “I am your mother! Time for bed, Cat. Cat! Would you like to hear a bedtime story?”
Cat stares at the dog wearing a red kimono almost defiantly and shakes his head. Faust glares at him pointedly before coughing.
“Okay!” Faust says almost too cheerily to be in character.
‘This is different…?’ Kenma thinks to himself, confused but intrigued by the awful play.
After several moments the fly from the garden enters on stage wearing a suit, “It is I, Tetsurou!”
“Hello, Tetsurou!” Faust greets.
He always wanted me to call him Tetsurou.
The fly strides over to Cat and kneels down in front of him, “Cat! I have brought you a present! Would you like to see it?”
Cat nods eagerly, “Yes.”
“Here, a scarf!” The fly sing-songs as it wraps the scarf around Cat’s neck, “If you wear it you’ll always be warm and safe!”
Just like when you’re with your dear old Tetsurou.
The curtains draw for a few moments before they open once more. The freckled boy stands beside Cat who’s staring at the floor, clearly disinterested.
“This is Cat! Cat, are you excited about having little brothers?” He asks as politely as he can but even so, the boy says nothing. Behind him enter the actors playing Tetsurou and the sphinx onto the stage.
“The twins are coming,” Tetsurou sighs as he speaks with the sphinx, “It might be difficult to stay.”
Everything will be better when we move.
“The city is wonderful,” He explains to his wife, “It’s always summer there!”
Say goodbye to the seasons.
“Tetsurou!” Faust scoffs at the other actor, “What about the house?”
“The house?” The fly playing Tetsurou questions.
“This house is just...a memory!” Faust exclaims and the red kimono sways a bit, “Tetsurou! I don’t want to leave!”
I like the seasons. I don’t want to leave them behind.
“But Alisa!” The fly defends, “The twins are coming!”
Why are you so selfish? Why are you always so selfish? What does family mean to you?
The mimicking sound of a creaking door can be heard as the actor playing the sphinx gasps, “Tetsurou! Was that...the door?”
“Cat!” Tetsurou’s eyes widen in panic, “Where is Cat?”
The freckled boy enters onto the stage once more and speaks, “All of this fighting! Between Mommy and Tetsurou makes Cat very sad! And so, Cat decides to run away!”
“But-” Cat tries to speak up but is ignored.
“This is Cat! He has run away from home! He is very sad!”
“H-Hey Cat? D-Do you still remember m-me?”
*
Kenma runs down the street as fast as his small legs could carry him as he clutches the scarf wrapped delicately around his neck. He looks behind him and finds that nobody had even bothered to follow him. When he turns back around he sees a man with bandages wrapped around his his face, covering his eyes. In his hands is a camera and by his side is a rather large dog. The dog growls and barks at him, causing the child to flinch.
“S-Slow down!” The man says as he catches up with his dog, “W-What’s that? A b-boy?”
“Um...Hello.” Kenma greets hesitantly.
“Uh...Uh...H-Hello!” He scrambles for his words but gives a soft smile.
“I like your dog.” Kenma says as he eyes the dog curiously.
“Oh! This is my guide dog.” The dog barks again, “H-He helps me see.”
“You can’t see?” He cocks his head to the side in confusion, “What’s wrong with your eyes?”
“They got burnt up…” The man explains sheepishly, “B-But the doctor says he can fix them.”
“Oh.” Kenma states.
“Um…” The man holds up his camera, “C-Can I take a picture?”
“Of me?”
*
The stage suddenly has the actors that play Tetsurou and the sphinx in a cardboard car cutout.
“Cat! Where is Cat?” The sphinx cries hysterically, “Tetsurou! You are driving too fast! Oh, Cat! Where is Cat?”
*
“I take p-pictures of everything,” He nods, “So once I can see again, I’ll know all the places I’ve been! Wanna see?” He takes a step back and fumbles with his camera. “We’re looking for this cat.” He says as he points at the blurry photos of a black cat.
“These pictures are all blurry.” He murmurs softly.
“What?”
“It’s because you keep moving back and forth.” He explains, “Here, hold still.” He adjusts the man’s posture and makes him stand up straight. “Now take a picture.”
The man nods and complies as he presses a button on his camera as a blinding white flash appears in front of his vision.
“Wow! T-Thank you!” The dog barks again, “He wants to know your name!”
“My name?” He questions, “My name is Kenma but my family calls me Cat.”
“N-Nice to meet you, Cat!” The man smiles, “My name is-” The dog barks again, bearing his teeth for seemingly no apparent reason. “W-We should head back soon. It’s l-late. Shouldn't you go home t-too?”
Kenma licks his dry lips before responding, “I ran away from home.”
“W-Why?”
“Mommy and Daddy...They don’t want me anymore.” Kenma can feel tears prick his eyes but he tries to hold them back.
“They could be looking for you.” He says quietly after after a period of silence, “T-They must be worried.”
Kenma says nothing as he stares down at the ground. Hearing rustling in the bushes, he turns his head to the noise and sees a black cat sit across the street, curling its tail around itself.
“Look! A cat!” He says suddenly, startling the blind man.
“A c-cat? W-Where?” He readies his camera as he awaits for Kenma to say.
“There! Crossing the street!” He pipes, pointing across the street despite the other not being able to see this.
“A s-stray cat...just like y-you.”
“Just like me…” Kenma whispers softly to himself.
“Oh! P-Picture...hold still.” The man says as he takes a picture of the black cat.
“Maybe it’s lonely too...just like me.” He mumbles to himself.
“Huh?” The man tries to strain his ears to hear the child but fails.
“Here, kitty, kitty…” Kenma hums as he begins to make his way across the street to pet the cat, “It’s pretty late. Do you know where your house is?” He walks closer to the cat, now standing in the middle of the street. “I can take you home if you want.”
The dog barks and the blind man goes as stiff as a board as he hears the distinct sound of tires screeching against the asphalt of the road, “C-Cat, a car…” The headlights of the car are blinding as horns blare loudly from the fast oncoming vehicle. “Cat! No!”
*
The curtains close slowly as the freckled boy sighs, defeated, “What happens next? I don’t know! We lost the script! Um...the end!”
As Kenma makes his way out of the theater once more he sees the actors bickering among one another about who lost the second half of the script. One of them catches the boy staring and snarls at him, causing him to take a few steps back, intimidated. The actor who played Tetsurou steps forwards and apologizes, “I’m sorry they’re so rude! But they don’t hate you.”
They don’t hate you.
“Thanks for dropping by!” It smiles and sifts through its pockets and hands him a gear, “Here, have this.”
Kenma nods and quickly darts into the hidden room, running past the crystal swans and straight towards the grandfather clock. The boy presses the gear within the clock where it was missing. As soon as he does so, the clock begins ticking rather loudly. Just as before, Tetsurou shows up behind with a more serious expression.
‘It wasn’t your fault, Cat. We don’t blame you, Cat. There millions of daddies in the world. Millions of boy’s get to have a daddy's love. But only little Cat gets to have Tetsurou’s love. That’s why I wanted you to call me Tetsurou. Cat...You remember now, don’t you?’
Kenma stays silent for a brief moment before he squints his eyes as if trying to recognize the man before him, “Dad?”
He gives a soft, warm smile before fading away.
Kenma turns on his heel to leave the room but stops in his tracks when he sees Cat in front of him, crying. Or rather, himself.
“I’m sorry…” He sobs, clutching desperately onto the scarf wrapped around his delicate neck.
“It’s not your fault.” Kenma says, biting his bottom lip.
“But it was my fault! I ran away…” His small body shakes as tears cascade down his cheeks.
“You couldn’t have known.” He defends.
“But I did know. I knew it would happen. I knew they would come find me…” Cat sniffles, rubbing his eyes with his small hands.
“You didn’t mean it.”
“I wanted them to find me. I wanted them to look at me!” Cat’s body begins to brim with hysteria as he cries.
“They loved you very much…” Kenma whispers softly, hardly audible but he still hears it.
“That’s not true...they hate me.”
“They don’t hate you,” He says firmly with a new form of confidence, “I’ve talked with them. All of them. The twins, Mom, Dad, and even the man with the camera. They’ll forgive you as long as you don’t forget them.”
Cat stays quiet for a long time before speaking again, “They’ll forgive you as long as you don’t forget them, Cat.”
Just as Tetsurou had, Cat suddenly vanishes with a smile on his face and tears down his cheeks. Walking out of the room, Kenma spots the man with the camera once again.
“Y-You fixed the clock...t-time isn’t frozen a-anymore. This house...it’s only a memory. Y-You need to leave! F-Follow me, please!”
Kenma nods and begins to follow the blind man out of the house, the memories of everything that had happened- everything that he had forgotten hit him like a tidal wave and he wants to do nothing more than curl into a ball and cry. As he exits the house, the man stops him as if he has something he wants to say.
“I-I’m a memory too...Cat, I know it’s hard but don’t forget me again, okay? Promise?”
Kenma nods, not used to being called his old nickname in such a long time, “Promise.”
Without warning the blind man disappears as does the house that he was trapped in for so long. He turns back and sees the street before him. Without hesitating, he begins to sprint down the street at full speed as more memories of his long forgotten childhood began to resurface. He ducked his head as he ran further and further down the street. He wouldn’t forget them again, he wouldn’t ever let their deaths be forgotten.
He sees something in the distance- something obscenely bright. When he comes closer he sees it's a car burning horrendously. The car his parents drove when they were looking for him. The car that they died in.