Work Text:
Worry spread across Mob’s face as he watched the cats feed outside the barn. There were a lot of them, at least fifteen, but Mob knew them well enough to know that one of them was missing, a certain black cat named Yoru. She was a pretty cat, sleek and friendly and particularly mischievous. Mob had no idea where she was and that sort of sent him into a panic. Not an explodey, psychic panic, no– this was a more physical panic, where he suddenly felt like he absolutely had to run around and tear apart the farm and freak out about this missing cat that wasn’t even his.
Sure. Some cats didn’t show up all the time. They were cats. They had other cat things to do. But Yoru had been missing for about a week and this was not a good thing in Mob’s mind.
“Sashi! Yoru’s still missing.” Musashi was in the middle of cleaning a horse paddock with some of the help when Mob showed up.
“Yoru– Oh. Hm.” He paused in his work, leaning on the pitchfork thoughtfully. “Have you looked around for her?”
“I’ve looked in the barn and around the chicken coop.”
“She never wore a collar, did she?”
Mob shook his head, wringing his hands. He knew he shouldn’t be getting so upset about this, but he couldn’t bare thinking about all the possible bad things that could’ve happened to the cat. If anything, he felt responsible.
“Hey, Shige. If it makes you feel any better, we’ll make sure to keep an eye out for her, okay? That sound good?”
It did help a little bit. He nodded. “I’ll look around some more.”
“Alright! Good luck!”
Yoru was, of course, nowhere to be found. Mob looked everywhere, even in the house, where not-their-cats were not allowed. No luck. When the work day was over, no one reported seeing the cat anywhere. Mob’s disappointment must have been obvious on his face, as Musashi put a hand on his shoulder as they walked back inside.
“I’m sure she’s fine, Mob. C’mon, let’s make some dinner, hm?”
Mob gave an unsure little smile at Musashi. “Okay…”
Making a simple dinner was easy, but Mob’s mind was elsewhere. All he wanted to be doing was out looking for Yoru, even though it would be even more impossible to find her as it got darker outside. Musashi could tell this was bothering him, looking at him over his dinner plate.
“Hey.”
Mob gave him his attention, trying to push his worry out of his head.
“I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but Yoru isn’t your responsibility.”
Mob opened his mouth to say something, but couldn’t quite find the words. He shut his mouth, biting his lip.
“Yoru’s owners are responsible for their cat. If she doesn’t have owners, then Yoru is responsible for herself. There are plenty of other places she can find food and shelter, ya know.”
“But…”
Musashi gestured at him with his fork. “Stop. You’re only hurting yourself in the process of worrying. It’s okay to let things go sometimes.” Musashi sighed. “Besides, you and I both need to focus on keeping ourselves healthy. Physically and mentally .”
He was right, of course. That didn’t just make Mob stop worrying though. He took a breath, nodding, trying to clear his mind. “Yeah. Okay.”
Musashi gestured at Mob’s mostly untouched plate. “Now eat. We’ve got a big day tomorrow. Cows and whatnot.”
Mob smiled, returning to his meal.
He could always worry about this later.
The sun hadn’t risen yet, but Musashi and Mob were already tending to the cows and moving things around in the barn area. Mob was tired as usual but enjoyed the warmth of being so close to the gentle creatures, making sure the machinery was in order and that the animals were calm. He smiled, remembering the first few times he’d helped with this, falling asleep on his feet and leaning against a somewhat annoyed cow. He bit back a yawn. After this he had an appointment in town, something about haunted library books or something silly like that. He doubted it was real, but if he could help ease someone’s mind, he was all for it.
“Mob… Mob, oh my god,” Musashi’s voice dragged him back into the present.
“Hm? What is it?”
“You have to see this!” Musashi’s smile was huge, one of his big, the-world-could-end-right-now-and-I’d-be-happy kind of smiles. He grabbed Mob’s hand, dragging him out of the barn and running around to a bunch of old boxes.
“Musashi, what’s going on– oof! ” They’d come to a sudden halt, Musashi pushing Mob in front of him and pointing to the boxes. There was a strange noise coming from one of the half-open lids. It reminded Mob of violins… except much quieter and not as musical. Mob peered into the depths of the box.
Two bright yellow eyes stared back at him from the shadows, blinking at him slow.
“Yoru–”
Musashi pulled back the lid a little more, early morning light revealing five little kittens nestled into the (somewhat agitated but mostly tired) mother cat. Yoru meowed at Mob.
Mob blinked.
It was like a flipping on a light switch– One second, he was tired and confused. The next: absolutely beaming with delight.
“ Kittens! ” He breathed in awe. Yoru let him pet his head, purring. She was probably too tired to do anything else. The tiny bundles mewled quietly in protest as cooler air pressed in on them. Mob looked at Musashi, both of them smiling. “Sashi… she’s alright! She has kittens.”
Musashi chuckled, holding him close from behind as they both looked at the creatures with fondness. “Yep. She’s alright.”
( Of course, they took care of the kittens, taking them inside (much to the dismay and surprise of their other cats) and making sure they were safe. Eventually, they grew old enough to give to some of the neighbor kids. Mob cried after they gave them away but it was mostly out of happiness. Musashi had to wipe a few tears away too.
Now whenever a pitch-black cat comes their way, they know exactly whose lineage it’s from…)