Chapter Text
The first time he had met her, it felt like everything was right in the world. He had no worries. He didn't . . . hate himself. He didn't know it at the time, but meeting her would change his life forever.
“Excuse me? Sir?”
“Huh?!” Ichimatsu turned his head suddenly to see someone standing beside him at the bus stop. It was a girl with fair skin, her light brown hair tumbled in straight strands just below her shoulders. She was shorter than him, she almost looked like he could break her, and she had the deepest brown eyes Ichimatsu had ever seen, enough that they rivaled his own. For a few moments, he stared at her, transfixed. Why was she even talking to him? He was just garbage, unburnable trash. Why had she bothered--
“I'm . . . looking for my cat.” she said, her voice suddenly lower and shaking. “She shot out of my apartment yesterday and I haven't been able to find her. I'm so worried about her, she's never been outside before!”
She looked like she was about to cry, and Ichimatsu suddenly looked alarmed. D-Don't cry! He brought his hands up to try and calm her, but she never seemed to pass the threshold of just building tears. She gulped before pulling something from a stack of papers she had clung to her chest, it was a flier for a missing cat, a black and white tuxedo cat that looked really cute. Ichimatsu took the flier, staring down at the picture with narrowed eyes. Had he seen this cat before? It felt like he had.
“I-I made these fliers today and . . . I'm handing them out to everyone I've come across, so please, if you see her, please call that number.” she pointed to the number at the bottom of the page, along with the name above it. Bakeneko Mika.
“Bakeneko?” Ichimatsu muttered out, looking up to the girl, who blinked a moment before letting out a tired laugh.
“It's a very old name, isn't it? My full name is nice though, 'changing cat of the new moon'”
Ichimatsu looked back up to her face, and found himself staring again. She had a very cute smile, it was something he didn't deserve to see really. He ended up tearing his eyes away from her, only to suddenly look up.
“I've seen this cat before.” he spoke, and Mika's eyes suddenly lit up.
“Have you?! Where did you see her?! She must be so scared!”
Ichimatsu looked down the road, the bus was coming, if he left now, he would miss it. He glanced back towards the girl, and with a soft sigh, he motioned with his hand for her to follow. Mika held the papers against her chest and nodded in response, quickly moving to follow after him. Poor girl looked like she was on the verge of tears, though from happiness or sadness, it was hard to tell. He lead her through the city, past alleyways and finally he stopped outside one, motioning her to follow him. He slipped into the small walkway, Mika on his heels until the path opened into a large back alley. It looked empty but soon enough, several sets of eyes peered out from the darkness, and cats began to come out of every nook and cranny. Mika watched with a wide eyed expression at all the cats coming out, until she noticed one that looked familiar.
“Luka!” she suddenly called out, and the tuxedo cat looked towards her before letting out a meow the entire time she ran towards her owner. The fliers dropped from her arms, and Mika scooped the cat up into her arms, cuddling her close as tears of happiness poured from her eyes.
“I was so worried! I'm so glad you're okay!” she was nearly wailing out, and Ichimatsu watched her from his position of kneeling on the ground, petting the cats that were gathering around him. For some reason he was simply captivated by her, he couldn't stop staring, stop watching her. The way she twirled around with the cat in her arms, the way the cat rubbed against her and mewled in response to her crying words. His heart skipped a beat when she stopped and looked at him, cuddling the cat closer to herself.
“Thank you so much, Mr . . . Oh, I don't even know your name!”
“. . . M-Matsuno Ichimatsu.”
“Matsuno Ichimatsu.” she repeated, her face brightened by a smile. “Thank you, Matsuno-san.”
“I didn't do anything worth thanking me for.” he quickly retorted, shrugging himself away from being so close to her. The cats followed.
“Eh? EH??” Mika's eyes widened in shock as she spoke. “You saved Luka! If you hadn't seen her, I probably would have never found her!”
“Someone else would have found her.”
“But you found her first, and I am so grateful to you!.” Mika said, and suddenly she was bowing before Ichimatsu. His eyes were the one to widen this time as he watched her and the cat bowing before him.
“S-Stop that!” he hissed out. He didn't deserve this! He didn't--
“I don't have any money to reward you with.” Mika frowned as she stood upright. “But I have enough to get us something to eat. A thank you for saving Luka.”
Ichimatsu stared at her with those same wide eyes, frowning like his default expression. She didn't need to buy him anything, but at the same time Ichimatsu felt something when he was around her, something he wasn't sure what it was. He wanted to keep feeling it, it was nice and . . . made him feel like he was going to be sick sometimes.
He found that she didn't actually live far from him, and that their paths had crossed a few times without either of them really noticing. Ichimatsu began to notice her more on the streets, he'd watch her with interest, and soon enough, she began talking to him more, taking him to places with her more. Every day that passed, he found himself falling a little more in love with her. But he was scared to approach her on that subject, because if the word got out, his brothers might ruin everything.
The sun was setting on the bank of the river as Ichimatsu and Mika stood on the bridge, looking over the water as they ate the warm wrapped up sweet potatoes from a local vendor. Ichimatsu glanced towards Mika, watching her face in the soft glow of the setting sun. She was beautiful, and he continued to wonder why she wanted to hang around someone like him, someone who was garbage and probably looked like a bag of trash next to her. She turned her head, catching him staring at her and Ichimatsu automatically looked away as a dark blush spread across his cheeks.
“Hey, Ichimatsu-kun.~” she said, giving him a smile that could brighten the darkest night sky. “It's been awhile since we met, hasn't it?”
“Yeah.” he murmured out, looking down to the water passing under the bridge before taking a bite from his potato.
“I'm really glad we did.” said Mika, holding her own snack in both hands.
“Eh?” Ichimatsu blinked, confused with her words.
“I like you, Ichimatsu.”
He froze, staring at her with bewildered eyes. What? No. She shouldn't-- He's not-- The shock had caused him to let go of his potato, it dropping from his hand and down into the water below.
“Ah!! Ichimatsu?!” Mika suddenly looked panicked as she leaned slightly over the bridge to watch the snack get washed away.
“You shouldn't.” he suddenly said, looking away from her.
“. . . Nonsense.” she said, smiling again and reaching over, taking his hand. Ichimatsu's heart started beating faster, he could feel it in his ears. “I trust you more than anyone else I know. And because of this, I want to show you something. Will you come with me?”
Ichimatsu didn't know what to say. He was just staring at her like a deer in headlights. Why did she like him? Why did she trust him? Before he even gave her an answer, she was tugging on his hand, pulling him with her as she started to rush off the bridge. She had brought him to the wooded area of the park, hiding themselves within the trees. Ichimatsu was confused, still riding the wave of endorphins from Mika's confession. What did she have to show him in the middle of the woods in the park? His question was answered soon as Mika stepped back, looking to the side as her hands were head down together in front of her.
“Don't . . . don't get scared, okay?” she said, looking back towards him. Don't get scared?
“Why would I get scared?” he asked, tilting his head.
Mika didn't answer him, bringing one hand up as if she was silencing him, but instead something . . . strange was starting to happen. Ichimatsu was already surprised, but now it was going even farther. Mika's hand started to change, fingers curling inward, black fur started to cover every part of her body. Her hand was now a paw, behind her swayed a long, sleek black tail, and her face had taken on a more feline appearance. She stood before Ichimatsu, head lowered before she lifted her gaze to look at him.
“. . . My name isn't just a coincidence. It is who I am.” she said, before gulping a little as her paws came together. “I am a monster of the mountains, a yokai. I am a Bakeneko. A changing cat of the new moon.”
Ichimatsu didn't know what to say. He was frozen in shock again but he . . . he wasn't scared. He just took a few steps forward towards her, reaching for one of those paws and holding it between his hands. Mika watched him, nervous as to what he was thinking. He turned her paw over, looking down at the pink pads, just like an actual cat. He ran his thumb over the soft skin, gulping a little before looking up at her face finally. Mika . . . she was a cat. A giant cat monster. She was everything that appealed to him and more. Was he really falling for a monster? He liked her as a human, but now?
“. . . You don't scare me.” he muttered, tugging on her paw and bringing her up against him. “I like you too.”
Mika's eyes widened as she was pulled up against him, paws moving around him to hold onto him and tears began to roll down the fur of her cheeks. She pushed her snout against Ichimatsu's neck, and he shuddered at the feeling of her whiskers tickling at his skin. He held onto her, letting his fingers grip into the back of her coat as he took a deep breath. He felt . . . relieved, lighter than air. He was so happy and it was such a rare feeling for him. Did they mean something to each other now? Were they a couple? It didn't matter to him if she was a monster, a Bakeneko. She had trusted him enough to show him her secret, so there must have been something there, right?
“How long have you been living among humans like this?” Ichimatsu asked as he sat on the edge of Mika's bed, petting Luka as the smaller feline rested in his lap. Mika had brought Ichimatsu back to her apartment, so they could discuss this more in private. She was back to her human form, putting away her coat in the closet before she turned her head to look over her shoulder.
“. . . Thousands of years, to be honest.” she said, turning around to face him and soon sat down next to him, looking down at Luka and petting her hand down over her head. “I've changed my name and appearance many times to keep living among humans. Other Bakeneko, they are known to bring misfortune and death to those around them, but I didn't want to be like that. Humans have always fascinated me, and I wanted to live like them. So I've been disguising myself, living and humans do and have moved all across Japan until I ended up here.”
“Why did you chose here?” he asked, looking up from the cat in his lap to Mika.
“. . . I was getting ready to move again, I felt like I was getting too settled in this city. That's when Luka got out and I had to look for her. But then I met you, and I decided that maybe I could stay here a little longer.”
Ichimatsu blinked, and again his face started to flush with color. She stayed here, because of him. He glanced away in embarrassment and Luka jumped down from his lap, running out of the room just in time for Mika to reach and gently turn his face back to hers.
“I want to spend this night with you, Ichimatsu. Would that be okay?”
He blinked at her question, what did she mean by-- !! Before he could really give an answer, Mika leaned in, daring to be the first to kiss. His eyes widened, he started to panic. He didn't know how to kiss! But she wasn't pulling away from him. Even when he tried to sloppily return it, she just corrected his movements of his lips, keeping it soft and tamed. When their lips parted, Ichimatsu looked into her eyes, soft breaths escaping him.
“I-I . . . I don't really . . . know how to do any of this stuff.” he said, clearly embarrassed now because he kept trying to look away from her. “I'm . . . I'm a virgin.” Yeesh that was hard for him to say.
“It's okay.” said Mika, smiling and bringing his face back to hers. “I will teach you everything you need to know.”
He was still nervous, would he be good enough for her? He was only human after all! But all of his doubts started to melt away when she brought her lips to his again, and she brought the two of them down onto the bed. She knew what she was doing, she had . . . years of experience probably? He didn't really know, she never really talked about her past, and he never really talked about his. They had both been content with living in the now, rather than divulging into their histories. Ichimatsu now knew the reason why she hadn't.
The more they kissed, the better he got at it, and finally he had to pull away to breathe, he panting heavily as he looked up at her. He wanted to make a bold request, one that might make him look weird but . . . he was about to sleep with a monster so . . . it was fitting?
“Mika-chan. I want to see you again. The real you.”
Mika looked down at him, and a pair of black cat ears suddenly sprung up on the top of her head in surprise. He wanted to see the real her? Her face lit up with a blush, and she looked away, but her body began to change again, taking on the cat appearance of her true form. Ichimatsu looked up at her in adoration, reaching up and brushing his hand against the fur of her cheek.
“You're beautiful.” he said, and was even surprised at himself for saying that.
“. . . Ichimatsu.” she whispered out his name, leaning her cheek into his touch. Her eyes closed, and this time, it was Ichimatsu that took the lead, bringing his lips against her snout, a bit of an awkward kiss but he was going to make it work. He liked her, he may have even loved her. He was trash, garbage, but if someone like her could love him, he could find that emotion in himself as well.
That night, he had been changed. For the better? For worse? He wanted to believe that he had changed for the better. Ichimatsu had found love in the form of a monster, and somehow that seemed fitting for someone like him. They had found love in each other, and that was just fine.
Several months had passed, and the two had met several times after. Somehow, he had managed to keep their relationship from his family. But there came a day when he realized it might become harder to keep his hidden lifestyle a secret.
“What?” Ichimatsu blinked as he listened to Mika on the other end of the phone.
“I have something really important to tell you!” she said, cupping her hand around the receiver of the pay phone she was using, her eyes following the people walking past. “Can you meet me at the bus stop?”
Ichimatsu stared down, glancing back behind him to see if his brothers were listening in on his conversation. He only had the house phone to use, which was fine. It just made having private conversations a little more difficult.
“Sure.” he muttered, and Mika let out a sigh of relief on the other end.
“Okay! I'll see you soon!” she spoke quickly and hung up the phone, rushing out of the booth and making her way to the bus stop where they had first met. Ichimatsu hung up the house phone as well, giving one more look around the house before he shuffled out the front door before anyone could ask where he was going.
It was a bit of a walk, but eventually Ichimatsu found Mika standing there at the bus stop, and she turned to look at him once she noticed him. Her smile was bright as always, and Ichimatsu couldn't help but quicken his pace, moving up to her and giving her a smile of his own.
“You had something you wanted to tell me?” he asked. Mika nodded, reaching down and grabbing his hands and holding them in her own.
“I do! But . . . don't be scared, okay?”
“This again?” he asked, brows furrowing a little, but Mika shook her head, eyes closed.
“. . . You're going to be a dad, Ichimatsu. I'm pregnant!”
It was like lightning struck behind him as his eyes seemed to go completely blank and he froze on the spot. A dad? Pregnant? H-He couldn't be a dad! How did she even get pregnant anyway?! Okay well he knew how but could monsters and humans even copulate? Apparently because here she was, telling him she was pregnant.
“Ichimatsu?” Mika pulled her hands away from his, only to wave one in his face to try and get him to snap out of it. “I told you not to get scared!”
He finally gained the color back in his eyes, looking at her with uncertainty. “M-Mika . . . I can't--”
“Hm?” she tilted her head as she looked at him.
“I can't . . . be a dad.” Ichimatsu frowned as he took a step back from her. “I don't have a job, my own place. I can't even take care of myself. How am I supposed to take care of you?”
“. . . I have a place, and a job. We can work on something for you! It's going to be okay--”
“NO IT'S NOT!” he suddenly shouted out, looking scared as he stared at her, people watching as they walked by but not much else.
“. . . I-Ichimatsu. I thought you'd be happy.” she said, her eyes starting to tear up. “We can start something together, a life!”
He just shook his head, backing away farther. “N-No, we can't. I can't.”
Why was he so scared? It was change, change that he wasn't ready for. Being a father? To a half yokai? He wasn't ready for that kind of commitment at all, even if they had been going out for over a year now. He was afraid, because he wouldn't be able to hide this from his family. From his brothers.
“I-I promise it'll be fine!” Mika whine out lightly, reaching forward to try and take his hands again, but he pulled away from her before she could grab them.
“I'm sorry, Mika-chan.” he spoke quickly, turning and quickly walking away from the situation. She called after him, and his heart twisted in his chest. He just couldn't! HE COULDN'T! And he felt even more like a piece of garbage now that he had left her standing there at the bus stop in tears. He was trash, the biggest piece of human trash to ever grace this earth.
He had made his pregnant girlfriend cry, all because he couldn't handle being a father.
Several weeks had passed since Ichimatsu had walked away from Mika, and he had done a lot of thinking in that time. He sat on the floor at the table with his brothers, mother and father in the other room as they all had dinner. Todomatsu was talking about something, but he didn't seem interested in what he had to say. Ichimatsu looked far away almost, like he wasn't really there mentally.
“Oi, Ichimatsu?” Choromatsu suddenly spoke, causing him to snap back to reality. “Are you alright? You look . . . more depressed than normal.”
Ichimatsu lifted his head, looking around at his brothers who all seemed to be staring at him. Even his parents were watching from the doorway. He looked back and forth between all of them, before letting out a sigh and suddenly coming to a stand.
“. . . I'm moving out.”
“. . . HUUUUUUUH?! ” All five of his brothers, mother and father called out in unison. What? Moving out? This was absolutely out of the blue!
“What do you mean moving out?!” shouted Osomatsu. “You tried that before and it didn't work!”
Ichimatsu glared at his brother, and he didn't say a word. He just moved out of the room, walking to the front door and slipping on his purple sandals before pushing open the door and heading out. Everyone watched him from the doorway, in too much shock to really say anything or try to stop him. Was he serious? RIGHT NOW?
He walked slow, but the farther he got from the house, the faster he moved, until he was running, tripping a few times but was still making a beeline for a familiar apartment building. He could see the light was on as he approached the building, his eyes widening, his heart pounding in his chest. He ran all the way up the stairs and when he got to her door, he was panting, out of breath. He knocked against her door, leaning against it and ended up falling inside once the door opened.
“Ichimatsu!” Mika called out once he hit the floor, stepping back in surprise. He lifted his head, looking in the apartment to see . . . boxes.
“. . . You were going to move?” he asked, looking up at her. Mika frowned, kneeling down beside him and helping him sit up.
“I didn't want to stay here . . . if I couldn't stay with you.”
Ichimatsu looked at her awe on his face. He took a deep breath and sat up on his knees, grabbing hold of her hand and yanking her into a kiss. Mika's eyes widened in surprise, but eventually fell shut as she enjoyed the kiss. It had been a long time, much too long for her liking. When he pulled away, he cupped her face in his hands, keeping his forehead against her.
“I'm sorry.” he wheezed out. “I didn't mean to make you cry the last time we had seen each other. I was scared and didn't think I could do it. But I thought about it, and I can't leave you alone. I won't leave you alone.”
Mika stared into his eyes, tears starting to come to her own. She opened her mouth to try and speak, but the words weren't coming out, just a bit of a whine that was silenced with his lips again.
That dinner was the last time his family had seen him. Despite living so close, Ichimatsu managed to keep himself and his relationship out of their lives. Several months later, on a crisp autumn morning, Mika gave birth to a child in the privacy of her own apartment, a girl to which they had affectionately named Bakeneko Momiji. “Changing Cat of the Autumn Leaves”
He wasn't sure how well of a father he was going to be, but he was going to learn very quickly, his life was about to take another turn he was unprepared for.
“I'm leaving for work!” Mika called out, Ichimatsu looking up from his place on the floor with Momiji. He smiled and came to a stand as he picked up his child with him, making his way over to her and giving her a kiss on the cheek. Mika practically purred, nuzzling into him before kissing the brown haired child in his arms.
“I'll bring home something nice for dinner!” she chirped out.
“No rats.” Ichimatsu said in a stern tone. Mika pouted before turning to leave out the door.
“Fine! Birds it is then!” she chimed out, blowing a kiss to him over her shoulder and the door shut behind her. Ichimatsu sighed, no chance to argue with her, but she was probably kidding. Probably.
The rest of the day, Ichimatsu spent time being a father. His daughter was only a few months old, had the same hair and eyes as her mother, but the same tired expression of her father. She slept a lot, but Ichimatsu was fine with that. He often took naps with her, letting the child sleep curled on his chest.
When she was awake, Ichimatsu would sit with her in front of the balcony door, letting her watch the birds perched on the porch. She was observant, watched them with intense eyes even at such a young age, and her father would smile as those tiny cat ears sprang to life, and she tried to talk, but only soft mewls were heard. When she was hungry, he would feed her. When she needed to be changed, he reluctantly did so.
He was trying so hard to do this parenthood thing, but he probably wouldn't have gotten this far without her.
Mika knew so much about being a parent, way more than he did. She knew how to get Momiji to stop crying when she was cranky, knew what song to sing to get her to calm down. Ichimatsu tried to learn it, to use it when he was alone, but he could never get the tune right. Mika said it had been an old song from her days in the mountains, that other Yokai would sing and dance to. Maybe a human like him didn't deserve to know it properly. But he practiced it daily, no matter how many times he messed it up. He would stand in the doorway at night when Mika would sit next to the bassinet and hum the tune. He would learn it eventually. He just needed to keep trying.
But something about today felt off.
Momiji had been put down for a nap, and Ichimatsu was taking the time to clean up the apartment. He had become a house husband of sorts, since his past attempts at getting jobs had ended up in failure or he had been let go due to not being social enough with strangers. It was hard to run a register when you wouldn't talk to the customers. Ichimatsu was good at cleaning things up. He didn't take care of himself very well but everything else around him, he made sure was spotless. For Momiji. He glanced at her from over the couch as she laid on the floor, Luka curled up next to her and sleeping along side her. Ichimatsu smiled, only to blink when he noticed something on the table.
“Ah.” he let out a soft sound, stepping over and grabbing Mika's purse off the table. “Mika-chan forgot her bag.”
He slowly sat down on the couch, he probably shouldn't go through her things, but he had always been curious what was in a girl's bag. He opened it up, looking inside. There was pretty normal things, a brush for her hair, some old receipts, her wallet which had her bank cards and a little cash on hand, and then there was her phone. Ichimatsu pulled it from the bag, looking at the lock screen. It was a picture of them from around the time they first started dating. She was so beautiful, in both human and monster form. He was so lucky to have someone like her.
He unlocked the phone, ignoring the notifications of a few missed calls and looking through more of the pictures instead. It was mostly of them together, selfies from past dates he hardly remembered, some of Luka, some of just herself, and the more recent pictures were of Momiji. He remembered taking the pictures of when she was just born, being held in Mika's arms while he cried. Mika had told him he shouldn't cry, but she had tears in her eyes also. Maybe it had been from the pain of giving birth, or she was just as happy as he was. Ichimatsu hadn't thought about what life outside of the Matsuno residence would be like. He hadn't wanted to accept change, but when he had, he found that life was amazing.
Ichimatsu flipped through a few more pictures before his eyes flicked to the top of the phone. It was getting late, and Mika was normally home around this time. He stuffed everything back into her purse and stood, moving to get back to cleaning. She was probably just running late.
Except two hours had passed, and she still wasn't home.
Ichimatsu was becoming worried, his eyes watched the darkening sky outside the window as he sat on the couch with Momiji in his lap, trying to read her a story from a fairy tale book. He glanced to the clock on the wall, and with a sigh he shut the book. Maybe he should go out and look for her. This wasn't like Mika to be this late. Ichimatsu got both he and Momiji ready for the outside weather, cold autumn air required a nice jacket for the two of them. He nestled his daughter in the carrier on his chest, and once he had the keys to the apartment, he stepped outside and locked the door, heading out into the city.
He had stopped by her workplace, and they had said she had never made it into work that day. That was extremely worrying, and without even saying goodbye, Ichimatsu left in a hurry, rushing along the path Mika normally took to work. She would take the bus, but before then she always walked the path alongside the park to get to the bus stop. Ichimatsu stood on the bus despite there being empty seats around him, a few of the patrons staring at him in confusion. Why was he standing? Wouldn't it be easier for him to sit while holding a baby?
“Young man, do you want to sit?” asked an elderly woman. “The seat next to me is free.”
Ichimatsu stared at her with an intense look, his eyes falling to the seat she was offering before staring ahead once more.
“My stop is almost here.” he said quietly.
The rest of the ride he was silent, and he got off the bus once he had actually reached his stop. His eyes looked around the area, there was no sign of her here either.
“. . . Mika?” he started to call out, breaking into a run down the street as he held a hand on top of Momiji's head to keep her steady. “MIKA?!”
There was no answer, there was never an answer, but he came to a sliding stop when he noticed something going on on the side of the road.
“That poor kitty.” someone said as they walked past. “It's been on the road since this morning. I'm glad they're finally cleaning it up.”
Ichimatsu stared at them as they passed, before his head whipped back towards the road crew on the side of the road. One man was carrying a garbage bag while another was picking up the remains of something that had gotten hit.
A large, black cat.
“M-Mika?” Ichimatsu stammered out, taking a step forward. “MIKA!!”
His shout was loud, loud enough to catch the attention of the road crew. Ichimatsu rushed forward, shoving the man picking up the cat out of the way and fell to his knees beside it. This couldn't be real. This was a dream, right? She was a monster, a Yokai. She couldn't die like some kind of animal on the side of the road!
“Geeze man, what's your problem? Is this your cat or something?” the other man asked, and Ichimatsu glared up at him, tears in his eyes.
“Y-Yes. This i-is my c-cat.” he choked out, glaring hard at him before swiping the garbage bag from him and wrapped Mika's body in it, rather than putting her inside it.
“. . . We're sorry for your loss.” said one of the men. “It must have been a good pet.”
“SHUT UP!” Ichimatsu snapped, hugging the bag against his chest next to Momiji. He turned, running from the both of them before they had the chance to say anything else to him. He just kept running, running as far as his legs would carry him, as much energy as he had in his body. He didn't stop until he collapsed on his knees in the middle of the wooded area of the park. The place where Mika had shown him who she really was. He still couldn't believe this, she had been so strong, smart, how could this had happened to her?
Slowly, the bag rolled from his arms, onto the ground where the body of the cat laid open to bare. What had been going through her mind? Was she actually trying to catch food? Was instinct too much? She had been hit, that much was evident.
Thousands of years of living, and her life came to an end by being hit by a car.
He couldn't contain himself, the tears fell from his eyes as he sat there on the ground in front of her body, and he wailed.
That night, Ichimatsu gathered what courage he had left, and buried Mika's body in the forest where she had shown how much she trusted him. She didn't deserve to be buried out in the middle of the woods, but he couldn't afford an actual grave plot, and no one would want a cat buried among humans. He would make due. As time passed, he worked on making it a proper grave, he made his own gravestone with her name carved in it, flowers were left on that spot, and he brought Momiji to see her every time he went.
But things were getting harder. Three years had passed since then, and Ichimatsu was finding life as a single father was becoming more than he could handle.
“PLEASE.” Ichimatsu was on the ground, bowed before a man in a suit who was sitting behind a desk.
“I'm sorry, you just don't have the experience we're looking for.” he said, folding his hands together as he stared down at Ichimatsu.
“You don't understand!” Ichimatsu lifted his head, staring at him with desperation in his eyes. “I need this job!”
The man just looked at him for a few moments before glancing to the door. “. . . The secretary will show you out.”
“No!” Ichimatsu shouted, coming to a stand as was about to do something he'd probably regret, when he was grabbed by the arm by someone else in the room. He was shoved out the door of the office, tripping forward and landing on the ground with a hard thud as the door was slammed shut behind him.
“Papa!” Momiji's voice called out as she slipped from the chair she had been told to sit in, rushing over to Ichimatsu's side and kneeling beside him with a look of worry. Ichimatsu pushed himself up from the floor, looking to his daughter and forcing a smile onto his face.
“It's ok, Momiji.” he reached out as he spoke, bringing her up into his arms. “Everything is fine.”
Ichimatsu held his daughter's hand as they walked down the street back towards home, Momiji skipping along beside him.
“Hey hey, Papa! Can we have fish again for dinner?” she asked, looking up at her father. He looked back down at her, grinning a little and reaching with his other hand to muss up her hair.
“Sure.”
Ichimatsu was working the keys into the lock of the door, side glancing at the bills that were sticking out of the mailbox, ones that he hadn't touched in ages. Money was becoming hard to come by, whatever Mika had left behind for them was starting to run out, and it seemed like no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find a job. Momiji ran inside, throwing off her coat and leaving it on the floor as she shifted into a small black feline and ran off to find Luka.
“O-Oi! Momiji! Don't leave your coat on the floor!” Ichimatsu called after her, starting to step inside but stopped when he felt a presence behind him. He quickly turned, looking to see it was the landlord.
“Ah, Matsuno-san. Would Bakeneko-san be in today?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Ichimatsu quickly shut the door, standing in front of it as he looked at the man.
“No.” he answered, quick and curt.
“Still visiting family? She's been gone for some time. I wonder when she's coming back.” the man said, tapping at the side of his head before lifting his gaze fully to look at Ichimatsu. “With you being the second tenant, you realize it's up to you to keep up the bills, correct?”
Ichimatsu scowled, looking away, but he answered. “Right.”
“Rent is past due, you haven't paid it in 5 months. I know you have a kid but I can't be lenient with you anymore. Do you have the money to pay or not? Otherwise I'm going to have to evict you.”
He stood there as he felt a cold sweat building up. He didn't have the money, he barely had enough left to get food at this point. He was frustrated, he felt helpless, lost. He didn't know what to do. Slowly, Ichimatsu shook his head, and the landlord sighed before reaching into his pocket, pulling out a pink slip of paper and handing it over.
“If you can't pay, then I'm going to have to ask you to leave the property. You have until the end of the week.”
Ichimatsu grabbed the paper, or rather swiped it from his hand before turning around, opening the door to the apartment and slamming it shut once he was inside. He threw the paper on the ground, next to more bills that were left unpaid, and stormed right for the living room, standing there before the small shrine made to honor Mika's memory. Momiji peeked from the bedroom doorway as she watched her father fall to his knees before the shrine, gritting his teeth as tears rolled down his cheeks.
“Mika, I don't know what to do.” he spoke as he shuddered, sucking up his sobs. “I'm not strong like you, I can't keep going like this. I can't find a job, I can't pay bills anymore. I'm nothing but trash, garbage. I'm not fit enough to live in this world.”
He stared at the picture of her as his eyes started to blur with tears, to the point where he could hardly see her smiling face.
“What do I do?”
Osomatsu groaned and stretched his arms above his head as he made his way towards the living room for breakfast. He tried to pat down his usual bed head, stepping into the room one foot first until he glanced behind him at the sound of knocking on the front door.
“Haaaai, just a moment!” he called out lazily, making his way towards the front door. With a tired gaze, he opened the door, looking out at the two standing outside. “Oh, Ichimatsu. Welcome ho--”
Osomatsu blinked, staring at the sight of his younger brother. Ichimatsu stood there, glaring away from him while he stood among a mess of boxes and a couple trash bags, a cat carrier at his left side. In his right hand, he held onto a small girl, about three years old, who looked up at him from underneath the hood of her coat. She looked just as confused, because this guy looked just like her dad!
“EEEHHH?! ICHIMATSU?!” Osomatsu screamed out, nearly causing the house to shake with how loud he was, and of course it caught the attention of the rest of his family. His brothers joined him at the door, and even his mother and father had pushed their way to the front of the house to see their long lost son.
Ichimatsu let out a small “Tch.” as he turned his head away from them, and his hand gripped tighter onto Momiji's.
“. . . I need . . . help.”