Chapter Text
Kenma felt a slight twinge between his eyes as he read through his client's email. He'd have to deal with it tomorrow; he was too drained to send a civil reply, and Yachi would arrive soon anyway.
He closed Outlook and set about tidying his little apartment, throwing away a couple days worth of takeout boxes and putting away his futon. When he sat down to wait for Yachi, he fidgeted and eyed the dishes stacked in the sink. She had certainly seen dirty dishes in his kitchen before and he didn't really have the extra energy to deal with them now, but he felt a little twinge of guilt that she would have to spend time in a space that might not meet her standards of cleanliness. Not that she'd say anything; she was too nice.
A soft, careful knock saved Kenma from further debate. They exchanged a polite greeting as he took a tote from Yachi and stepped aside to let her in.
“I'm sorry to have kept you waiting,” Yachi said as she toed off her shoes. She was wearing one of Kenma's favorite sets of scrubs, pastel green with black cat faces printed all over it.
“You aren't late,” Kenma said. He hadn't checked his phone but Yachi was usually punctual, so it was probably true.
“I mean, you've had to go three whole days without a cat.” She picked up the carrier she'd brought with her and brought it a few steps to the space Kenma kept clear of human furniture to leave room for a few assorted baskets, boxes, and cushions, two currently clean litter trays, and the two meter Deluxe HappyCat Cat Tree.
“I'll make us some tea,” Kenma murmured, leaving Yachi to her task. Kenma didn’t particularly like tea and had only purchased a kettle as a small accommodation to Yachi on her house visits, but he always drank it with her.
“The new assistant packed the kit, so let's see what he gave you,” Yachi said when Kenma joined her, setting down two steaming mugs. “Two clean towels. Some flannels. Her preferred food. Gloves. An extra can of formula….”
As Yachi listed the items she produced from the kit, Kenma watched from the corner of his eye as one paw appeared from the carrier Yachi had left open. After a moment's hesitation, a nose appeared, and a head slowly emerged.
When he turned his attention back to Yachi, she shared a small smile with him. The supply kit was laid out neatly on the table.
“I told Chiaki-kun you were a regular and wouldn't need the full kit,” Yachi continued as if there'd been no pause in her speaking. “He did perfectly.” She beamed, and Kenma knew she'd pass her praise along to the assistant directly tomorrow.
Kenma sipped the bitter tea to give himself something to do. He was comfortable with Yachi, but the cat was his primary interest at the moment. “You said it should be about a week?” he asked just to have something to say.
“Yes. She’s a little on the young side, but she’s in good health otherwise.”
They both pretended not to watch as the tortoiseshell, small except for her swollen belly, carefully inspected her new surroundings. She crept from box to bed, sniffing each, before moving along to the water bowl and empty food dish.
Kenma liked her.
“Your new neighbor is nice. He said Princess Zelda is beautiful, so he seems to have good taste,” Yachi said approvingly.
“I don’t know my neighbors,” Kenma reminded her. He was pretty sure his previous neighbors had been a youngish couple, since he’d heard their goings on occasionally, but he had no idea when they may have vacated the apartment nextdoor.
“I wonder if he’d like to foster.”
“It’s very rewarding,” Kenma said, distracted by the cat gently testing one of the cat tree’s scratching posts.
“Tell him that if you see him, will you?” Yachi looked so pleased that he just nodded, instead of pointing out how unlikely it is he’d run into his neighbor. Satisfied with that, Yachi finished her tea and rose. “If your shop doesn’t have her kibble, let me know and I’ll bring more by.”
After bidding Zelda farewell and reminding Kenma to call her if there were any problems, Yachi left them to get better acquainted.
****
Princess Zelda made herself at home immediately. Her favorite form of entertainment involved sitting by Kenma as he worked and yowling to be petted, then stalking off the moment he tried to stroke her.
Kenma didn’t mind in the least. Zelda was much better company than almost any human he knew, and her antics were a welcome distraction from the monotony of his job and his life. Although she liked to play hard to get, she had also taken to following Kenma around the apartment any time he got up to do something. Of course, when he turned his attention to her, she would feign interest in something else, walking right past him. He suspected she would have also enjoyed sitting on his keyboard just to inconvenience him, if she’d been in any condition to jump onto his desk.
The truth was, Kenma had to alter his routine very little to look after Zelda, but her presence filled him with a sense of purpose nothing else in his life did - except for the cats who'd come before her. Kenma considered this fact a few days after Yachi's visit, curled under a pile of blankets at 3:09am.
Zelda sharpening her claws on a post had woken him, but he didn't blame her. If it hadn't been her, it would've been a car horn or a door slamming or a drunk yelling on the street below. Kenma searched around inside himself for some sadness at how thin and ragged his life must seem on the outside, but he couldn't find it. He couldn't find much feeling at all. The soft sounds of Zelda grooming herself comforted him, and he tried to drift back to sleep.
By four o'clock he gave up, switched on a lamp, and pulled on sweatpants and a semi-clean cardigan. Zelda blinked in the sudden light, but chose to watch him from the covered basket she'd chosen to nest in, presumably too comfortable to move now that she'd finally settled.
Kenma filled two small dishes with outdoor formula kibble - Zelda still didn't move, having decided on her first day this kibble was not worthy of her refined tastes - and filled a water bottle before venturing out of his apartment.
Given the early hour, the rest of the building was still sleeping. Kenma pressed the elevator call button with his knuckle and waited in the silent hall. The light here hurt his tired eyes, and he started to feel weary enough to sleep again. Perhaps he could still get a few more hours of rest yet.
Once outside, he turned the corner to the dim alleyway between his building and the next, setting the kibble down a couple meters from the dumpster there. Turning his back on the food, he reached under the dumpster to fish out the plastic bowl he always hid just out of sight. He overturned it to empty out the dirty water, and refilled it from the bottle.
When he finished, he peeked over his shoulder to see two scraggly tabbies hunched over the kibble. Kenma tried not to draw their attention as he straightened and turned, but one of the cats immediately tensed, locking eyes with Kenma, ready to spring away.
“Take your time, I'll wait here, Bolt,” Kenma soothed, not moving another centimeter. The cat lowered his head to the kibble after a long moment, but kept his eyes on Kenma. The other cat didn't stop crunching down his own portion for a second.
Yachi had helped Kenma catch both cats once, so she could look them over, treat them for any problems, and neuter them. Yachi had hoped to find the pair a home together, but after several difficult days at the shelter, she determined they were too feral for adoption, and they would be happier to return to their preferred life of freedom, under Kenma's care.
Kenma waited patiently now as they finished their meal. Brave finished first, as usual, since he focused on his food more than he did on any human presence. Bolt was far less trusting, which was fair - Kenma had caught them before, he might very well try again.
Once the tabbies had skittered off, Kenma collected the empty dishes and went back inside. His limbs had started to ache with exhaustion while he'd waited on the cats, but he was familiar with the feeling and it didn't bother him much.
Before stripping down and crawling back into bed, Kenma snapped a picture of Princess Zelda to send to Shouyou. She had folded herself into a perfect loaf in his absence. He resisted the urge to pet her so she could sleep undisturbed.
He would save his affection for tomorrow.