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“What did you say?! That brat is secretly seeing someone?!”
Fukuzawa ignored the commotion wile making his way to the exit.
“Shh, Kunikida-kun, shh! I’m not saying he’s seeing someone. I just noticed that he’s disappearing quite often as of recently~~”
Dazai’s and Kunikida’s voices grew quieter after he closed the door behind him. Sighing quietly, he shook his head and left the Agency building, stepping out into the city.
Buzzing cars and chatter greeted him, and the pleasant warmth of the spring sun on his dark green haori made the city noises a bit more bearable. That was the only thing he envied Mori for; the quiet that came with the fall of night. Back in his days as an assassin, he would often work at night and he could still remember the pleasant silence it brought with it.
The president left the busy center of Yokohama and headed for the quieter parts of the city. He knew that there’d probably still be more people there than usual because of the weather, but on the other hand the warm temperatures would also attract more cats. It was a sacrifice he was willing to take.
Fukuzawa was about to enter a park, when he spotted the figure of their newest member disappearing into a small alley. Dazai’s words came back to his mind as he scanned the narrow street. It was true, Atsushi really disappeared more frequently since a few weeks. What if he had gotten into some trouble? The Mafia was still chasing him after all. Fukuzawa decided to see what was going on. It was his job as the leader to ensure his subordinates’ well-being and Atsushi had that troublesome tendency to try and solve everything on his own.
When he entered the alley, he found Atsushi squatting on the ground, ears and tails out and twitching, while he giggled at something hidden from Fukuzawa’s sight by a container.
“Atsushi.”
The boy jumped when his boss called out to him, and he could hear a faint whine coming from whatever it was that had caught the younger one’s attention.
“S-Shachou!” Undoing his tiger features quickly, he stood up and turned to the other silver-haired man. “What are you doing here?”
His eyes slid nervously to the side and Fukuzawa noticed something furry disappearing behind the container.
“I just happened to see you.”
He came up to Atsushi who tensed visibly and wondered, what it was that always made the boy so nervous whenever he was around. Did he really look that intimidating? He wasn’t even carrying his katana around with him this time.
The moment he stood next to him, he could see what it was that had the younger one so excited. Fukuzawa felt all his worries fade away when he caught a glimpse at the adorable kittens rolling around in a cardboard box. Their mother, a majestic being with snow-white fur and emerald eyes, strolled up to him and rubbed against his leg. Atsushi observed the scene with stunned, wide eyes.
“How did you get her to be that affectionate? It took me a week for her to warm up to me and she still only lets me pet her when I’m in my tiger form.”
“This cat?” Fukuzawa bent down and let his fingers glide through heavenly softness. “An acquaintance of mine.”
It had been a while since he last saw her. Now he knew why she had suddenly disappeared. She had gotten kittens.
“Oh, I see!” Atsushi smiled down at the cat. “She really seems to like you. Is there any trick for gaining a cat’s trust?”
“Sardines,” Fukuzawa replied.
“Sardines?”
The boy tilted his head questioningly, while the president reached inside his sleeve and pulled out a sardine.
“You hold out the sardine, and the cats gather…” he explained, as the kittens came up to him. “Then you can pet them to your heart’s content.”
“I see!”
Atsushi bent down as well and stroked one of the little ones.
“They really like sardines, huh?” he chuckled as the kittens fought over the food.
“No need to get antsy. There are more fish,” the older one reassured the little furry marshmallows and took out another sardine, offering it to them.
The young man next to him placed his head on his hands and watched smiling.
“They sure are cute, aren’t they?”
His boss nodded, enjoying the peaceful moment with the cats. The kittens eagerly licked his fingertips, their rough tongues tickling him until he pulled out more fish.
“Ah, have you finally decided to come out as well, mackerel?” Atsushi said, as he picked up a brown kitten wrapped in bandages.
“Mackerel?”
“That’s his name,” the boy explained. “I wanted to call him Dazai-san because of the bandage, but the other guy with whom I’m taking turns of looking after them insisted on calling him mackerel.”
“What happened?”
Fukuzawa gently stroked the rough fabric of the bandage wrapping around the tiny body.
“He got hurt when he fell out of the container. But the vet said it’s healing well, so we’re in good spirits!”
That was good, then. Atsushi took one of the sardines lying around and gave it to the kitten.
“Look what I’ve got here, mackerel! A veeery tasty fish. Want to eat it? Yes, that’s good. You have to eat lots, so that you get well soon.”
He smiled and caressed the animal while he ate.
Then, after a while, he put him down and got up.
“Well, I think I should go back to the Agency, or else Kunikida-san will get angry with me! Are you staying here, Shachou?”
“I am.”
The boy nodded understandingly.
“OK then. Have a nice afternoon and see you later!”
Fukuzawa watched Atsushi stroll down the alley until he disappeared behind the corner. He really was a good boy. It had been the right decision to let him join.
Moving his attention back to the animals, Fukuzawa watched the mother cleaning one of her kittens while the rest rubbed against his feet. This truly was heaven. Mori really was a fool for not being able to see the irresistible charm of cats.
The vibration of his cellphone disrupted his peace, and he actually prayed that it wasn’t the Port Mafia’s boss calling him because he could sense Fukuzawa had been thinking about him with that freaking sixth sense of his.
“Hello?”
“Ah, shachou. It’s me. Atsushi.”
He sighed in relief.
“It might be that the other guy is coming by later to feed the cats. If he does, could you tell him they already ate? I cannot reach him on his phone right now.”
“Alright.”
Fukuzawa hoped that was all he wanted to tell him.
“Thank you very much!”
The boy hung up again, leaving him back to his paradise.
It was getting late; the sun was already beginning to set when he heard steps closing in on him. Cradling the mother cat in his arms, Fukuzawa looked up—and froze when he recognized the man that had attacked their secret hideout. He placed the cat back on the ground and rose slowly, his eyes glued on the Mafioso who showed no sign of wanting to attack him. Noticing the man’s eyes wander to the cats, he suspected him to be the mysterious other cat sitter.
“They already ate,” Fukuzawa explained, remembering Atsushi’s request.
“I know. That kid spoke on my mailbox.”
He wondered, if Atsushi was aware that he had the phone number of a Mafia fighter. Knowing the boy, he probably didn’t. Or didn’t care.
“I’m just here to look if they’re doing well,” the man justified his appearance.
“They are.”
“That’s good, then.”
Both stared at each other with blank faces, neither saying a word. It was the smaller one, who gave in first. He coughed and scratched his neck, before shoving his hands in his pockets and averting his gaze.
“I didn’t see anything.”
Fukuzawa felt the warmth of humiliation spread throughout his chest and was, for once, quite thankful for his inability to show emotion on his face. Keeping up the unfazed façade, he simply nodded.
“Thank you.”
He left the man standing without another word and went on his way back, his heart calming a bit more with every step he brought between them. A black and orange cat came up to him halfway back to the office.
“Don’t say a word.”
The cat merely meowed amused.