Chapter Text
It was amazing what moving companies could do, Hajime mused as he examined the nearly completely furnished living room. In just the span of a few hours, his place was almost exactly the way he wanted it to be.
Now I just have the personal items to deal with. He opened a nearby box and filed through his papers. Millions of strokes passed through his fingers as he flipped through the pages of his manuscripts. I need to start typing these up before Tsukishiro-san asks how I'm doing with the deadline. He began stacking the papers all around him, organizing them into an assortment of piles. File this, scrap that, type this, store that…
The sun had long since set by the time he had stowed the last manuscript pile in the cabinet in his study. He sighed and brushed off his hands.
Dinner was not the most fabulous—just a bento box he picked up at the convenience store after a quick run down a few blocks. The night air gently caressed his face as he sat down on the deck and gazed into the mostly empty yard.
Maybe I should start a garden after I finish this book, he thought, but then quickly decided against the idea. Free time means more time to spend writing, he reminded himself.
After discarding the remains of the box and taking a quick bath, he was lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling. Who knew moving was so tiring? Hajime placed a hand over his mouth as he yawned. Tomorrow, I need to finish unpacking, and then continue typing up what I wrote…while…
His eyes slid shut and he fell into a light slumber.
Ordinarily, Hajime would wake up to either his alarm or the sunlight. But for some reason, Hajime found himself waking up to a strange feeling instead.
Is it the new house? No, it's not. Rather, it feels like…something's next to me? He cracked open an eye. But what..?
Lime eyes stared back at him.
"Mew?"
Hajime sat up. "Eh?"
"Meow!"
No, it was not an alarm clock or the sunlight that woke him up. Instead, there was a white cat sitting next to him on the bed, chartreuse eyes staring Hajime down as though he was holding a prized fish in his mouth.
"What the..?" Hajime looked around the room, trying to find any open entryways in the walls or floor—anything that might have let the feline into the room. "How did you get in here?"
The cat crept towards him and pressed a paw against Hajime's leg. "Mew!"
Normally, Hajime would have slapped away the hand of anyone who tried to touch him, but he couldn't bring himself to swat the cat. "Um…are you lost? Or did you belong to whoever previously lived here..?"
The cat lowered its paw and rubbed its head against Hajime's leg, purring as it did.
"Hey now. Answer me." Hajime picked up the cat and held it up so they were eye to eye. "Why are you here?"
The white cat simply stared at him happily. Hajime sighed.
"What am I doing, talking to a cat like a child…"
"Mew!" The cat began to droop. Hajime set the feline back down on the bed.
"Fine. You can stay here for now, but don't touch or break anything, okay?" Hajime crawled out of bed. "I've got some work to do."
The cat's sleek white tail waved in the air as Hajime grabbed some clothes from a nearby box and stepped out of the room. After a while, the cat leapt from the bed and padded out of the room.
Hajime jumped when he felt something brush against his ankle. He glared at the cat under the table, who was currently rubbing its entire body against his leg.
"Oi. What are you doing?"
No response. Hajime sighed and continued eating his breakfast.
"Mew?"
Hajime raised an eyebrow when the cat stopped and looked up at him.
"What?"
The cat stared at the clump of rice squished between Hajime's chopsticks.
"I don't know if you can eat any of this, though?"
The cat's ears flattened and it let out a sad mewl.
"Oh god." Hajime sighed and pulled out his phone. "One second…"
The cat continued to howl until a small plate was placed in front of it. The feline stared at the dish for a moment, then sniffed the steaming object on it. After deliberating, it nibbled on the food.
"Seems like small amounts of cooked eggs should be okay for you." Hajime took a seat in his chair. "Geez, so demanding."
The cat ignored him in favor of eating.
"…I should figure out if you have a home so I can take you back," he mused. "No way you can be a stray with white fur this pristine…"
His phone decided to buzz at that moment.
"Hello?"
"Hajime-kun." Tsukishiro's voice was as warm as always. "I hope moving is going smoothly?"
"It's fine," Hajime replied. "I still have to finish unpacking, but it shouldn't be too much trouble."
"I see. Well, I know you must be busy with that, but your deadline is coming up and I wanted to make sure you are still on track with that."
"Right, the deadline." Hajime stood. "I should be able to stay on top of things until then."
"That's what I like to hear. Well, I'll leave you to it. Take care."
"You too." Hajime hung up and scowled. "Time to find my laptop…" He left the room.
"…Mew?"
Hajime had no idea how it was already sunset when he looked outside.
"Ugh, I did it again." He sat back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. "Only got half of what I wanted to get done finished too…"
He jumped a little when he felt a sudden weight in his lap. He lowered his hands and looked down.
A white cat stared back at him.
"Mew."
"…You're still here?" Hajime frowned. "Don't you have a home or something to go back to?"
The cat continued to stare at him.
"…What an oddball, you are." Hajime stroked the cat's back and was surprised by how soft its fur was. "Your owner must take good care of you, for you to be silky like this. You should go back to them, you know?"
The cat purred and leaned into Hajime's touch in response. Hajime smiled a bit.
"Weirdo."
After a while, the cat fell asleep in his lap, snoozing happily against his body warmth. Hajime admired the sight for a moment.
Wait, deadline. He looked back at the computer and resumed typing.
By the time he finally reached his goal for the day, the cat was gone.
Hajime's eyes slid shut the instant he hit his bed that night. Exhaustion from skipping meals and typing so many words in one day just hit him like a truck once he finally let his guard down, and soon enough, he was snoozing peacefully against his pillow.
As he slumbered on, the door slid open, creating a small gap that was just wide enough for a white cat to slip through. The feline padded across the room and leapt onto the bed. Upon finding that the dark-haired human was fast asleep, it purred softly, curled up on the pillow beside the human, and closed its eyes as well. And soon enough, the cat too was fast asleep.