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The day Josuke is confronted by the smallest Siamese Cat he's ever seen, is honestly already one of the worst he's had in a long time. Chaos has erupted over town during the past few hours related to a stand user, and while it's almost nostalgic, he honestly can say he wishes it were anything but this. Perhaps this was akin to how his nephew felt, but to say he frankly didn't want to deal with stand fighting post Kira was an understatement. Well, he supposed there was good news knowing the stands effects would all revert in a few days time maximum. Dusting off remnants of dirt from the recent tussle, he goes back to paying attention to the feline currently sitting on his porch.
"Hey there little one." He calls softly, watching as two dual colored eyes look at him. They feel familiar, though he supposed all cats have an air of familiarity to them. The cat sits unwavering, unmoving, it's tiny frame shaking as a gust of wind blows through. The small cat doesn't move from it's spot despite it's tawny fur and frame rustling, and Josuke moves forward. "You shake in the wind, I might just take you in to prevent you from blowing off, yeah."
Drawing closer to the cat, he reaches down, only to have the cat walk away from his hand, a meow louder than what he would expect of a cat so small filling the sound of the air as he pulls back. "Hey I don't wanna hurt you!" He calls out to the feline, but it's already just out of reach. It's long tail flicks behind it as it sits down again.
Josuke walks forward again, softly offering his hand to the cat. "Hey, I don't wanna hurt you." Clearly the cat can't understand him, because the instant he's close again? The cat weaves away under the table on the porch, but he wasn't going to give up quite yet as he wheeled around for a third attempt, the cat easily whizzing by him this time in favor of the potted plants.
After a few more failed attempts to catch the cat as it prances around the porch, weaving between furniture and Josuke's own legs, the cat stops. It's right in front of the door to his house, sitting on the doorstep after the chase. For a second Josuke stares, the cat
However, it's silent, choosing only to press against his door as another strong gust of wind comes by. "You trying to drop a hint?" Josuke asks the feline, obviously getting no response.
His mom would kill him for letting a stray in. Well...maybe. She liked animals well enough. Though with wind steadily picking up, he didn't want a cat so small in a storm. "Do you want in?"
The meow he gets in response takes him off guard, nearly demanding he's let in. Arms cross at that response, looking at the feline. "Okay, You definitely want in, but you don't need to sound so demanding."
If a cat's glare could send a man to the grave, he was certain he would be in one. Eyes framed by dark fur were now slitted as a tail flicked, the increasing wind enough to make Josuke anxious. Between a bitchy cat and the ever increasing wind, it felt like mother nature herself was out to get him. Making a flash decision, Josuke decides it's better to deal with his mom if she sees the cat inside than a coming storm after the day he's had.
Wind tugs at his uniform as he walks to the door, the small cat leaning away from him as he opens the door to his home. Without so much as a sound the small cat's running in, it's small legs zooming as it leaps onto one of the chairs in the living room. "Ah ah, hey, you're not allowed on those!" Too late. The cat's already making muffins on the soft cushion, tiny black paws kneading away at the plush surface. "Great." Watching as the cat makes it's bed.
Josuke is enthralled as it curls up, he makes note of how the cat is smaller than even the decorative pillows despite being grown. He should move the cat, before it gets fur on the cushions. Walking towards it slowly, the floorboards creak below his feet.
Enough so that the cat's head snaps up, dual colored eyes narrowed
Shit.
If he can't touch the cat, how can he move the cat?
Stopping, he stares at the Siamese. It's demeanor has been violently familiar enough to the point of deja vu, yet he can't put a finger on it, Literally or figuratively. Watching it's head go back down, Josuke moves again.
The cat's head snaps up again.
Josuke huffs. "Alright then." He really needed to get the cat up before his mom came in, hopefully before she had a chance to see it. Taking a risk, he summoned his stand and sent it forth.
Only for the cat to stare at it.
Chills go down Josuke's spine at the stare, knowing the cat can see Crazy Diamond if it's cutting gaze was anything to go by. The cat had a stand.
"Great." He muttered softly. Of all days to run into two new stand users, he had one in his house. He couldn't send CD up close without knowing what the cat's stand did, that would put him at risk, but he couldn't tuck his stand away Scott free after it's been seen. Watching carefully as the cat stood up and stretched out. Crazy Diamond was in front of him, shielding him as it moved. Crazy Diamond's hand was still in front of him.
The cat walked forward.
And CD moved back with Josuke.
The cat took another step forward.
Josuke and Crazy Diamond stepped back.
All the way until Josuke was met with his back to the wall. "You can't keep backing me up into the wall like this, kitty."
Apparently the cat could, in fact, keep backing him into the wall. Darting forward Josuke braced against it firmly, prepping his stand for an attack.
An attack that never came.
The moment Josuke braced was the moment he felt the ghosting feeling of fur on his fingers, soft fur. Looking at the cat, he saw it pressing against Crazy Diamond's hand, nuzzling it's face into the large pink palm as paws played with shining blue fingers. It shocks Josuke, feeling the ghostly feeling of the cat playing with his stands hand through their shared link. "Oh, so you won't let me touch you, but you're fine with him."
As if responding directly the cat mews, softly as it purrs against his stand's palm. Crazy Diamond scoops the feline up, the small bundle of the fur 'murph'ing but otherwise making no sounds of objection. Instead, it seemed to be perfectly content to paw at Crazy Diamond's hands, nuzzling into them as he's lifted. Diamond seemed to be enjoying the attention, enough that he was indulging in petting just behind the cats pointed ears.
"So you only will let Crazy Diamond handle you, huh?" That posed problems, especially since he didn't know what stand the cat had, or even how to best hide the cat for when his mom came home. Watching as the little bundle of fur was pressed to his stand's chest, he knew his stand was attached, the soft look in his usually stoic stands eyes enough for Josuke to get a read.
"We gotta get you upstairs and put up before mom comes home." He hated how much it sounded like he was playing with toys, but considering how he could feel the cat's paws playing with his stand's fingers, perhaps he was the toy. "Come on Crazy Diamond, we best go upstairs before she…"
As if on cue, he can hear the click of his mom's heels on the porch. Shit shit shit shit shit…. He didn't have time. Rushing up the stairs, he heard the cat hiss at the sudden movement. Josuke can feel the instinctive reaction on the cat's part to extend its claws as it's jostled around: a line of four small punctures on his arm evident from that.
"Josuke I'm home!" Tomoko announces, loud enough to hear but not loud enough to be an angry sound. Good. What he wanted to hear. CD was back at playing with the cat, who seemed wiggly after their recent rapid move. Leaping from CD's arms, the cat sits on the end of the bed, a soft 'Dora' coming from his stand. It seemed his cat was content enough to paw at his purple duvet as it sat down, paws kneading the fabric beneath.
"I'm here. I got a lotta homework to do so I'm going to be in my room!" He flinched, hoping it was a good enough excuse. It was rare he actually did his homework immediately after school, but he hoped she wouldn't catch on.
"Okay. Let me know if you need any help." He could hear Tomoko in the kitchen, hearing the distinct creak of the refrigerator door opening. She must be looking for her custard buns, and he was torn as to whether or not he wanted her to have some or not. On the one hand, if she didn't have any, it was likely she would go out again; on the other if she had some, she won't be in a mood. It appeared it was the latter, and he let himself relax just a bit.
"That was a close call." He sighed, bringing a hand up to his head as he did. "All this trouble just to keep a cat safe from a windstorm." He muttered. His cat however, seemed to agree, the cat's small frame jumping off the bed to sniff around the room. His room was well, his room. Still relatively clean from the last deep clean his mom put him up too, the only mess being the pile of dirty clothes that had missed the hamper and the CD cases that lay scattered on the player. Beyond that, his desk was clean and his bed was made, the soft rug beneath his feet feeling like home.
'dora.' Crazy Diamond called, trailing after the feline as it prods around the room.
Rohan couldn't believe this. Well, he could. Somewhat. His tiny paws padded around Josuke's bed room as he peered around. After his confrontation with a powerful stand user earlier today, he'd found himself small and pitiful, not to mention fuzzy. It was beyond inconvenient to be made into a feline, more so by the fact he couldn't speak or use his own stand in this form.
Still… he needed Josuke to use Crazy Diamond on him. With how rapidly he was switching between his human consciousness and the mind of a cat, he knew he lacked time.
He needed Crazy Diamond to turn him back. Desperately.
Josuke settled down on his bed, idly watching as Crazy Diamond followed the cat around the length of his room as the wind blazed outside. The wind was loud enough to be audible and to cause debris to clatter against his window. Carefully padding to the window, he looks outside, seeing dark clouds cover the skies. Just as he does, he sees a bolt of lightning through the clouds, a loud clap of thunder following soon after.
hurk! Hurk! HURK!!
Whipping around he searches for Crazy Diamond, Knowing that his stand won't be far from their feline companion as he does. Seeing him on the other side of the bed, he launches over, only to get greeted to the sight of a dying spider twitching on the cat's tongue as it gags. Disgusted Josuke recoils back holding a hand over his mouth to keep from yelling. "Crazy Diamond get him away from that."
Crazy Diamond lifts the cat away, seeing the puddle of mess where the cat once was on the floor as the gagging animal is tucked into his stands embrace. Immediately his stand is petting behind the cats ears, trying to comfort the distressed animal.
Looking between the mess of drool and dying spider and his stand, Josuke frowns at the situation. For a moment, he contemplates using his stand to clean up the resulting mess, CD's hand hovering above it and the cat in his arms looking at the hand expectantly, before he remembers something. If he uses Crazy Diamond to do this, it will likely launch the bile and spittle back into the cat's mouth, a counterproductive move. Groaning, he moved to his desk to grab a tissue, feeling the cat pawing at his stand's arms as he does.
Cleaning the mess up, he tosses the tissue away, before turning to the cat. "Don't do that again! I'm pretty sure spiders aren't a healthy part of a cats diet."
The mew he gets as his finger waggles in the felines face makes him realize that maybe the stray in his stands arms hasn't eaten."You hungry buddy?"
The mew that he hears from the Siamese is almost pathetic, and it makes the teens heart clench. Of course. Josuke wipes a hand down his face. He needed to go downstairs for that, and be inconspicuous. Though… he had a plan. "I'll be right back. No eating spiders while I'm gone, alright?"
In order to go downstairs, he had to dismiss Crazy Diamond, and he did so as soon as he had shut the door behind him. He couldn't send his stand out of range, and the trip to the kitchen took him out if it. Walking down the stairs, he sees his mother at the table in the kitchen, sipping a cup of black coffee with a bun next to her on a plate. Papers are spread around her as she reads what he assumes are essays from her students as he opens the cabinet.
"Done already?" Tomoko asked, looking up from her papers.
"Not quite." Josuke pulls out sliced ham, as well as some milk and bread. "I came down to get something to eat to be honest, kinda missed lunch because I got caught up talking to someone on break."
"That's not good you know." Tomoko scolded, settling back to reading her papers. "You need to eat at least a little something if possible. What was so important anyway?"
Josuke felt sweat bead up on his neck at the question, hesitating for a moment. "Just talking about a new game coming out soon. We kinda got off track."
"I see." She turned the page she was reading over, looking over the text on the back. "Well, get something to tide you over, but don't ruin dinner. I picked up some good tuna and I don't think you want to miss out on what I'm planning."
Josuke perked up at that, setting aside the sandwich stuff as he thought. "I won't mom. Promise." He wasn't going to be eating the sandwich he made, but he wondered if Tomoko was making what he thought she was. If that was the case…. No. He shouldn't fuss with the cat that much, or spoil it so quickly. Pouring a quick glass of milk, he lifted his plate and cup. "I'll be sure.to save room, just call me down for it."
"Okay." With that, Josuke went back up the stairs. Opening the door to his room, he spots his guest on his desk, playing with the loose pens rolling around. "Ah ah, no!" Crazy Diamond plucked the pens away, tucking them neatly back into their cup before he approached the feline. This time, the cat mewed at him, softly as it twitched on the desk. Setting the food down on the table, he reached a hand out to the cat, watching it back off from his hand. He's shocked it didn't run, but he doesn't get to touch.
"So you simmer down when I bring food?" He asked, pulling the bread away from the ham and separating it for the cat. "Typical. Though I suppose that's to be expected."
Delicate paws rest by the plate as the cat sniffs, a tongue darting out to pull some of the meat into its mouth. For a minute it gags, as if it hasn't eaten much in a long time and has forgotten how too and Josuke preps his stand in case. Thankfully it seems to go down easy enough, relieving Josuke as he sits down.
It isn't long till most of what was on the plate is cleared, and Josuke moves what's left to the side of the plate, before the cats on him try to get into the glass of milk. His head is too small to fit into the glass, and Josuke's trying to bat him away so he can pour it into the saucer. Shushing the cat as it mews for the contents of the cup, he gently pushes the cat away and successfully pours some of the contents into the saucer.
"We really need a name for you, kitty, gettin' kinda tired or just calling you 'cat' or 'kitty'." Josuke says, watching as said animal drinks the milk in the saucer. "But what to name you…."
Crazy Diamond strokes the cats back as he thinks, once again the ghost of feeling fur tingling in his hands. "Phantom, maybe?"
The look he got from the cat immediately shut that down as the cat looked up. He's noticing the trend of harsh glares from his feline companion. "What? Worth a shot since I only feel you through my stand." Josuke speaks softly, trying to reach out again but having the cat back off. "Bright eyes, maybe?"
The hiss he hears at that is enough to make him recoil, retracting his hand at the speed of light. "I take that as a definite 'no'." Pausing he rubbed his chin. "Maybe trouble since you seem to get into it a lot."
A cat can only voice it's distaste in so many ways, and Josuke almost expected to get clawed based on the sound the cat made at that. "Okay….picky picky. I didn't get to pick my own name you know." Glancing around his room he looks for anything for inspo, his violet eyes eventually settling on a poster for Purple Rain. "Prince?" He asks apprehensively, hoping it's the name that sticks.
The sound of purring meets his ears as a furry body rubs against the hand he has on his desk, forcing Josuke to give him attention. "Prince?" He holds back the 'really', choosing instead to actually give the cat affection. Fingers play with the dark, velvety soft fur that made up Prince's ears, delicately scratching behind them. The cat purrs, nuzzling into the affection, before jumping off the desk.
It's then he hears his mom call him down for dinner.
Rohan isn't sure what's going on when he comes too again, but he knows he's alone. He keeps fading in and out, and frankly he's on edge. Pacing on the pillow, he feels his claws get hung in the linen pillow case, pulling up stray strings with it as he growls in irritation.
He didn't have much time, and he kept wasting it doing whatever it was cats did. Tail flicking in irritation, he glared at the door. Where was Josuke?
The instant he's back from dinner with his mother, he has a small bundle of tawny fur flying into his arms, nearly knocking the saucer with a bit of the braised tuna he'd snuck away from the table out of his hands. "Hey hey, easy Prince." He cradles the cat in his hands, still feeling claws against his skin through his clothes from where the cat clings. "Did you miss me that much?"
The cat in his arms isn't purring, his claws still dug deep into his shirt as he cradles Prince. Setting down the plate, he moves to rub his ears in an attempt to calm him down. "I hadn't expected you to be so clingy. Not after how you made me chase you on the porch."
Prince rubs his face into his hand, purring softly as Josuke sits down on his bed with him. He hasn't forgotten the tuna, but he doesn't want to risk Prince getting his bed messy with food either. "I brought you something." He says, setting him down on the bedspread before moving to put the plate on the floor. Immediately Prince jumps down, sniffing at the plate again. It seems well received, with the cat immediately going to bite at the crisped skin. Contently, Josuke sits at his desk with the intent to actually do his homework
Homework, it seems, is hard when you have a cat. They want attention and if He's lucky, he might get two words down for his essay before his feline companion is batting at his pen. He's put Prince on the floor numerous times, but each time he jumps back up and tries to bite at his pen. "Prince stop." Josuke doesn't want to scold him, but as he places him on the floor for the thirtieth time, he simply gives him the pen in the hopes it'll prevent further distraction.
Which is a problem. Prince, it seems, wants to chew on the pen, his mouth wrapped around the barrel and dragging the nib across the floor. The second he catches onto what's happening, he nearly shrieks, only quieting himself when he remembers his mom is still home. Pulling the pen away, he sees scribbles on the floor. It's not much. Enough that if you were looking for it you'd notice, but beyond that it blends in with the hardwood flooring beneath the marks.
"Bad kitty. No more pens for you." Josuke scolds, booping the pen to Princes nose lightly. It's enough to make prince's face scrunch up as his nose wiggles, before he wiggles his way out of Josuke's grasp. Sighing, Josuke pinches the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. The storm outside had died down during dinner, but he'd still feel bad tossing a cat out into the rain. Plus, he was kind of attached to the little guy, much to his chagrin.
Looking to his clock, he saw it was nearly nine pm, an hour before he usually turned in for the night. Deciding it would be best to simply finish his homework before class, he decides to take a shower. Picking out PJ's he looks at Prince before giving him a quick head pat. "I'll be back after a while, okay. Don't get into any more trouble."
The instant Josuke closes the door Rohan meows in abject frustration, loud enough it gets Josuke peeking back in to whisper at him to shush before exiting again. Couldn't he read? Or was his hand(mouth?) writing that bad? Stomping over to where he wrote, he lamented at the sight. Ballpoint pens… they never were a friend of His, and clearly they were the enemy now as what little of his writing is so scarce it's barely there. Mewing in desperation Rohan paces, trying to think of something to get Josuke's attention on what he needs before he blanks again.
When Josuke walks in post shower and general before bed hygiene, he has a small container of water for his company. He didn't want a dehydrated cat after all, he thought, as he set down the bowl beside his door. Looking around, he doesn't see any sign of Prince, which immediately makes Josuke worry he's gotten out. Looking around his room, he begins a search, practically tearing the room apart in his haste.
Papers are strewn across the floor, alongside sheets, his bag, and designer packages before he hears a familiar mew coming from his laundry basket. Walking over, he sees movement under the clothes, before a familiar pair of blue and brown eyes peers up at him. "Oh thank god." Hands scoop Prince out of the dirty clothes, stepping over the mess as he lays down on the bed, putting the small sleepy cat on his chest as he settles in. He's content with this, his hair splayed out on the pillow as he pets his cat. Maybe he can keep him, if he can convince his mother he's responsible enough for one.
It's the last thought he has before he goes to sleep.
Rohan is awake before Josuke this morning, scouting the room for anything that can get him to use Crazy Diamonds power on him before school. It HAS to be now. He cannot afford to wait any longer. Walking around the dark room, he looks for anything he can among the mess: For pens, for paper, for something, ANYTHING! He needs something. Spotting a framed picture of Josuke and his family on the desk, Rohan makes a decision.
He feels bad, knowing that he's been so much trouble the past few hours. If it were under different circumstances, he wouldn't feel bad for being a bother, after all, he and Higashikata had a struggling relationship to begin with. However, being so close and personal, it felt harder to make the choice he was about to do, despite knowing any damage he was going to do was reversible through Josuke's stand.
Perhaps Josuke Higashikata wasn't so bad after all.
Josuke is wide awake this morning, the giddiness of being woken up with Prince still in bed with him after a full night. It's astounding how nice it feels having a companion, no wonder Okuyasu likes Stray Cat so much. Petting him, he sits up, lounging in the morning sun.
Eventually he gets up, and then he sees Prince move. Something was under him. Reaching out, he feels the shredded piece of paper. No. It wasn't paper. It had a glossy sheen and was far too thick to be paper. It's a picture.
Squinting at the sheet, he recognizes part of his mother's face before it hits what he's holding. A boiling anger rumbles in his throat at the sight, honestly wanting to fucking tear something to shreds once it clicks that it's the family photo. Summoning Crazy Diamond, he feels the scrap of photo in his hand as he looks at Prince on his bed. The cats ears are tucked back, flinching away in fear and Josuke pulls back.
He can fix the picture. As pissed as he was that Prince had clawed it to pieces, he could fix it.
Giving the piece to Crazy Diamond, he nearly shrieks at how fast Prince wizzes by him, alongside the other pieces of the photo. Immediately he hears a sharp thud hit the floor, something larger than the cat falling face first into the wall.
All Josuke sees is a bare ass as he looks to check it out what hit the floor.
Cheeks bloom red at the sight, before the naked male moves, and he hears a familiar voice.
"Took you long enough." He can recognize Rohan's voice easily, the sneer in it audible as the man clutches his head. "Was worried that if that didn't work I'd have to resort to worse than that."
"Wait." Crazy Diamond hovers behind him, handing him the now repaired family photo. "You've been Prince this whole time."
"Yes." Rohan turns to look at him, before he ses to become aware of his current state of dress. Josuke avoids looking at him, knowing that his heart would probably go nuts at the sight of his long term crush nude. Seeing the other wrap his purple duvet around his nudity, he breathes a sigh of relief. "I've always been 'Prince'. I got into a tangle with a stand user who's stand had a latent effect: Cat Scratch Fever. I hadn't realized I had been affected until locking away the users abilities for further use beyond what they've done, and by then, the transformation had begun. I needed you to fix me after that."
The explanation is simple enough, and believable considering the circumstances. "Wait...so you mean to tell me, all your acting out was to get me to use my stands power."
"What do you think?" The green haired mangaka sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I couldn't exactly talk to get it through, and my own stand was safety locked due to Cat Scratch Fever's ability. I tried subtle hints at first. Favoring your stand over you, but as time went on I started realizing that I wasn't conscious of my actions most of the time. I needed to get turned back."
Josuke's almost mad, even with the explanation making sense. Really, It's more disappointment he feels. He was actually attached to him as a cat. Not that he wasn't attached to him as a human but… Different attachments.
"Look, can I have some clothes. I can't exactly leave here nude." Rohan asks, before looking around. "Well I can, but it's frowned upon."
Josuke flounders, jaw opening and shutting, before opening again. "Sure, but you're not getting any of my undies." He says as he pulls a tank top and a pair of baggy sweats to offer to the other. Slender fingers take the pieces from him gently.
"Now what reason would I have for wanting your undies?" Rohan asked, quickly sliding into the pants first as he rolls down the waistband so they rest properly on him. It's a relief knowing that Rohan at least had pants on now, lest he die of embarrassment.
"I dunno. Wearing. Most people tend to wear undies." Josuke says back, shrugging as he repairs the picture frame, the glass floating in the air as it's fixed. He'll put the photo back in later, for now he has to get ready for school.
"I suppose you're correct." Rohan pulls on the shirt, the duvet falling around his feet as he does. The shirt practically swallows Rohan's form whole, his lithe build significantly smaller than Josuke's own. "Though really, I don't need undies right now. Just… Clothes. I can't exactly strut around nude, can I?"
"You can't." The initial quippy response isn't given out of some semblance of somberness, the air in room tense now. "Though I will say, I'm kinda going to miss you as a cat. It suited you."
The wry chuckle that comes from Rohan as he puts the duvet back on his bed catches Josuke off guard. "Funny. I can't remember all of it, but it was a good experience. For research reasons of course."
Josuke chuckles, clearly knowing the mangaka's methods would never change before a silence fills the room.
"I should go." Rohan says. "Before your mother gets back from work. Much as it pains me to admit, I strongly doubt this will be easy to explain or that you'll let me use my stand on her if she sees me. Though, I will send someone to clean the mess. The least I can do after you took care of me."
"Don't do that!" Josuke nearly yelps, a little frantic as he does. "I mean… I can clean it. I made the mess." He didn't want anyone seeing anything he'd had stashed in his room, a few valuables squirreled away from prying eyes that he was certain would be confused as trash. "Don't send a cleaner, my mom will see that."
"Oh well, if you insist." Rohan shrugs, accepting the answer. "Still, it's a good idea to clean up anyways. Who knows what I dug up as a cat. At any rate, I should probably get going."
Rohan walks by, brushing against him as he does, and Josuke can only hear his heartbeat in his ears as he moves. As Rohan makes it to the door, he looks over at Josuke. "And if you still want a cat, ask your mom if you can keep one. If you get a yes I'll drive you down to the shelter in s-city to adopt."
For once, Josuke actually felt nice after an experience with Rohan. "That your way of making it up to me." Josuke asks, smiling a bit.
"Oh shut it before I change my mind and send a maid over anyways!" And with that, Rohan leaves Josuke alone, content despite the disarray that surrounds him, as well as the fact that his hair wouldn't be styled in time for him to leave on time.