Chapter Text
Kojiro was just preparing to get out of the house, nothing more, nothing special. He didn’t even need to check if he had everything, he was just going to Kaoru. He needed nothing more than his keys and maybe his phone. He just wanted to spend some time with him before his leave. It was job related, so there was nothing to do about it. Cherry was supposed to come with him for this one, but an important client had him cancel their plans. Joe sighed at the thought. At least they still had this evening to spend it together. After that… days will be quiet. They may have bickered a lot, but they were important to each other. And… it was hard to go on for long without the company of the other.
He barely closed the door and turned the keys in the lock, when he suddenly felt dizzy. The world swayed before his eyes and blackened for a second. He must have fallen as his hands touched the ground. His head couldn’t be more than a couple of centimetres above the ground, but he wasn’t looking down. But at the closed door before him. This was strange. Another thing that alarmed him was that his clothes pooled around him, suddenly way too big. Whatever happened, this wasn’t right. He quickly looked down at his hands, but much to his horror instead of them he saw two cute paws. There was no trace of his human body - instead there was long, fluffy fur. And when he finally screamed, even it wasn’t human. It was a loud cat screech instead. He was a cat. A huge, fluffy cat.
It took him a while to get back to his senses. At least walking on all four didn’t turn out to be much of a problem, because that would cause another setback. He had to do something about his stuff, even if just temporarily. He quickly grabbed his phone and keys and shoved them into his mailbox. He had a spare key at home and he won’t have to worry about someone stealing them. Or having the phone drowned, because it would be a goner if it was to rain. He hid his clothes in bushes more for decency. It would look really bad and suspicious if he just left them on his porch.
After he ensured his reputation, decency and safety, or at least safety of his stuff, he had to come up with the idea of what to do next. Being a cat was a big problem. He decided to go to Kaoru, just like he planned. He’ll figure out the way to tell him what happened and maybe together they will come up with a solution. Kojiro hated to admit that, but his friend might have better ideas regarding this specific problem. Of course, mostly because he had none, this was the only reason. Surely.
But the world wasn’t on Kojiro’s side today, actually, it couldn’t be further from that. It was a matter of a few minutes before he met a dog that really wanted to bite his new tail off. After that he spent most of his way trying to run away from both dogs and wheels of bikes. He promptly decided that after this adventure he’ll despise every teenage biker, especially after they chased him for fun. Stupid kids. What was more than chases around the city, it started raining. And it wasn’t just a drizzle, he would most probably be fine with that. It was pouring. He just felt his fur sticking to him and becoming heavier and heavier as he grew colder.
Then finally the first lucky thing happened since he became a cat. He saw Kaoru. It was Kaoru with umbrella, outside. Thank the heavens! Kojiro started meowing desperately, running up to him with all the power he could muster in those short fluffy paws. He wanted to get out of the rain and he really wanted his help. At least he won’t have to pound on his door, because he had no idea how he was supposed to do that.
Kaoru noticed the cat immediately. It was big with its green fur completely soaked. It looked pitiful as it ran up to him, meowing for attention. Almost as if it pleaded for his help.
“You poor little thing” he sighed, kneeling in front of it and putting his umbrella forward to better shield the cat from rain. He debated for a second, but finally he took the cat into his arms. He’ll worry about his clothes later, the cat was visibly shivering.
“Are you lost? Do you have a home?” he asked the cat, slowly turning his steps towards his own house. He just wanted to dry the kitty and feed him, later search for the owner. He didn’t expect an answer, but the cat suddenly shook its head. Kaoru froze mid step.
“You can understand me?” he raised his brow with surprise. It wasn’t common for the pets to actually answer, only those well trained were able to do that.
Joe nodded this time. Of course he could understand him, he was only physically a cat! He didn’t get stupid with it thankfully. But he could understand where his friend was coming from. He himself would be really surprised if a cat started answering him. He watched as his friend’s face lit up with both interest and amazement. And there was this sharp gaze that he just adored.
Kaoru finally reached his house, with the cat sitting surprisingly calmly in his hands. It might have been wet and dirty, but it was very well behaved. It was a tad heavy to be held with one hand, but he needed the other to hold the umbrella. Good thing he wasn't far from home. He had to set the cat down on the porch to get the keys out, but it stayed there, watching patiently as he unlocked the door. Only then it dashed inside, but didn't go far. The cat just sat there, where it was dry and warm, so Kaoru couldn't blame it. At least it didn't get mud all over the floor. Kaoru calmly set his shoes aside and hung the umbrella on the drying rack, before looking back at the cat. It was still sitting there, staring at him with those big red eyes.
"We need to get you clean, don't we?" normally he would probably feel slightly bad that he was talking to a cat, but this one was intelligent. He once again took it into his arms, both for comfort for the kitty and not to make a mess in the house. It was enough that his yukata was all muddy. He took it to his bathroom and delicately placed it in the bathtub. It was too big to try to wash it in a sink and it should be more comfortable with the bigger space. Carefully he started pouring lukewarm water, fearing that the cat might start to screech and try to run away. Kaoru didn't have a history with cats, but he hoped that the bath would pass without a bloody massacre. But his fluffy guest stayed there calmly, not even flinching when the water touched him. It was already wet, but it was good that the water itself didn't scare it. When he started washing away the mud, the cat even started to purr slightly as if it enjoyed itself. It was a nice surprise. Another good thing the bath brought was that he could finally check the gender of the cat. It was a male cat, so at least he knew how to address him. He dried him off in a blanket and without unwrapping the furry friend, he set him on the couch.
"Stay here, I need to go out for a moment" Kaoru told the cat, petting his head. It was already drying and the fur was turning so soft. It was almost as soft as Joe’s hair. Cherry really didn’t want to go out in the rain again, but he needed to get both food and a litter box. It could be the most basic one, he just needed something. He also got a small toy for him. The cat might be gone soon, but he really wanted to make it comfortable for him, even for this short time.
He returned home with heavy bags, cursing in his mind. He would really appreciate that stupid gorilla right now. Cherry was not weak of course, but he really didn’t like walking around the rain with all of that stuff. His resolve thankfully quickly melted, having remembered the cuteness of his guest. He really started to like that cat. He reminded him of his friend, just a little bit smaller and more intelligent. Still equally cute though.
He swiftly dug out two bowls from the depths of his kitchen and filled them with water and dry food. For a second he debated how to call the cat, but eventually settled on the classic ‘pspsps’. Because yelling ‘cat, come here’ would sound way too stupid to say out loud.
Joe stayed put, even with Kaoru coming back home, just like his friend told him to. Besides, the towel was nice, even if it started to be more wet than he himself was. He finally came out when Cherry called for him from the kitchen. Upon arrival, he noticed what he was served and just looked at Kaoru with indignation. Then he just sat next to the food and started pawing at the bowl angrily, nudging it towards his friend loudly.
“Alright, alright. You’re a picky eater, I get it” Kaory finally took the bowl and changed the contents to some wet food from a can. He didn’t want the cat to be hungry, if he had something else to offer anyway. He set it down again and looked as his fluffy guest was sniffing it without much enthusiasm. Finally he took a hesitant bite as if he expected something absolutely horrible. Kaoru laughed quietly, not to startle the cat, as it seemed to be defeated by hunger and started eating normally. Running around in rain must have really taken a toll on him, if he graciously accepted this horrible canned fish. What a picky eater of a cat.
“I left the litter box for you in the bathroom. I really hope you know how to use it” he told the cat as he finished eating. He took him to said bathroom, knowing very well that his furry friend couldn’t have remembered where it was. He was here for about an hour after all. It was another amusing moment as he watched the cat looking at the litter box as it personally offended him. Kaoru just hoped that it wouldn't result in a dirty rug or a couch. The cat seemed intelligent, but who knew how he really was.
His guest didn’t seem to be interested in the bathroom after that. He left it and started to look around the house in general. Kaoru followed him for a bit, intrigued by his behaviour. Finally he had to leave him to wander and sat down in the living room to order some food. Without Kojiro around he had no one to cook something good. Kaoru felt a little lonely. It was a shame. He really wanted to go with him, but he couldn’t cancel that appointment. Pity that Kojiro didn’t come over today, but he understood. He needed to get ready for the trip after all.
He was almost paying, when he heard some weird shuffling noise. A little alarmed, he stood up and went to check what was going on. But upon seeing what was going on in the room, he wasn’t sure if he should be angry or really amused.
“Was your previous owner also a calligrapher?” he took the cat off the paper. “But you can’t touch my utensils” he hugged him a little, for the kitty not to move too much. The fluffy guest nearly got to his inks, so he had a reason to worry. Not only were those expensive, but it also would be a pain to clean from those paws. He locked the door to his studio firmly and set the cat down. He didn’t plan on punishing him for it, he probably had no idea he was doing something wrong. That’s why he decided to let the cat wander without any more disturbances and instead thought about eventual safe proofing of the house.
Joe in the meantime cursed how much his friend cared for his work utensils. He didn’t want to damage them after all, he was far from it! He just wanted to communicate with his friend in any understandable way! He couldn’t hold a pen in his paws and there was no way he was writing with his mouth, so the ink itself was his last hope. It might turn out really wonky and scratchy, but it would at least be something! And what was even worse right now, was that he really needed to go to the toilet. And he really refused to lose any dignity.
Kaoru was really surprised when he heard the toilet flush. He was home alone. Well, alone with a cat, but he didn’t really count him in that matter. He got up and went to see what was happening. Was his toilet broken? It was a shock to see the cat come out of the bathroom. Was it his doing? Was he trained to use a toilet? That was absolutely amazing. He took the cat into his arms and hugged him delicately.
“You are such an intelligent and capable cat!” he smiled at him warmly and kissed his little forehead. “I would really love to keep you forever. But we have to see if your owner will show up” he looked at the cat again, which froze a little in his arms. He should really name his new friend, even temporarily. He couldn’t refer to him as a cat all the time, could he?
“You really remind me of my friend. Not with your intelligence, you are much smarter of course. But he’s also really calm and friendly, you know? Even if he sometimes annoys me” he told the cat, taking him to the living room to sit with him. He sat him down on his knees to pet him and scratch his chin. The cat even closed his eyes a little in pleasure.
“I’ll call you Joe. What do you think?” he asked his little friend, looking for a reaction. The cat suddenly looked at him very pleased and started meowing, as if he wanted to tell him something. Kaoru sadly couldn’t understand him, but he decided it had to be a really enthusiastic approval.
“I’m glad you like it, Joe” he smiled at him and delicately bopped his nose.
To say Kojiro was frustrated was an understatement. Even if Kaoru matched the right person to the cat, he just seemed to be completely blind to the fact that his reaction was not just content. He really wanted to be able to tell him something, anything. But then the situation probably would be long resolved. Then maybe he wouldn’t have to eat this stupid canned fish, even if it wasn’t the worst thing in the world.
After some time, mostly unnoticed, Joe fell asleep on Kaoru’s lap, purring loudly. He didn’t notice when he was moved to the couch, where he woke up in the middle of the night. He stretched before standing up and going to his friend's bedroom. At least being a cat had one perk and it was moving surprisingly silently, so he didn’t need to worry about potentially waking up Kaoru. The man was sleeping soundly, but he wasn’t Kojiro’s goal. It was his phone, sitting in the night-stand next to him. Trying to push the ‘on’ button was a nightmare itself, but much to his dismay, trying to unlock the phone was even worse. Kojiro cursed his fluffy, cute paws that were completely useless. He shut his eyes for a moment, trying to think of anything to do. But there was nothing for now. Finally he just lay down next to Kaoru and curled into a soft ball by his side. He’ll try something else tomorrow to try to communicate with his friend. He really needed to let him know that he didn’t find some genius cat, but Joe, who encountered something really strange. And had a really rough time.