Chapter Text
It all started when Ranpo was looking for a gift for Fukuzawa’s birthday. He wanted to get his adopted father something special. The original plan was for them all to chip in and get him something nice. The problem was what were they going to choose? Ranpo's siblings had been particularly unhelpful this year when coming up with ideas. Kunikida suggested a voucher for a massage session. Yosano suggested a nice bottle of wine. Dazai suggested a book on the history of samurai. Ranpo vetoed them all. None of them stood out to him as the thing that Fukuzawa wanted for his birthday.
That was how Ranpo ended up wandering up and down the nearby streets, peering into shop windows, hoping that he would spy the perfect gift. So far he had yet to find the elusive thing he was looking for, whatever that was. Fukuzawa’s birthday was tomorrow and Ranpo had yet to get anything. The pressure was on.
Finally Ranpo had to admit defeat. Grumbling in annoyance, he ducked into the closest bakery and bought himself a pastry. He then sulked on a nearby bench as he ate. He was greatly irked when the pastry turned out to be stale and dry. Annoyed beyond belief, Ranpo stalked to the closest trash can. He threw his trash away with more force than he had intended. The lid clanged shut loudly.
It was enough for Ranpo to startle. As he jumped he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. The loud noise had startled something else. It scurried to the other side of the trash can. Having nothing better to do, Ranpo chased it. He was rather surprised to find a stray cat.
The creature was malnourished and had one of its ears nearly torn off. It weakly hissed at Ranpo when he reached over to touch it. The scrappy thing had the nerve to take a swipe at Ranpo’s fingers. That didn’t deter the young man. After much trial and error, Ranpo caught it. He bundled it up in his cape. The cat must have exhausted itself for it had stopped fighting, now simply trembled in Ranpo’s grasp.
Ranpo made a spur of the moment decision. He would take the cat home. He didn’t know why, but there was something about his cat that he knew Fukuzawa would like. It was the perfect birthday present.
Humming happily to himself, Ranpo began the trek home. The cat was still trembling when Ranpo let himself in the front door. He noticed from the lack of shoes lining the wall that he was the only person home at the moment. Perfect. That gave him time to feed the cat and figure out the best way to hide his present until tomorrow.
Ranpo made a beeline for the kitchen. With the cat still tucked in one arm, Ranpo rummaged through the cabinets. He soon found what he was looking for. Dazai was a picky eater. One of the few things that he liked was canned crab. Ranpo wasn’t sure if canned crab was good for cats, but it was probably better for the cat than most other things in the house at the moment.
Ranpo opened the can and set it on the floor. Then he detangled the terrified feline from his cape. The cat remained crouched on the floor for several long minutes. Ranpo could tell that it was terrified. He shoved the can of crab a bit closer. He couldn’t keep the grin off of his face when the cat began to eat.
While the cat ate, Ranpo looked it over a bit closer. Now that he wasn’t fighting it, Ranpo could see that the world cat wasn’t quite right. It was more of a kitten in reality. Its fur was dirty, but looked like the print was white with black stripes. An unusual pattern. It reminded Ranpo of a tiger.
The cat ate ravenously. It was unsurprising considering how much its ribs stuck out. When it had finished off the can the feline sat back to clean its face. The movements were clumsy and further proved that this was a kitten.
“I’m home!”
Ranpo immediately recognized Dazai’s voice.
“In the kitchen,” Ranpo called back.
Dazai didn’t startle as easily as he once did, but letting his little brother know where everyone was in the house was still a habit for Ranpo.
“Hey, did you know that Odasaku and Kunikida…” Dazai trailed as he entered the kitchen and caught sight of the kitten.
Moving with surprisingly light steps, Dazai came to crouch in front of the cat.
“Where’d he come from?” Dazai breathed on delight.
“I found him. He needs a home and figured he would make a good present for Dad,” Ranpo proudly announced.
“Dad will like it,” Dazai agreed reverently.
It was quite funny that, even though Dazai and Fukuzawa were not related biologically, Dazai had somehow inherited Fukuzawa’s adoration of cats. One of the ways that they bonded regularly was to go visit cat cafes.
“Are you gonna give him to Dad before his birthday?” Dazai hummed.
“Yup. It's not like you lot have come up with any better ideas,” Ranpo shrugged.
Dazai’s hands twitch at his side. It was clear what he wanted.
“You can try to pet him if you want,” Ranpo snorted.
Dazai needed no further invitation. He held out his hand for the kitten to sniff. It did so briefly. Ranpo assumed that meant that Dazai accepted into the cult or whatever it was the cats seemed to classify gullible humans as. With gentle movements, Dazai petted the cat’s spine with a happy smile on his face.
It was then that two very startling things happened at the same time. One, was that Dazai leaned back with a gasp, grabbing at his chest. The other was that the cat’s outline writhed and shifted, growing to something much bigger than a kitten. Ranpo wasted no time in shoving Dazai out of the danger zone and placing himself in front of his younger brother.