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"Now, where on earth did you go?" Machi put her hands on her hips, huffing in frustration as she surveyed her apartment. "There's only so many places you can be."
It was an average Sunday at the Komacine residence. Well, as average as the life of a member of the infamous Phantom Troupe could be. Machi had no jobs booked for her Nen Thread stitching services, and no Troupe business to handle, so she'd decided to just enjoy the peace and quiet for once. She'd get some chores done around the apartment, run some errands, and maybe tackle that list of 'fun things to do' that she kept putting off. Machi was the type to prioritize business before pleasure, but Shizuku had been begging her to read that one book so they could talk about it, and Shalnark and Phinks had started watching this one show that sounded intriguing...and there was that small pile of knitting and sewing projects she'd meant to finish.
Well, there was no better time than today, Machi had decided. So far, she'd been pretty productive; she had caught up with the laundry, cleaned out the fridge, reorganized the kitchen cabinets, and took out the trash and recycling. Machi had even baked a batch of apple cinnamon muffins for the elderly lady across the hall who took care of Phantom when Machi was away for work. Which brought to mind her kitten...where was he?
"I thought you were awfully quiet today," Machi grumbled. She'd been so focused on tackling her to-do list that she'd somehow forgotten about paying attention to her little mischievous kitten. Phantom was curious and often underfoot; he loved to follow Machi around and observe what she was doing...and sometimes get involved himself, though usually to disastrous results.
Normally, she’d leave him to his own devices, but the last time he’d hidden from her for a while, it had ended in a trashed kitchen and her owing a favor to Shizuku. Machi had definitely learned from that experience, and she wasn’t keen to have a repeat. “Time to go on the hunt,” she sighed, and began to search the apartment for him. It shouldn't have taken long, since it was a pretty average sized apartment, but…her searching didn’t turn him up. He wasn’t in any of his usual spots: the top of the couch (where he liked to sunbathe), the bathtub (where he tried to drink the dripping water from the faucet), or under the kitchen table (where he could lie in wait to dash out and nip at her ankles).
She decided to go methodically from room to room. Phantom probably was hiding somewhere clever, just out of sight, so she needed to be a bit more thorough. From the front door to the bathroom, Machi looked under furniture, rummaged around in the bottom of closets, and opened every cabinet. She even stood on a chair to look on top of the fridge.
Nothing. Phantom wasn’t there. He wasn’t anywhere.
Machi bit her lip. “This is weird,” she whispered. “Where the hell could he be?” If he wasn’t where he was supposed to be, what if…what if he’d gotten into someplace he wasn’t? What if he’d been following along after her as she’d been doing her chores and gotten stuck somewhere?
Her heart in her throat, Machi ran to the laundry room, opening the washer and dryer. Not there. She pulled the machines further away from the wall to peer behind them. Not there. Into the kitchen to look inside the dishwasher, then the fridge. Not there. Long shots, obviously, but where else could he be?
With a groan of frustration, she leaned against the counter. She closed her eyes, going through her recollections of her activities that morning, from the time she woke up. There had to be something that could explain this. Washing and drying the laundry…dusting…putting away the laundry…cleaning the kitchen…baking…taking out the… wait a minute.
Machi’s blood ran cold. She’d gone outside to drop off the trash and recycling; could Phantom have slipped out right behind her without her even noticing? She was sure that she’d have noticed, but hell, how long had it taken for her to realize that she hadn’t seen her cat in who knows how long? It wasn’t unreasonable to assume that she must have been so distracted by her tasks that he could sneak out.
Okay, so he could have gotten into the apartment building. Maybe he was in the hall, or maybe he’d followed her down to the trash room. Or maybe somebody had left a door open, and—she gulped. Thoughts of Phantom loose on the street came to mind: running between cars, chased by dogs, tormented by cruel people. The world wasn’t kind to defenseless little kittens.
“Shit!” Machi hissed. If she hurried, maybe she could catch him. She ran to her room to grab her keys and phone, mentally mapping out her plan of attack. Hallway, staircase, then the trash room, ask the building superintendent and custodian if they’d seen Phantom near the entrance, maybe call some of the people she knew on this floor…then outside to search around the building.
Since it was supposed to be pretty cool today, Machi crossed the room to her dresser to get her favorite sweatshirt. She wasn’t sure how long she’d be outside, so she’d better dress warmly. Yanking the drawer open, she stopped short, staring at its contents in utter disbelief.
There was Phantom, curled into a tiny ball, nestled amongst Machi’s shirts and sleeping soundly. Machi stared, dumbfounded, as his little paws and tail twitched faintly, chest rising and falling in slumber. “Why are you here?” she whispered. “Of all places, how did you end up in a drawer?”
She’d practically turned the apartment upside-down looking for him, but she hadn’t gone so far as to pull out her dresser drawers, because why would he be there? It’s not like he could pull them open and shut himself…and then Machi froze. “But I did,” she groaned. “He must have been following me when I put away the laundry, and jumped into a drawer. And then I shut it without noticing him.” She could have smacked herself for not thinking of the possibility sooner.
With a big yawn that revealed his tiny white teeth, Phantom blinked up at her sleepily. “Well, I don’t know if I prefer this or you underfoot and wrecking the kitchen,” Machi told him as she scooped him into her arms. The adrenaline rush from panicking and trying to find Phantom was fading, and Machi just felt drained, physically and emotionally. “Maybe you’ve got the right idea,” she sighed as she carefully laid down on the bed, keeping him snuggled close. “I’ll just rest my eyes…just for a bit..”
As Machi’s eyes fluttered shut, Phantom snuggled up closer to her, his soft purrs making his tiny body vibrate. And within minutes, both were resting peacefully in a well-deserved nap.