the purrfect recipe for me(ow)

Niki sighed, “You have it so good. You don’t need to worry about lives, fans, other people. All you do is eat and sleep. You must have a nice life, huh?”
Niki stroked the cat's fur, silky and smooth between his fingers. “Nahaha~ I’m kind of envious of you, little guy.”

Notes:

dialogue in <> is... translated dialogue

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Niki swiped through a folder on his phone, looking through several recipes. He stopped on one, examining it.

Hmm~ I think I should have some beef still frozen. Maybe I can make some of this tonight?

Niki bookmarked that recipe, continuing to look through his saved recipes.

Ah, and he’d like that one. And then one more…

“And then Kohaku-chan you can do a little kick at the center of the stage, Merumeru you’ll be moving over here, while I’ll run by that side-”

“A kick? Rinne-han, I think a kick might be too much for this song. Maybe a bounce?”

All four of them sat at a table in their usual haunt, the casual tracks of Cafe Cinnamon playing in the background, accompanied by the warm smell of coffee and curry.

Niki wasn’t on shift for once, and was supposed to be working on a live plan with the other members of his unit. He didn’t choose the meeting spot, but at least it wasn’t a busy day at the café.

Niki shot an apologetic look at his coworker on shift, before looking back down at his phone. He continued swiping.

Hmm. Nope. Nope. Oh, would he like this one? Maybe…

“Niki, are you even paying attention?”

Niki looked up from his phone, the other three staring at him. Truth be told, he wasn’t really, his mind occupied with dinner plans.

Even if they were a unit, lately they’ve been getting more and more solo jobs, or jobs splitting them into pairs. That, and many other opportunities that have come their way.

It’s not often that they got to get together like that, and Niki wanted to take advantage of that. What better way to enjoy the time with his unit than surprising them with their favorites?

Niki laughed awkwardly. “Nahaha~ Sorry, what did you want? I was thinking about dinner.”

Rinne raised an eyebrow at him. “Niki~kyun~ We’re supposed to be working as a team. You can think about that after, could you make an effort to contribute?”

Niki pocketed his phone. He looked down at the papers. “Ah yeah, sorry~ So what were we talking about?”

They work for another hour, going over setlists and choreography for a little longer until they are kicked out by Niki’s manager.

“Well…we didn’t finish!” Rinne huffed, hands on his hips. “Niki~kyun couldn’t you make big cute eyes and plead your manager to let us stay longer?”

Niki glared at him. “What do you think I am? We’re taking up space anyways, they need that table for the dinner rush-!”

“Then where else are we going to go? Do we have to steal a table in the common room…” Kohaku sighed, stepping to the side and not helping as Niki was brutally trapped in a chokehold.

“Don’t worry! Since it’s his fault, he’ll solve our problems! Everyone say thank you Niki~kyun~” Rinne laughed, squeezing Niki’s face.

Niki flailed helplessly. “Whaf do youf mean my faulf!!!”

“Niki~kyun has so graciously volunteered his apartment to us! Okay Crazy:B, to our hideout!” Rinne laughed in his characteristic bastard laugh, dragging Niki along with him, the other two shaking their heads and following behind.

Nevermind that Niki already had plans to invite them all over for the dinner surprise, but of course Rinne had to somewhat know he had plans?

Or was it just Rinne being himself again?

Whatever the case, it worked out for Niki so with a sigh and some complaint he let things play out, all of them relocating to his apartment.

They work for a few more hours, cementing at least half of the choreography down. There were still many things to go over, but any progress was good progress!

Niki left them all to it to prepare dinner, humming as he flew through the steps. Slicing some of these, boiling that, tossing in some sauce, sprinkling some sugar.

With three dishes tailored to his unit’s tastes finished, he puts his apron away and carries the plates over to where they sat, now working on the MC plan and stage directions.

“Dinner is served~” Niki set them all down, passing plates around.

“Thanks Niki- Merumeru, do you think this is possible?” Rinne barely gave him a glance, taking a plate.

“Himeru thinks that flying in from the ceiling does not fit our theme. Denied.”

“Then maybe Kohaku-chan has a better idea?”

“We can use the raised platforms and jump up as soon as the lights come on. It’ll look like we jumped out of nowhere.”

Niki stared down at his plate, chewing slowly. None of them paid any attention to their food, occasionally taking a bite but failing to notice Niki’s surprise.

“Umm. I think Kohaku-chan’s idea is good~ It’s energetic enough to match us, and will definitely have the audience surprised.” Niki reluctantly gave an opinion, eyes shifting between his unit members and their plates that were receiving no notice.

“Mmhm okayy then we’ll go and do that. You think they’ll be letting us use the flames this time again for Paranoia?”

“Most likely not because Crazy:B is still banned from pyrotechnics because of the last live performance where Amagi nearly caught on fire.”

“Hey, that was an accident!”

Niki turned from the others to Kohaku, who was inspecting the stage layout. “Hey Kohaku-chan, what do you think of the food?”

“Hmm? Oh it’s good as always. Thanks Niki-han.”

Niki frowned.

He didn’t notice the mochi I added for him…

Niki glanced at Himeru. “Himeru-kun, are you enjoying it?”

Himeru scribbled some things down on his paper, squinting. “We can ask the producer if we can emulate the flames we can’t use with lighting. Maybe laser lights and smaller spotlights can do it.”

Niki frowned, a little hurt he was ignored. He shook it off, smiling.

“Rinne-kun, is it delicious? You know I-”

“Niki, we’ve been over this already! Can you stop focusing on the food more than the show we’re trying to put together?” Rinne groaned, slapping his papers down onto the table and making Niki flinch.

“You already know we don’t have much time! Merumeru and Kohaku-chan have a packed schedule, and you've even picked up a bunch of shifts at Cinnamon. This is probably the only time we can get the base show plan down!”

Niki looked away, hand shaking. He just wanted to do something nice for them the only way he knew how, but of course he got his priorities twisted and was dragging them down again.

“You know, Niki. I know you can do things when you put your mind to it. If you weren’t thinking about food you could help more. And if you really can’t then can you just shut your mouth up for a bit, your Rinne-kun’s trying his hardest to think.” Rinne huffed, going back to looking at his papers.

The other two looked between Niki and Rinne, uncertain expressions on their faces. Niki looked down at his hands, unable to ignore the ugly feeling in his gut.

It hurt, but Rinne was right.

…I should just go suck it up and take a break so they can focus.

Niki got up from his seat. He grabbed his key and paused, one hand on the door handle. “I…Sorry, yeah. Uh…I’m going to go take a walk then. Do you guys need anything from the store?”

He doesn’t get any response, the three going back to mumbling over their live plans. Niki took in a deep breath and then exhaled, trying to keep a smile up.

“Okay, then I’ll be back!”

The door shut behind him, and he walked the streets silently, shaking his head to stop tears that tried to escape.

Why was he crying? Why was he feeling bummed out? It really was on him for always being like this, never being serious and constantly thinking about other things than what was important.

Niki knows he enjoys being an idol, but he’s always said at his core that he’s a chef. He’s a chef that’s also an idol, and not the other way around.

But was he really putting in as much love for his idol work as the others in his unit? Maybe he really wasn’t cut out to be one if he couldn’t put in the same amount of attention the others did…

Would it be easier for all of them if I wasn’t there?

Niki frowned, shaking that ugly thought out of his head.

There was no point in wasting energy on things like this. It’s as everyone says: he’s dumb with nothing in his brain but food and cooking, he really should just sit back and let everyone else do the thinking. The best way he can contribute is to sit obediently and go along with whatever they all decide.

Niki found himself walking down a street lined with food stalls, the comforting aroma of street ramen pulling him in.

Well…It wouldn’t hurt if I grabbed a bite before going back. Then I can give it my all!

Niki took a seat, waving at the vendor. “One bowl of tonkotsu ramen~ With extra chasiu please!”

Niki watched in awe as the vendor masterfully prepared a bowl for him, his mouth watering. After paying, he clapped his hands together, ready to dig in.

The ramen is perfect, the noodles the right chewiness, not too firm, not too soft. The broth is perfectly stewed, with the perfect amount of saltiness. The chasiu is cooked wonderfully, the meat pulling apart tenderly in his mouth-

Niki felt an odd feeling, like he was being watched. He set down the final piece of chasiu, looking around.

A small grey cat with silky grey fur sat by his feet, watching him with big blue eyes. It’s tail twitched as it stared at him.

Huh. Must be hungry.

Niki looked around, seeing that the vendor was preoccupied with another customer. He picked the remaining chasiu up and leaned over, holding it out to the cat.

The cat meowed, grabbing it from his hand with its mouth. It purred, setting it down on the floor and eating it.

Niki smiled, going back to finishing up the rest of his bowl. He quickly finishes off the last noodles and drinks up all the soup, before setting the bowl down and waving a farewell to the vendor.

“Mrow~”

Niki felt something by his feet. He looked down to see that the cat had finished, rubbing itself up against his ankles. He petted it on the head.

“Nahaha~ Goodbye now, I don’t have anything else for you.” He stood up and continued his walk, simply enjoying the various different street stall aromas.

He’s made it out to a small park when he finally notices that he’s been followed the entire time. The cat trailed after him 2-3 paces away, soft steps and a swishing tail.

Niki stopped and turned around, walking over to it slowly. It didn’t run, and instead walked over to him, purring and rubbing itself against him again.

Niki laughed. “I told you, I don’t have any more food for you. You’re not going to get any from me just by being cute like that~”

Niki squatted down, scratching it behind the ears. The cat purred, whiskers twitching and tail swishing.

Niki sighed, “You have it so good. You don’t need to worry about lives, fans, other people. All you do is eat and sleep. You must have a nice life, huh?”

Niki stroked its fur, silky and smooth between his fingers. “Nahaha~ I’m kind of envious of you, little guy.”

The cat tilted its head with a “Mrrp?” as if it understood him and was asking “why?”.

Niki shrugged. “I’ve always drawn the short stick. I’m the weakest of our unit, I have a poor constitution, and I’m always dragging everyone down.”

Niki dropped his hand, staring down at his shoes. “Time and time again, I’ve dragged others down. Even if I really, really don’t want to, it just happens. First Rinne-kun…and now…”

The cat meowed loudly, licking his hand.

Niki shook his head, sighing. “What am I doing, airing out my grievances to a cat? Haha, I must really be going insane. He stood up, dusting his knees off.

The cat purred, walking a circle around him and rubbing itself against his legs again.

Niki smiled. “I can’t take you home, little guy. I’m not at the apartment often, and I wouldn’t want to subject you to the craziness of the Seisoukan. Besides, I already have one freeloader. I can’t handle multiple at the same time~”

Niki frowned. Speaking of that freeloader…I probably should tell him I’m on the way back.

Right on time, he heard the ding of his messaging app. Niki pulled his phone out, opening the latest message.

As he expected, it was from Rinne.

20:05 PM Rinne-kun

are u coming back? its getting late

Niki started to type out his response, that he was on the way back.

Before he could send it though, Niki noticed the cat’s ears perk up.

Suddenly, the cat bolted away from him.

Onto a side road, in the path of incoming traffic, a car speeding down past a green light. The cat stood frozen, blue eyes wide as it watched him, as if it didn’t realize the danger it was in.

Niki doesn’t know how or why, but he throws out all sense he’s ever had, running after the cat and diving to push it out of the way, his phone flying out of his hand.

Time slowed for him as he reached for the cat, his hands barely grazing it, falling just a few centimeters too short. His life flashes through his head.

Mom, Dad, please don’t worry about me anymore.

Kohaku-chan, Himeru-kun, I hope you guys achieve your dreams.

Striking red hair and blue eyes flashed through his mind, a bright smile like the sun, a star burning despite everything.

Rinne-kun…I’m sorry.

He feels a heavy impact to his ribs, his entire world spinning.

The last thing he sees between blinding bright headlights and dancing dark spots in his vision, are the cat's deep blue eyes, piercing straight through him.

Everything went dark.

Ow ow ow ow ow ow everything hurts…

Niki slowly blinked his eyes open, finding himself lying on the ground. His entire body ached, his vision blurry as his head pounded.

Wait.

He was alive? And okay?

…Didn’t I just get hit by a car at full speed?

Niki frowned. He’d honestly be impressed if that was the case, but he had a feeling something else was at play. There’s no way him, guy that faints after not having enough calories, could withstand being hit by a car. No way.

Niki scrunched his face. Unless by some miracle the car missed? But I definitely felt something hit me…

Niki sighed, lifting his hand up to rub his eyes.

Except, he would be doing that. If he had a hand.

Because for some reason, instead of a hand with 5 fingers, he saw a small grey paw.

Hold on. A paw?!

Niki’s eyes widened. He lifted his other hand, only to find another paw. He scrambled up to his feet…only to be up on 4 legs, and low to the ground.

What the- What’s going on?!!

Niki’s head pounded, his ears twitching. He felt something behind him. He whipped his head around, to find a fluffy grey tail swishing by his command.

W-w-w-w-w- Huh?!

Niki looked around at his surroundings frantically. He ignored how his head pounded, his whiskers twitching.

As far as he could see, he was still at the same crosswalk that he remembered jumping into to save a cat. Except…that cat was nowhere to be seen, no sight of a body or anything.

Niki sniffed. I hope he didn’t get hit…but first I’ve got to figure out what on earth is going on with me!

Out of the corner of his eye, something flashed. Niki ran over to it to find his phone, face down on the floor.

Shattered bits of the screen lay scattered around it.

Huh? So I dropped my phone…

Niki carefully maneuvered around the sharp pieces, staring down at his phone. He batted at it with a paw until he was able to flip it over, revealing a completely cracked screen.

Ugh guess that needs to be replaced-

Niki froze, noticing his reflection in the dark screen, barely past the web of cracks that creeped across it.

Because instead of his own reflection, why, when he looked there, was the cat that he was worried about looking back at him?

Niki’s head started to pound again, his mind spinning.

What’s going on?! What the what the what the what-?!

Niki yelped and fell back onto his hind legs as the phone started buzzing, lighting up with a phone call. He could barely make out the caller ID, his screen cracked beyond recognition.

A call from Rinne. He should probably pick up, despite his current state, right?

Niki tried batting at the phone to no avail, the call going to voicemail. He gaped at his screen as his lockscreen showed up, over 200 unread message notifications and more than 20 missed calls, with a mix from all three of his unit members (and a majority of the chunk just being from Rinne).

Niki jumped as his phone lit up again, another call from Rinne. He lashed his tail, whiskers twitching.

My paws don’t work…maybe my nose?

Niki carefully leaned over, pressing his nose to the accept button. He purred in relief as that touch registered, picking up the call.

“Niki you bastard why haven’t you been answering! Where are you? You didn’t come back last night!”

Niki flinched at the sound of Rinne’s voice from the speaker.

Hold on.

Last night?

Niki only then noticed that the sun was up.

Was I out for that long?

His head pounded, a sharp pain resounding through his skull. What the heck is happening to me?

Niki pawed at the phone. <Rinne-kun help!! I saved a cat from getting hit by a car but as soon as I woke up, that cat was nowhere and I’m now that cat?!>

Niki forgot two important things as he responded desperately to the call.

Number one: He was currently a cat.

Number two: Normal people could not understand cats.

It all came out of his mouth in frustrated meows.

“Niki?”

Niki growled. <Crap. Help me! I don’t know what to do!> More frustrated meows.

“...Who is this? Hello?” Rinne sounded confused.

Niki pawed at the phone desperately, meowing. <Rinne-kun!!! It’s me!!>

“Niki, if this is a cruel joke you can stop now. Just please come home.”

Niki growled, tail lashing. Why! Why am I stuck like this! Rinne-kun I’m right here and okay! I’m just…a cat!

Niki flicked his ears, his attempts at communicating failing.

“Rinne-han, did he pick up?” Kohaku’s voice came onto the speaker.

“Yeah, but all I hear is a cat meowing.”

“A cat…?”

Kohaku-chan!

Niki meowed, pawing at the phone once more. <Kohaku-chan! Help me!!>

The phone went silent, no one speaking. Niki frowned, wincing as his head pounded.

Kohaku finally spoke up. “Rinne-han, hang up right now. Who knows who really is on the line.”

“But Niki-”

“Whoever you are, and if you’re not Niki-han, you better not have done anything to him.” Kohaku’s voice came out so cold, venom dripping in it. Niki shivered, his fur standing on edge.

The call ended, leaving Niki there, staring down at his cracked phone. He slammed his face down into his paws, growling.

What am I supposed to do now?!

From that it sounds like they’re not going to call anymore…how am I going to get into contact with them…

Niki sat back, whiskers twitching. Wait…it should be possible to track my phone down, right?

Niki stared down at his phone. Maybe not over a phone call, but maybe he could use it in some other way to let others know what happened to him?

Niki thought hard, swishing his tail. Was there anyone else he could turn to? There were all kinds of people at ES, there had to be someone that could help him.

Maybe Sakasaki-kun? He knows stuff about magic…right?

Niki frowned. Because that’s what it was, right? No matter how extraordinary it was…he was under some kind of spell?

Right?

Niki’s stomach growled loudly. He huffed. Even as a cat, his endless black hole of an appetite followed him through. He probably should get something to eat before he passes out and is left as easy pickings for any hungry animal.

Niki twitched his tail, staring down at his phone. How was he going to carry the phone with him? He didn’t have opposable thumbs, or even hands to pick it up.

Niki closed his eyes. The only option that he had was to pick it up with his mouth.

Niki leaned over, grabbing one edge with his mouth. He gagged at the taste of the phone, already expecting that it wouldn’t taste good at all. He lifted his head, struggling to hold it up.

The phone was heavier than expected, and the cracked screen felt sharp against his tongue. Niki forced himself through, walking slowly with the phone in his mouth.

He’s only able to walk through two streets before he gets tired, his neck hurting. Niki set the phone down, stretching his legs out.

Wow…tiny legs make it so much more tiring to walk. And why is my phone so heavy?! Was it always that heavy?

Niki huffed, wincing as his stomach growled. He’d only made it that far…and still didn’t have food.

Wait, did he even have any idea how he was going to get food? Niki felt wobbly on his paws, energy spent.

Uuhuu. I probably have to catch something…but I can’t even…

Niki curled up on himself, trying to will the hunger pangs away.

Is this where I die? As a cat, for some unknown reason?

Niki’s nose twitched, his dramatically-being-starved self getting distracted by the faint scent of sakura and sweets. He twitched his ears, the sounds of people talking coming closer.

Voices that he recognized!

“Kohakucchi, are you sure it’s here? There’s just a bunch of bushes here…”

“Yeah, phone tracking says it should be somewhere around here. Careful, Rabu-han. There could be someone else.”

Niki lifted his head from his paws. Kohaku-chan! Shiratori-chan!

“Don’t worry, Aira! Kohaku-san! I’ve got this!”

Niki’s eyes widened as he saw the three boys run over to where he lay. Otouto-san? All three of them are tracking me down?

Hiiro looked around, before his eyes landed on Niki. He quickly moved closer. “Kohaku-san, Shiina-san isn’t here. There’s just a cat.”

“A cat? Aww let me see!” Aira pushed past Hiiro, squinting down at Niki. He reached out a hand. “You poor thing, what’s wrong?”

Niki meowed, lifting his head higher to touch his nose to Aira’s hand. I need to get them to take me to the dorms! Then I can find Sakasaki-kun…

“A cat…but no Niki-han…but Rinne-han’s phone says it should be here…”

Niki blinked. He shouldn’t be surprised that Rinne of all people had his phone’s location. No wonder he somehow knows where I am at all times! What the heck!

Niki winced from another hunger pang, his ears flattening. Aira frowned, lightly stroking his head.

“Kohakucchi, Hiiro-kun, I think the poor thing is hungry. Look how it can barely sit up! Ah uh let me see if I have anything…”

Aira rifled through his pockets. He shook his head. “Nope, sorry…”

Kohaku walked over to them, frowning. “That’s so weird though. Where is Niki-han’s phone? Should we try calling it?” He was holding Rinne’s phone, probably using it to track down Niki’s.

Though that then begged the question…where was the owner of that phone?

Niki meowed again, trying to get their attention. Hiiro stared at him, unmoving.

“Hold on- Aira, can we move him?” Hiiro squatted down, reaching his arms out to Niki.

“Huh? Hiiro-kun hey, what are you doing you don’t know if that cat could have a disease-”

Niki squeaked as he was picked up, Hiiro lifting him up to reveal his phone on the ground. “Kohaku-san, I think I found it.”

Kohaku stared, before leaning over and grabbing it. “Yeah this is…Niki-han’s phone. The screen is completely cracked but it definitely is.” Kohaku looked over at Niki.

Niki meowed, dangling from Hiiro’s arms. <Yes Kohaku-chan!! It’s me!! I’m here!!!> he flailed.

“Niki-han…where did you go…” Kohaku mumbled, pocketing the phone.

Niki’s meows grew more desperate. <Kohaku-chan! I’m right here! Please, listen to me!> Silly him, still failing to remember that no one could understand his cries even if he yelled as loud as he could.

Aira huffed, grabbing Niki from Hiiro, cradling him in a less precarious position. “Hiiro-kun, that’s not how you hold a cat. You’re hurting him! Hello little guy, sorry we don’t have any food on us. Why did you have Shiina-Senpai’s phone? That’s not food, you know?” He pet Niki gently, scratching under his chin.

Niki couldn’t stop the purr resounding from his body. He gave a sad meow. <Help me…>

Kohaku sighed. “No sign of Niki-han. And that cat looks pretty clean for a street cat. Do you think it has something to do with where Niki-han went? It did have his phone…”

“Umm possibly? Oh god is this evidence am I tampering with evidence? Is this going to make it harder for us to find him if the authorities need it?!” Aira panicked, not knowing what to do with the cat in his arms. Niki kind of missed the feeling of being petted, ears twitching in annoyance.

“Nah, it should be okay. More than likely it’s just a coincidence, and it probably thought the phone was food. Still…it’d be better to bring him back. He probably is a lost pet.”

“So what should we do then? Take the phone and the cat back and report to Niisan and the others?” Niki scrunched his eyes as he was roughly pet by Hiiro. Otouto-san you could be more gentle!!!

Kohaku frowned. “We found the phone completely shattered, but no sign of Niki-han…But we should honestly wait on reporting to Rinne-han until he’s finished with his recording session. He is Not going to like this information. It already took so many words from Himeru-han and I to convince him not to cancel it right away, like how he canceled everything else.”

Niki’s heart sank. Rinne-kun? Canceled all his work? But why?…That idiot, he worked really hard to get those jobs..

“Then we should go get this cat some food and maybe check if it has an owner while we wait. You must be starving, you poor poor thing.” Aira pulled Niki away from Hiiro, gently petting him again. Niki made a mental note to treat Aira to some dessert …whenever he got his normal body back.

The three bring Niki back to the dorms successfully, sitting in the kitchen and watching him scarf down a plate of leftover fish.

Niki was a bit embarrassed, having to eat from a plate with just his mouth and no hands, three boys watching him intently, but he was honestly too hungry to do anything about it.

When Niki finished the fish, Hiiro brought him to his dorm while Kohaku and Aira went off somewhere else. As to why, Niki didn’t know because he wasn’t listening when they talked and was too fixated on the very yummy fish he was struggling to eat.

“Okay, Aira and Kohaku-san are looking around to see if you have an owner, we’ll sit here and wait for them!” Hiiro closed the door behind himself and set Niki down.

Niki looked around, ears twitching. Wow, everything looks so much larger now. Guess cats really are small.

Niki twitched his tail, before his eyes landed on his bed. He ran over, jumping up onto his bed and yowling loudly, kneading at the blanket. <Otouto-san! It’s me, Niki! Otouto-san!!!!>

Hiiro laughed, walking over and picking him up. “Don’t do that, that’s Shiina-san’s bed. He wouldn’t like it if he found out a cat jumped onto it!”

Niki wiggles around in Hiiro’s hold in frustration. But it’s my bed…Otouto-san, you can’t make the association?

Then again…no one would ever expect anyone to turn into a cat after disappearing…

“You sure can move a lot! Must’ve been really hungry, here you can sit on my bed!” Hiiro set him down onto his bed.

Niki meowed, walking a circle on the bed, tail swishing. He eyes the door.

I need to get out and find Sakasaki-kun…

The door opened, but instantly closed as Aira and Kohaku walked back in. Hiiro perked up.

“Any luck?”

“No, we couldn’t find any lost cat notices. No chip, no collar on him either so I don’t know.” Kohaku sighed, sitting down on the bed. Niki padded over and climbed into his lap, purring.

“What about the phone? Any luck with it?”

Kohaku scratched Niki under the chin absentmindedly. “I’m getting Himeru-han to look at it, but besides that we have nothing else to go off of…”

“Kohakucchi…”

Niki didn’t like how dejected they all looked at that moment. He purred, rubbing himself against Kohaku’s hand.

Kohaku gave a small smile. “You look so much better after being fed~ Kohkohkoh, do you have a home to go back to? Is anyone missing you?”

Niki meowed, butting his head against Kohaku’s hand.

“Is that a no? Hmm should we take him to the shelter…”

Niki’s eyes widened. No! Not that, that’ll make it even harder!! He meowed loudly, tail lashing back and forth.

“Kohakucchi, I think he wants to stay here. We should keep him!”

Kohaku frowned. “But a cat…”

Niki blinked as Aira picked him up, holding him out. “Look how cute he is. He’s also a very nice kitty! He was starving out there, he’ll be better off with us! Right, Hiiro-kun?”

“Yes! And there’s already people with cats, and even crazier things like a penguin. I think it’s a good idea!”

Kohaku raised an eyebrow. “Doesn’t Alkaloid have a program in Osaka soon? So who will take care of the cat?”

Aira grinned. “Kohakucchi pleaseee?” Niki laughed internally at how Kohaku faltered on seeing Aira plead.

“Umm…”

“Hiiro-kun, you do it too.”

“Kohaku-san please! For Aira!” Hiiro bowed earnestly, Kohaku looking back and forth between them awkwardly.

Kohaku groaned. “Fine, but you’ve gotta help me get the supplies for him before you leave!”

“Yay~”

And that was how Niki found himself shortly being transported to Kohaku’s dorm, a bag of cat food, a small bed, and a dish set out for him.

“Now be good, okay? I’ve gotta go meet up with Himeru-han and Rinne-han. I’ll be back.” Kohaku called out, before shutting the door.

Niki twitched his tail, staring up at the door. The handle was too high up for him to possibly reach with his little cat legs.

How was he going to get in contact with Natsume now?

Niki crouched and leapt up as high as he could, paws just missing the handle as he tumbled back to the floor. He growled, whiskers quivering in annoyance.

These stupid short legs!!!!

Niki paced around the room in frustration, trying to find any way to escape.

Maybe he could try to climb up to the vents? He stared at the wall, but found no good places for him to scale.

Niki did another lap around the room, inspecting all corners. Nope. No escape here…Do I just wait for Kohaku-chan or his roommate to accidentally leave the door open and slip out then?

Niki twitched his nose, smelling something sweet. He ran over to the couch and jumped up. A tray of strawberry mochi sat out on the table.

Niki’s mouth watered. He looked around.

One wouldn’t hurt right…

He says, but the entire tray lay clean shortly after.

Niki was in the middle of eating the last one when the door finally reopened, Kohaku grumbling and walking back in.

“What the hell does he expect us to do? We got no information from that- huh?” He froze, staring at Niki.

Who was a cat, eating the rest of the mochi that was left out. Niki finished the last piece, flicking his ear in content.

Kohaku scrambled over to him, lifting him up. “Crap! I forgot to put that away, can cats eat mochi!?”

Niki meowed pitifully as he swung by the scruff.

Kohaku stared at him, amazed. “Did you really finish everything?”

Niki meowed again, nose twitching. <Sorry, Kohaku-chan…>

Kohaku huffed. “If you’re staying with me, you should probably have a name. How about Mochi-han?”

Niki meowed in agreement.

“Then Mochi-han it is! Okay. Now you need a bath~”

Niki has never been as scared in his entire life than that moment, as Kohaku grinned at him, still holding him up by the scruff.

He meowed in the most pitiful way possible.

“You aren’t gettin’ out of this~”

Niki loves Kohaku, but that kid can be way too perceptive at times! He almost wishes he was picked up by some other idol at ES.

A whole week has passed, with so, so many foiled escape plans. He was just trying to get help and return to normal, what else was he supposed to do!

Basically, Kohaku somehow knew every time he tried to escape, like he had a sense for it or something.

Niki’s tried everything!

Running through an open door?

Kohaku instantly noticed him slipping out and yanked him up before he could get a single paw out!

Escaping through the window?

Even if Kohaku’s roommate left it ajar for air, when Niki tried to wiggle himself to freedom, he found himself stuck! (Though that may be more on him for being not skinny enough to slip through…but he wasn’t the one that chose what kind of cat he’d be turned into!)

Niki’s thankful that no one knows that the cat is him, being stuck in a window and meowing sadly for an hour until Kohaku finally returned and noticed him stuck was humiliating. To make things worse, Kohaku even went out and bought him a cat food for diets, replacing the already average normal cat food with something Niki didn’t particularly enjoy the taste of.

Niki even resorted to minor vandalism, scratching at the door. He’s pretty sure that the poor kid was losing his mind with this cat by then.

It’s gotten to the point where Kohaku sat him down and looked him in the eye. “Mochi-han. If you stop that I’ll give you some treats.”

And of course, Niki, being Niki, falls for it.

Niki doesn’t necessarily hate it, all things considered (besides the diet cat food). The treats are yummy, he loves the pets he gets from Kohaku and his roommate. It’s nice not having to worry about anything for a change.

Maybe being a cat is nice? I get spoiled and get to be lazy~

He curled up on the couch, lazing around and waiting for Kohaku to return so he could get ear scratches. He really liked those. Oh, and also belly rubs.

Niki twitched his whiskers. Wait. Was he slowly getting used to being a cat and being lulled into complacency, and forgetting what he really is?!

He is a human…right?

Niki sat up, staring down at his paws, tail twitching. He batted at the small blue collar with a bell around his neck, another method Kohaku’s been using to stop him from escaping.

It’s been several days…a week…

Is anyone still looking for me?

Niki sniffed. He’s been in this dorm for so long that he doesn’t know what anyone else is doing besides Kohaku and his roommate, and occasionally a visitor or two.

Besides his foiled escape plans, all he’s been doing to pass the time was take naps and play around with a ball Kohaku left out for him.

Niki flicked his ear, eyes darting over to the closed door. Kohaku-chan seems fine…he’s often going out for jobs. He’s very popular~ Nahaha as expected of our talented Kohaku-chan.

Niki froze. Jobs. Work. How was his work at the cafe? Hopefully his manager got his co-workers to cover his shifts…

And then the live he was working on with the other bees…how would that work? Would they do it without him?

Niki’s ears twitched at the sound of the door opening, the scents of the sakura and sweets he was familiar with and…coffee?

Kohaku walked in, Himeru with him. They stopped in front of Niki. Niki lifted his head up and meowed, stretching his legs out.

Himeru-kun! I haven't seen him in forever! (7 days).

“Is this the cat Oukawa was talking about?”

“Yeah, Rabu-han, Otouto-han and I found him with Niki-han’s phone.” Kohaku walked over, scratching Niki on the head. Niki purred, pressing up into his hand.

Himeru stared down at him. “Hmm.”

Niki meowed a greeting. <Hi Himeru-kun~>

“His name is Mochi-han, because he ate an entire tray of mochi by himself. He’s also on a strict diet. Mochi-han, say hi.”

Niki meowed, tail twitching.

“Himeru sees. He is pretty round.”

“He’s a little spoiled, but will eat the diet cat food pretty angrily. It’s pretty cute~” Kohaku laughed, petting Niki.

Niki lashed his tail angrily, his face heating up. Because it sucks! Bleh!!! I’ll still eat it though…Hmph!

“So anyways, Himeru-han, could you keep him in your dorm? I feel bad about leaving him alone here for so long, and he’s tried to escape several times already. That’s why he has that bell.”

Niki made the most innocent face he could make, rubbing his face against Kohaku’s hand.

“You cute little demon I know what you're capable of.” Kohaku huffed, scratching him behind the ear.

“Himeru’s dorm?”

Kohaku nodded. “Your roommate has a cat, right? Maybe he’ll have company there. I think being alone in a dorm all day must suck.”

Himeru frowned, staring down at Niki. Niki meowed up at him. “Why don’t you bring it to the shelter?”

Kohaku looked away. “Rabu-han didn’t want to let it stay on the streets, I can’t do that without him being back, he’d be so upset. And..” Kohaku stopped petting Niki. “He could still have some relation to…”

“Alright. Himeru will take him.”

Kohaku’s face brightened. “Thank you, Himeru-han! Hold on, I’ll pack up all his things…he hates baths so you should be careful with that, and he’s also on a diet. He has been trying to escape but hopefully since he’ll have company he won’t as often!”

Niki watched as Kohaku gathered all the cat supplies, dumping them into Himeru’s arms.

Kohaku then picked Niki up, petting him on the head. “Mochi-han, be good, okay? You’ll have a friend at Himeru-han’s dorm! Hopefully it won’t be as boring as here. I’m sorry I couldn’t keep you here. Work, school, and helping Rinne-han…”

Rinne-kun? What is he making Kohaku-chan do?

Niki purred, rubbing his face against Kohaku.

Whatever, I’m sure it’s not important. Probably him slacking off again.

“Awwww what a cutie~ Himeru-chan he’s a little darling!” Arashi cooed, taking photos of Niki.

Niki twitched his ears, sitting in front of a cat with short fur cream fur and green eyes. It sniffed him.

<You…You don’t smell like a cat.> She meowed, squinting at Niki. Niki looked away from her.

“Nyanko, be nice! Oh Himeru-chan, while they get to know each other I need to show you this new concealer I got. You two have fun~” Arashi hummed, pulling Himeru away.

Nyanko still squinted at him, whiskers twitching. Niki flicked his tail, feeling small under her gaze. <Nyanko-san…do you know anything about people being turned into cats?> he meowed.

Nyanko blinked. <People? Humans? Being turned into cats?> She huffed, lifting a paw and licking it. <Are you crazy? Is that even possible?>

Niki nodded, flicking an ear.

Nyanko yawned, stretching her paws. <Okay, so let’s just say you aren’t crazy and you’re not lying. You do smell not like a cat at all…How did this even happen?> She sniffed him again.

Niki flattened his ears.

Nyanko watched him with mirth in her eyes, her tail swishing. <Do you remember what that cat looked like?>

Niki stared down at his paws. <It looked exactly like how I look right now.>

Nyanko twitched her whiskers, nosing him. She purred playfully. <Hmm~ Have you heard of the human saying, cats have nine lives?> She stood up, walking over to Arashi’s bed.

Niki watched her jump up. <Yeah?>

Nyanko motioned to him to follow. He crouched and leapt up, landing on the mattress beside her.

Nyanko twitched her whiskers. <Humans aren’t totally incorrect. We cats are pretty awesome creatures~ I have a feeling that it’s something like that, Mochi-nyan.>

Niki huffed in annoyance. <That’s just the name Kohaku-chan gave me.>

<Oh? So then, what is your human name?>

<Niki, Shiina Niki.>

Nyanko blinked, her nose twitching. <Ah, I think I’ve heard that name from Hime-meow. Or at least one part of it. Well, Niki-Nyan, there’s many mysteries in this world. Things unfathomable even to the humans~>

Niki tilted his head in confusion.

Nyanko’s gaze sharpened, her eyes staring right at him. Niki felt shivers up his spine. <Maybe it’s an act of goodwill. You helped that cat out, and it wanted to return the favor.> Nyanko lashed her tail back and forth, <You said you were trying to save it from getting hit, right? If all of this is true, maybe you did get hit, and possibly lost your life. And that cat decided to act, merging your souls. Gave you a second chance at life, by sacrificing one of his lives.>

Niki stared at her. Souls? Merging? Lives? I died? His head was starting to hurt again.

Nyanko’s gaze dropped to something more friendly and teasing again, lightly batting at him with a playful twinkle in her eyes. <But that’s just my theory, and I’m just a cat. It’s not a lie though, that we cats have some kind of power that helps us evade death~ Or even live multiple lives! Nyahaha, I’m probably way~ older than you.>

Niki winced, his head spinning with all this information and non-information. <So is there…really no way for me to turn back?>

Nyanko licked him on the head. <Do you want to?>

Niki twitched his whiskers, thinking. <I don’t know…I miss being able to cook, but it’s nice just getting to laze around and do nothing. And even if there’s things I can’t eat as a cat because it’ll kill me, Kohaku-chan and his roommate have just been feeding me their extra leftovers if I make a cute face at them.>

But then again Kohaku-chan’s also the one that put me on diet cat food…

Nyanko purred in amusement. <Isn’t it nice? Nyahaha~ A cat’s life really is great~>

She flicked her tail, curling up for a nap. <Think about that question, Niki-nyan. Maybe you’ll find the answer to your problems there.> She yawned, closing her eyes.

Niki sat there, thinking. He absentmindedly watched Arashi and Himeru talk about makeup while what gears he had in his mind tried to spin.

From the start he’s been trying so hard to escape just so he could have a chance at turning back with Natsume’s help but…it wasn’t even guaranteed he’d be able to help him. And even then…did he really care about turning back as much as he said he did?

Niki flicked his ear. No. I should think about it from the other side. He stared down at his paws.

Did anyone miss him? Sure, they were looking for him at the beginning, but it seemed like they quickly got into their normal work routine, just without Niki around to cook for them.

Ha…It’s probably easier on them not having to constantly look out for me.

Niki couldn’t ignore the ugly feeling in his gut, his tail swishing slowly. His mind wandered to the one person he hasn’t heard much about.

I wonder how Rinne-kun is doing…

Is he eating well? Did he finish the leftovers I left?

Niki walked a circle, before mirroring Nyanko and curling up into a ball too. He buried his face into his paws.

Honestly…he probably isn’t missing me at all! All he wanted from me was my wallet and my food, and to make my life a living hell!

Niki recalled the small glimpses he had about what Rinne was doing.

He probably is rejoicing from not having anyone to nag him all the time! And he probably is leeching off of others anyways, always going to the pachinko and getting drunk off other’s money…Hmph! Niki twitched his whiskers in frustration.

…Right?

His heart sank. That thought of not being missed hurt more than he expected. Especially the one person he’s been with for so many years.

Niki closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep. Maybe it’s better that I’m just a cute little cat now…

Niki lives in Himeru’s dorm for a week, the days passing slowly.

It’s honestly no different from being in Kohaku’s dorm, besides an actual perso- cat he can talk with, and an additional roommate in the form of the over-excitable Tetora.

Niki’s thankful once again that they don’t know it’s actually him because he knows Tetora would be worshipping him or something like that.

Nyanko’s a nice cat to talk to, but she’s pretty lazy and just sleeps most of the time, leaving Niki alone to find stuff to occupy himself with. He’s lately gotten interested in unravelling a ball of yarn someone left out, and then trying to roll it back up before anyone returns.

Niki doesn’t try to escape anymore. He realized that even if he did manage to get to Natsume, the barrier of communication would result in him not having any progress at all, thus wasting energy on an escape that was all for nothing.

Unfortunately for him, though, just because he stopped trying to escape does not mean he was freed from the bell collar. That bell collar was a permanent addition, much to his annoyance.

At least for him, Himeru was nicer with his food (and also thanks to Nyanko sharing with him). After showing that he could exercise restraint and making the cutest meows and faces at Himeru, Niki was upgraded back to the decent but better than diet cat food.

The power he had in his little paws was incredible, the things he could get with a cute face and pitiful meows.

Maybe being a cat was a really good thing! Could he ever get things like this as a human? No way!

Well…maybe sometimes! But that was more dependent on who he was begging from. As a cat though…it worked on all three of the people in that dorm, and anyone that visited! It was totally fool-proof!

He honestly was enjoying life as a cat, despite how stuck he was. All the pets and scratches were nice, the treats that he did get were yummy, and he didn’t have to worry about anything!

Except…maybe baths in which it took a whole team of Himeru, Arashi, and a visiting Kohaku to wrangle him into the tub.

At the very least, it was only a once a week thing? So he’s only had to experience that awful feeling of fur being completely soaked only twice so far…

Niki twitched his whiskers, watching Himeru pace around while on his phone. It’s the end of his second week of being a cat. Besides Kohaku stopping by to pet him (he could tell, the kid missed him. So cute.) everyday and then heading off to whatever work or class he had to get to, and of course Himeru being Himeru and offering nothing, Niki doesn’t know much about what everyone is getting to.

Niki has a feeling, though, that this call might have an update for him. He perked his ears up, trying to listen. Himeru looked pretty frustrated by it, after all.

“Is that true, Oukawa?”

Ah, he must be talking with Kohaku-chan. Niki flicked his ear.

Himeru frowned. “So Amagi really hasn’t come back to the dorms at all for these two weeks?”

Huh? Rinne-kun hasn’t been coming back to the dorms? Niki twitched his nose. Does that mean he’s been staying at the apartment? I mean it’s no problem but wouldn’t it be easier to get to work from here…

Niki froze. Wait but Kohaku-chan said he canceled all his jobs…

Is he really just pachinko roaming- that fool!?

Niki had a strong feeling it really wasn’t that simple, and that he’s been trying to avoid something deep down.

“...Himeru agrees. Should we go together?”

Niki blinked up at Himeru in confusion. Go together? Are they going to see Rinne-kun?

Niki jumped down from his seat and ran over to Himeru. He meowed loudly, rubbing himself against Himeru’s legs. <Take me! I need to see this guy!! If he really is slacking off I need to see you guys chew him out!!>

“Hold on Oukawa, Himeru thinks Mochi-san might be hungry.” Himeru squatted down to pet him, one hand still holding the phone to his ear.

Niki meowed, butting his head against Himeru. <Himeru-kun Himeru-kun, take me with you!>

Himeru listened to the phone. “Hmm? Bring him?”

“Oukawa has a good idea. Any company really is better than none. Will he take responsibility for it, though?”

Niki tilted his head in confusion, meowing in confusion. Huh? An idea? What did Kohaku-chan say?

“Hm. Himeru agrees. Alright, Himeru will meet Oukawa at Shiina’s.”

My place? So Rinne-kun really is staying there…

Niki watched Himeru end the call, pocketing his phone. He suddenly picked Niki up with two hands. Niki’s back legs dangled freely.

Niki meowed, very confused.

“Mochi-san, Himeru and Oukawa have a job for you.”

Niki stared at him, even more confused. A job? For a cat?

“Our leader isn’t doing well. Your job is to distract him.”

Niki meowed in response. Leader? Rinne-kun?

That feeling that he was avoiding something, it returned in full force, finally catching up to Niki. Niki had a really, really bad gut feeling. Rinne wasn’t doing well, enough for the other two to want to act.

And what was the cause?

There’s no way it was his disappearance (and subsequent transmigration into a cat which no one else knew) was the cause…right?

Niki has heard bits and pieces, and all of the pieces of the puzzle were always there for him. He just never bothered to put them together.

Or maybe he really was trying to avoid them, running away to a complacent life of being a spoiled house cat?

It can’t be…Rinne-kun wouldn’t go crazy to the point of giving up everything else he’s worked towards over me disappearing…it can’t be…

“Can you be cute? Himeru needs you to look so irresistible that even Amagi in his current state can’t ignore you.”

Niki meowed the most pitiful meow he could, tilting his head and widening his eyes, trying to look the cutest.

Himeru nodded. “Yes, just like that. Good Mochi-san, Himeru is sure you’ll be able to help. Then it’s a plan.” Niki was set down as Himeru started to gather all his supplies.

Niki heard an amused purr behind him. <So, you’ve got a job? Look at you Niki-Nyan, moving up in the cat world~>

Niki twitched his ears, turning to find Nyanko watching him from Arashi’s bed. <Yeah, I’ve got to go distract Rinne-kun or something.>

At that, Nyanko looked very interested, her tail swishing. <That person you said you picked up? The one that you said probably doesn’t care about you?>

Niki mentally groaned. He forgot he told Nyanko about that whole story while they were sitting around. The things being a lazy cat does to you.

Niki looked away from her, not knowing what was true anymore, the ugly feeling in his gut eating him up.

Niki couldn’t give an answer, after all this time. <...I don’t know.>

Nyanko huffed, flicking her tail. <Niki-Nyan. It’s okay to be unsure, but sometimes uncertainty can hurt more than what you think.>

Niki doesn’t know what to do anymore, or what he wants. Was he always this uncertain?

<...I know…But if I wanted to turn back, how would I?>

Nyanko yawned. Her eyes sparkled knowingly.

Niki hid his face in his paws.

Nyanko purred. <Hey, it’s still an option that you haven’t tried out. Who knows, it could actually work! You should take that opportunity!>

Niki tries to hide his face even more, heating up. <But it’s not love and Rinne-kun’s always going on about how kisses are for after marriage and- It’s not like we’re like that and->

<Well, suit yourself.>

Niki lifted his head to find Nyanko unconvinced.

Niki shut his mouth, stumped by his past decisions.

Niki twitched his ear, embarrassed. Here he was, as a cat, with another cat lecturing him about…love?

Niki flinched as he was suddenly lifted up by Himeru. “Mochi-san, are you saying bye to Nyanko-san?”

Niki looked up at Himeru helplessly, meowing frantically. <Himeru-kun! Tell her! It’s nothing like that! Me and Rinne-kun are nothing like that!>

Nyanko purred and stretched, her tail twitching. <Good luck, Niki-Nyan. Whatever you do, however it turns out, I’m wishing you find happiness~>

She turned around to get back in a comfy nap position. <But if you do end up getting your human body back, please come visit and give me some of your yummy cooking~>

With the bag of supplies and Niki on his shoulders, Himeru made his way over to Niki’s apartment. Kohaku stood outside the door, looking down at his phone.

My apartment…Rinne-kun never goes without me…

Kohaku looked up, eyes brightening. He ran over with his arms open. “Mochi-han!”

Niki jumped from Himeru’s shoulders into his arms, purring as Kohaku pet him.

“Is he here?” Himeru set the bag down, trying to look through the window.

Kohaku shook his head. He scratched Niki behind the ears, Niki swishing his tail in content. “No one’s answering the door and the lights are out. I think he’s out again.”

“Shall we wait?”

Kohaku sighed. “He probably isn’t reading anything we send him. What else can we do? He’s gotta come back eventually.”

They stand waiting outside the apartment, Niki running after a ball Kohaku tossed around for him to pass the time, while Himeru stood tapping away at something on his phone.

The sky is a bright orange, and the sun is starting to set into dusk, when finally, Rinne climbed up the stairs and approached the apartment. He froze, seeing the crowd waiting for him.

Rinne’s red hair was a tangled mess, no sign of any of his trademark headbands. He wore a large jacket and a hoodie. His face looked haggard, dark circles around his eyes. His eyes were bloodshot.

Niki flattened his ears, his heart sunken. They were right. He really wasn’t doing okay.

But why? Rinne-kun…

Is it really because of me?

Rinne squinted at them. “Yo. Why are you all here?”

Niki jumped out of Kohaku’s lap, meowing up at Rinne. <Rinne-kun, what happened to you?>

Rinne blinked down at him. “Is that the cat you guys picked up?”

“Yes, the one we found with Niki-han’s phone.”

Rinne’s eyes widened. He stared down at Niki, unmoving. Niki meowed up at him sadly.

Rinne-kun…

“Amagi. Have you been reading any of the messages in the group chat? We said we were coming by to drop it off.”

Rinne scowled down at Niki. Niki flattened his ears, making himself small against the floor. “I don’t have time for a cat. I have to continue searching-”

“Rinne-han. You need a break. You’ve been searching nonstop for weeks. When was the last time you even slept for more than three hours? Or ate anything that’s not just bread or cup ramen?” Kohaku picked Niki up, stroking him on the back. Niki felt slightly better, purring.

That still wasn’t enough of a distraction from the truth. His disappearance (and subsequent being turned into a cat) was the reason for Rinne’s awful state.

But to this level?

Niki’s heart ached.

“Doesn’t matter. The longer we take, the further he’ll get from us. I’ll search this entire damn country if that’s what it takes.” Rinne growled out.

Himeru shook his head. “Amagi, we’ve already reported it to the office. And we’ve already given it to the authorities. They are more equipped than just you. Let them do their job.”

Rinne laughed loudly, startling Niki, his fur on edge. “And? Why haven’t they found him? Even after we turned in the one lead we had, his phone? Why haven’t we had any further leads? They’re just useless and know nothing!” Rinne balled his fists up.

Niki meowed sadly, looking up at Kohaku, who was tensed up.

Kohaku sighed, looking down at Niki. “Rinne-han, stop beating yourself up over this. We…We all said some hurtful things to him. It’s not your fault. We just…we’ve already tried everything that we can. All we can do now is let the authorities take over.”

Rinne laughed loudly again, dripped in pain. “Is this it then? Have you guys given up? What happened to we’re all in this together? That we”ll find him no matter what? Huh? Kohaku-chan? Merumeru? Are we just going to give up on him and go on with everything? Huh?” Rinne grabbed his hair in fistfuls, tugging. “Is that all we’re supposed to do? Give up and just wait? Wait when we have no fucking idea if anything good will come out of it? That-”

“Amagi. Stop. You’re scaring Oukawa and Mochi-san.”

Niki didn’t realize, but Kohaku was squeezing him tighter and tighter, eyes watering.

“Oukawa and Himeru are working our asses off to keep our unit afloat with our activities, while working with the producer and the vice-president to keep this under wraps so it doesn’t get into the wrong hands. The least you could do, if you’re not going to help, is to take care of yourself. Shiina would want you to.”

Rinne was silent, no longer pulling his hair. He stared, no response given. Niki licked Kohaku’s hand, feeling his young friend slowly relax more.

“And if you won’t, at least take care of Oukawa’s cat, Mochi-san. It’s better than just wandering the city wasting time trying to find a literal needle in a hay stack with no information.”

“But-”

Kohaku finally spoke up, firmly. “We also can’t take care of him for a while anyways. If you actually read the group chat, you’d see that we have a program up in Hokkaido.”

Rinne scowled. “What about your roommates?”

“We are asking you, Amagi. If anything, and you still won’t listen to us, you can take him with you while you search. He’s a very mild-tempered cat. Surely a cat is fine enough company?”

Niki blinked as Kohaku held him out to Rinne. I guess it’s my turn now…

Niki looked up to see Rinne glaring at him. Niki tried to look his cutest, meowing cutely.

Rinne squinted at him.

Niki meowed again, opening his eyes wider, twitching his nose.

Rinne closed his eyes. “Fine,” he grumbled.

“Good, here’s the supplies and his food and other things. Oh, and we haven’t given him a bath this week. Good luck with that. See you later, Rinne-han. Please read the messages in the group chat.”

Niki is pushed into Rinne’s arms, and the other two are running off before Rinne can even respond. Niki looked up at Rinne, who was just staring at the supplies. He meowed.

“Those guys…” Rinne looked down at Niki. Niki meowed, tail twitching.

Rinne sighed, carefully balancing Niki in one hand while pulling out a key and unlocking the door. He let Niki hop down onto the wooden floorboards while he grabbed the supplies.

When the door finally shut and they’re both in the apartment, Rinne stood over Niki, scowling down at him. “Just so you know, I only took you in because you’re so cute.”

Niki sniffed. He meowed loudly. Does this count as a success?

Rinne put his hands on his hips. “I have more important things to do, Mochi-kun. You should be happy that I’m so nice and benevolent enough to take you in.”

Niki did his best to roll his eyes as a cat. He huffed, ear twitching.

Rinne didn’t move, still staring down at him. Niki stared back.

Rinne-kun?

“Niki wouldn’t like it if a dirty cat was brought into his apartment. Guess I should give you a bath. Ah, why’d they leave the hardest part to me?”

Niki’s fur instantly spiked up.

A part of him was touched that Rinne was thinking about how he would feel about this event but…also a part of him was very much averse to water and baths because he was, well, a cat at that moment.

Rinne grinned wolfishly. “So Mochi-Kyun. How do you wanna do this?”

Niki ran for his life. His paws thumped across the wooden floor as he tried to escape, not having the time to explore how his normal sized apartment looked while in the point of view of a small cat.

Rinne ran after him, diving to catch him. Niki was barely able to dodge him by a tail-length, ducking under the coffee table.

When Rinne tried to grab him from under the coffee table, Niki scrambled away, jumping up onto the lone futon laid out in the corner, one side unused.

Rinne tried to jump him there too, but Niki weaved around him, clambering up the side of the kitchen and running across the kitchen counter.

Now, if Niki was still in his normal human form, he’d be fainting at the sight of a dirty cat running across his kitchen counter.

However, he was that cat, and was currently prioritizing his life at the moment. No time to worry about how human him would react.

Rinne stumbled after him, eyes wild with exhilaration. “You- Get off the kitchen counter!”

Niki meowed loudly, before jumping down between Rinne’s legs as he tried to yank him off the counter. He quickly turned, squeezing himself under the stove. I should be safe here…

Niki sneezed, dust tickling his nose. Whew, when was the last time we cleaned under here? Niki watched Rinne reach his arm under and try to grab him. He scooted back more, avoiding the hand.

Eventually, Rinne gave up and pulled his hand back out. Niki watched from under the stove as Rinne walked over to the coffee table and sat down, setting up the cat supplies like the bowls, the bed, and the litterbox.

Did he give up?

Niki stayed hidden there for a little while longer, until his stomach started to growl. He couldn’t see Rinne anymore from his spot under the stove, maybe he was safe?

Niki slowly inched forward, squeezing himself out from under the stove. He shook himself, shaking the dust off of his fur.

Niki twitched his nose, the combined smell of alcohol and the smoky smell of a pachinko parlor still lingering. He couldn’t see Rinne, but he could still smell him. So where did he go?

Niki was suddenly yanked up by his scruff, his legs dangling in the air. Rinne grinned at him.

Crap! He was hiding in my blind spot!

“Gotcha~ No one can hide without getting hungry. You’d be surprised how well I know this~” Rinne laughed at Niki, swinging from his hold.

Niki tried to meow as pitifully as possible, anything to avoid his fate of the dreaded bath.

Unfortunately, Rinne was a stone-cold man with no heart, who laughed at this poor, poor cat’s struggles. “You aren’t getting out of this, Mochi-Kyun~”

Niki thrashed around to no avail, meowing in distress as the cruel cruel man carried him to the bathroom. The door was shut and locked, and Niki was trapped in there to face his fate.

Niki yowled, scratching at the door as Rinne filled the tub. No no no no no no no no no no.

He barely was able to survive the baths the other two gave him. And now it was Rinne who was giving him one, the same Rinne that was definitely not going to let him escape as easily as the others.

“Mochi~Kyun~ Bath time~” Rinne walked over, sleeves rolled back. Niki hissed, struggling as he was lifted up.

In panic, he unsheathed his claws, scratching Rinne. “Ouch-!?” Tiny trickles of blood beaded up.

Niki froze, feeling guilty. He didn’t mean to hurt Rinne…Niki sheathed his claws and licked Rinne’s hand in apology.

His apology and guilt was met with him being promptly dumped into the tub, screeching and slipping on the sides of the tub as Rinne gleefully watched him.

Betrayal! Betrayal of the worst kind! As soon as I start to feel sorry even a little bit you do this to me!!

Niki yowled and screeched the entire time as he was doused in water, soaped up, and then rinsed off. Rinne paid no mind to his distress, whistling a song while he held Niki still, Niki still yowling and screeching like he was drowning or something (when the water really only reached up to the middle of his legs, but honestly, Niki felt like being a brat at that moment).

Niki’s struggling gets water splashed everywhere to the point of the bathroom floor being covered in puddles, and Rinne himself getting soaked.

One agonizing bath later resulted in: one puffed up cat who was secretly a human (Niki) angrily sitting while being towel dried by one human soaked in water (Rinne).

Rinne laughed, tossing the towel away. “You’re so cute~ I can see why Kohaku-chan and Merumeru like you now.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket, taking a picture of Niki.

“I gotta send this to Niki, he’d love-” Rinne froze, lowering his phone. His smile was gone, only a tired and empty look left.

Niki’s heart felt like it was being stabbed. He bounded over to Rinne, gently butting his head against him. He meowed. <Rinne-kun…don’t be sad…I’m right here…>

Rinne pet him gently, sighing . “Well, since you got me soaked I guess I’d better take one too.” He pulled his hoodie off, moving to take his shirt off.

Niki’s eyes widened. He’s going to take one with me in here?! Oh no no no no you do not do Not take one with me in here. Niki ran to the closed door, clawing at it.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I should let you out. Okay Mochi~Kyun, now don’t make a mess. Uncle Rinne-kun’s gonna shower up and then we’ll get to work!” Rinne opened the door, his teasing tone not hiding how tired he was.

Niki ran out, and the door shut. He flicked his tail, staring at the door and listening to the sound of the water running.

He already gave up trying to show the others but…maybe he could find some way to tell Rinne he was there? Heck, he was in his apartment, what better way to prove he was there, just stuck in the body of a cat?

Niki looked around the room. His eyes landed on his dresser. Maybe if I get into my clothes he’ll put two and two together?

Niki carefully climbed up the side, standing on top. He pawed at the top drawer, eventually managing to nudge it open to reveal a drawer full of his shirts. He twitched his tail, staring down at it.

Bingo~

Niki jumped down into the drawer, failing to realize that though he was a small cat, even a small weight on an open drawer, with enough pressure, can tilt and send a whole dresser falling over.

And that is exactly what happened, the entire dresser tipping over and crashing to the ground, Niki yelping as he was buried in a pile of clothes.

Niki thrashed around, trying to escape the tangle of clothes. He managed to squeeze his head out, gasping for air. The rest of him was still stuck, unfortunately, shirts and sleeves tangled up around him.

Niki struggled long enough for the bathroom door to open, steam exiting. Rinne walked out with a towel on his shoulders, hair dripping. He froze, staring at the mess Niki left.

Niki meowed pitifully, trying to wiggle free from his favorite shirt with an egg graphic on it.

“Mochi-kun! I told you not to make a mess!” Rinne groaned, walking over. He pulled the shirts off of Niki, unhooking where his claws were stuck to some.

Niki meowed loudly. <Rinne-kun it’s me!! Rinne-kun!>

It didn’t work, and he was tossed unceremoniously onto the futon. Niki twitched his ear in frustration, sitting and watching Rinne clean up.

Rinne pulled the drawer up, and folded all the clothes that fell out. He put them all back neatly.

It was something Niki never expected, from Rinne of all people. The guy that never respected his stuff? That always tossed his stuff around? Niki twitched his ear.

Rinne turned towards him, jabbing a finger at Niki. “He’d hate it if you messed with his things like that. If you’re staying with me, I’m asking that you don’t touch Niki’s stuff at all. Got it? Or else it’s to the streets you go, I don’t care what Kohaku-chan and Merumeru will say.”

Niki huffed, tail swishing. Well it’s my stuff in the first place!

Rinne sighed, scratching his cheek. “Though maybe it’s because you’re hungry. Did they feed you yet?”

Niki meowed loudly.

“Is that a no? Alright, guess I should feed you.” Rinne pulled out the cat food, staring at the bag. Niki jumped down from the futon and ran over to him.

Rinne frowned. “This stuff looks gross, no wonder you tried to run away from Kohaku-chan. Do you want something else?”

Niki blinked up at him. He meowed in agreement, mouth watering. He followed Rinne to the fridge, watching as Rinne looked through it and the freezer.

The fridge was mostly empty, obviously because the owner who usually stocked it was…well, busy, to say the least. But why didn’t Rinne restock it, if he was staying at the apartment that whole time?

“Sorry, not much left here…Oh, here’s something.” Rinne pulled out a frozen steak.

Niki watched in total…awe? Confusion? Bewilderment? As Rinne proceeded to season, grill, and plate an entire steak for a cat (that was him).

Was he being way too kind or was he just being plain stupid? Niki made a mental note never to leave Rinne unsupervised with any pets.

“Well dig in~ Uncle Rinne-kun’s homemade steak specially made for Mochi~Kyun.”

Niki shook all his thoughts away, focusing on the steak in front of him. It smelled really good, the grilled aroma tickling his nose. He dug in, tearing through the steak.

Rinne watched, yawning. “Wow, you sure can eat a lot. Hahaha, was Merumeru starving you? Putting his Merumeru diet on you?”

No, in fact it was Kohaku who put him on the awful diet food, but Niki was too busy scarfing down the steak to try to respond.

Niki’s halfway done with the steak when he realized several things. Kohaku mentioned him not eating much…further supported by the empty sink save for the things Rinne just used to cook the steak. Besides some empty ramen cups…there wasn’t any other sign of Rinne eating anything.

The empty fridge, how tired he looked. Everything added up. He was probably even eating less than Kohaku and Himeru suspected.

Niki looked up at him with big, cute eyes. He meowed, nudging the plate forward at Rinne.

Rinne blinked. “What’s wrong? Don’t like it?”

Niki meowed again, flicking his ear.

“Sorry if it’s not the best, I’m nowhere as good as Niki…” Rinne mumbled.

Niki growled, nosing the plate closer to him. <Rinne-kun, eat.>

Rinne stared at him, confused. “Huh? What is it, Mochi-kun?”

Niki lashed his tail, stubbornly not giving up. He pushed the plate further.

Rinne stared, before he started to laugh slowly. He reached over and petted Niki. “Are you trying to share with me?”

Niki purred, meowing.

Rinne smiled, shaking his head. “It’s fine, Mochi-kun. I’m not hungry,” he said softly, eyes glazed over.

Niki growled again, turning and gently biting Rinne’s hand. He pulled it towards the leftover steak. You idiot, you better eat!

“No, really. It’s okay-”

Niki dropped Rinne’s hand, hissing.

“Ah, you’re really just like Kohaku-chan and Merumeru. I don’t need food, I just need to find Niki.” Rinne mumbled, looking away.

Niki’s heart ached painfully. He growled, tail lashing in frustration. I know I’m missing as far as you know…I didn’t know you’d be this crushed about it…But that doesn’t mean you should stop living for yourself.

Rinne slowly sat up, looking back down at Niki. “Everyone says that I should eat, that I should take better care of myself because that’s what Niki would want me to do. Are you saying that too, Mochi-kun?”

Niki meowed loudly, bouncing up and down. And they’re right! That’s what Niki wants you to do!! That’s what I want you to do!

Rinne smiled. “You’re a nice guy, Mochi-kyun. No wonder they left you with me.”

Rinne got up, returning with a fork, a knife, and another plate. He cut part of the steak off, passing that plate to Niki. “Here, you can finish the parts you already touched.”

They sit in silence, a cat (who was actually a human) and a human, sitting at a table and sharing a steak.

With the steak finished and the dishes washed, Niki weaved around Rinne’s legs as he grabbed his jacket, pulling it back on. “Okay Mochi~kyun, Uncle Rinne-kun really needs you to not make a mess, okay? I’ll be back…Um…maybe in a few hours.”

Niki clung to his leg, chewing on it. Nope! You’re not leaving without me!

Rinne tried to shake him off, and Niki dug his claws in, unmovable.

Rinne sighed. “Really? You want to come with me?”

Niki meowed, not releasing his grip.

“Fine, but hang on tight. If you start complaining I’m not going to stop and bring you home, you gotta sit through all of it.”

Niki huffed, unhooking his claws. Rinne leaned down and picked him up. Niki hopped up onto his shoulders, meowing.

Rinne laughed. “And this better not all be a ploy to run away. You wouldn’t want to make Kohaku-chan sad, would you? He’d be devastated if I lost you.”

Niki meowed, rubbing himself against Rinne. Wow, says the guy that was just threatening to leave me out on the streets an hour ago.

Riding Rinne’s shoulders, Niki watched as he walked through the city, ducking through side alleys, looking through trash, opening dumpsters, looking under bushes.

Niki stayed quiet, holding on, his nose twitching. He’s looking in these kinds of places… That’s not what you do when looking for someone…Someone alive…

Niki’s heart ached. Did Rinne lose hope on ever finding him…alive? Surely not…Surely that stubborn man was just looking to find a passed out and hungry Niki.

Niki could see every time Rinne checked somewhere, he would tense up, as if bracing himself, and then sigh in relief when he found nothing. Maybe it was better that he found nothing?

Niki could only purr, rubbing himself up against Rinne to try to comfort him in any way.

Another two weeks go by where Niki is still stuck as a cat.

While he doesn’t have anyone else he can really talk to, like how he had Nyanko to talk to in Himeru’s dorm, he’s not totally bored out of his mind.

Niki spent most of his time keeping an eye on Rinne. Cuddling up to him when he was taking a break, trying to distract him whenever he could tell Rinne was starting to think about Niki (human).

Niki’s attempts at sending a message about himself being stuck in the body of a cat didn’t stop, but unfortunately for him Rinne somehow missed every sign he tried to send.

When Niki tried biting his apron and running around with it, Rinne grabbed it and left it up high where Niki couldn’t reach.

When he tried typing out a cry for help on a laptop that was left out, he was foiled by his paws not having fingers and kept hitting keys he didn’t want to hit. It resulted in a jumbled mess of a message that made no sense whatsoever.

When Niki tried to nose his way into a drawer where he stored his extra hair ties, Rinne only cheekily tied some of his fur and took a picture of it.

Niki can tell, though, that his presence alone was enough to make Rinne…actually take care of himself. With a cat to feed and nothing much in the fridge, Rinne even restocked the fridge, much to Niki’s surprise (although it was mostly simple things like ingredients for…more steaks, hamburg, omurice, and other things he remembers teaching Rinne how to cook).

And yeah. He cooked those things. For the cat.

Niki wondered why he never did this for him when he was a human. Did this guy just really like cats?

As with the steak, Niki would always yowl and meow and not shut up until Rinne sat down and ate with him, slowly regaining his figure and not looking as tired anymore.

Niki’s also pleasantly surprised that alcohol is for once not bought, Rinne staying sober the entire time.

The wonders having a pet could do to a person…It made Niki wonder if he should actually get a pet for Rinne whenever he was able to get his body back.

Whenever…He’s been losing hope slowly bit-by-bit as the weeks passed by, but Niki still strongly believed he’ll find the key to breaking his curse. He could only hope and pray at that point.

Niki did attempt…what Nyanko suggested, the best he could in his state. A lick on Rinne’s face, Rinne laughing and touching their noses together in return.

True love’s kiss wasn’t the answer-and hold on, it wasn’t true love to begin with! As he told Nyanko! So it made sense that it didn’t work, if that really was the answer!

And Niki was once again, stuck with no idea what to do but live his life as a spoiled house cat, comforting and accompanying Rinne wherever he went. Even if that meant being out on the streets with him with the moon high in the sky, out searching past midnight.

Whenever they were out that late, Rinne would tuck Niki into his hoodie, letting Niki sleep while he continued to search.

Niki was able to help with getting him to eat, but the man still refused to sleep, his already short naps growing shorter and shorter.

They’re seated at the table with plates of curry, one small one for Niki and one normal-sized one for Rinne, when Rinne’s phone rings.

Niki watched as Rinne picked it up. “Hello~?”

Niki padded over, straining his ears to try to pick up the other voice on the line. “Rinne-han.” He could barely make out Kohaku’s voice.

Rinne made a face. “Kohaku-chan~ I take it you and Merumeru are back? Welcome back~ You didn’t forget souvenirs for me, right?”

“Rinne-han, do you want me to come take Mochi-han back from you?”

Rinne lowered the phone slightly. “Mochi-kyun, Kohaku-chan and Merumeru are done with their program. Do you wanna go back with them?”

Niki could tell Rinne wanted him to stay. He lowered his ears, trying to show his best disagreement.

“Hahaha, I thought so~ Isn’t Uncle Rinne-kun the best? Only here you get to have the best food!” Rinne lifted the phone back up. “Sorry, was asking Mochi-kun if he wanted to. He wants to stay with me, sorry Kohaku-chan~”

“...Oh. Okay, that’s fine. By the way, are you still not doing any work?”

Rinne scowled. “That’s not important.”

“Like what you’re doing is helping? Have you found anything at all?”
Rinne stayed silent, his fist balled up. Niki meowed, butting his head against him.

“Rinne-han?”

Niki meowed, nudging Rinne. Rinne relaxed his hand, petting Niki. “What? Are you just calling me to try to make me change my mind, Kohaku-chan? Well it won’t work.”

“Well-”

“So is there anything else you need from me, Kohaku-chan? If you just wanna see Mochi-kun you’ll have to come here. I’m not going anywhere near the office.”

“Rinne-han! If you’ll just let me talk for a second, this would go easier. Your brother’s asking about you.”

Niki watched Rinne tense up instantly again, his face unreadable. “Yeah? And?”

“You aren’t answering his messages or his calls. Why’d you answer mine?”

“Because I have your cat. Duh. I’m not that heartless.” Rinne muttered.

“And yet you’re avoiding all of your own family’s attempts to check on you? Isn’t that more heartless, Rinne-han?”

Niki rubbed his face against Rinne’s hand, trying to snap him out of it. Rinne closed his eyes. “It’s fine. He’s used to me going no-contact. He should be focusing on his work instead of his stupid Onii-san.”

“...About that…”

There was a knock on the front door, and the doorbell rang. And again. And again.

“I gave him the address. Sorry Rinne-han, you’re not running from this. Tell Mochi-han I’ll be there to visit.”

The call ended, the doorbell still ringing. Rinne groaned. “Isn’t this a breach of privacy? Kohaku-chan, you leaked our private address?”

The doorbell rang again, more knocking. Rinne looked down at Niki. “Mochi-kun, what do I do? Do I open the door? Or will he go away eventually if I pretend to not be home. Maybe he’ll think Kohaku-chan gave him the wrong address and give up.”

Niki twitched his tail in annoyance. Nuh uh. You’re going to face your brother whether you like it or not. I thought you were working on that! Don’t let me disappearing off the face of the earth ruin that!

Niki jumped off the table, running over to the front door. He jumped up, batting at the handle.

“...You too?” Rinne mumbled, slowly walking over.

Niki meowed loudly, sitting and staring up at the handle.

Rinne sighed, walking over. He opened the door.

“Hello- Nii-san!” Hiiro stood there, a bag in hand.

“Yes, yes. Hello. It’s Nii-san. What do you want?” Rinne stuffed his hands into his pockets.

“I brought you stuff from the Kansai region! And Shiina-san but…” Hiiro’s head dropped.

Rinne sighed, pushing the door open further and walking in. “Come in, let’s talk.”

Hiiro’s head shot up, eyes sparkling. “Okay!”

Niki meowed up at Hiiro as he pulled his shoes off. Hiiro smiled brightly, petting Niki on the head. “Hi! You’re looking better, Aira will be thrilled! Has Nii-san been taking care of you?”

Niki meowed, purring.

“So, what is it?” Rinne asked once Hiiro was settled at the table, looking in awe at the small cat-sized plate of curry.

“Oh well…you haven’t been checking your messages or answering any calls. I was worried!” Hiiro pet Niki roughly, Niki scrunching his face.

Rinne looked away from him. “Oh. Um. Broke it. Sorry. Haven’t had the time to get it looked at.” Niki twitched his ear in annoyance. That liar.

Hiiro shook his head. “It’s okay Nii-san, it happens. I heard some stuff from Kohaku-san…No luck on Shiina-san?”

Rinne didn’t say anything, still avoiding his gaze.

“Oh…But it’s nearly been a month…Should we ask Dad and the others for help? I don’t know how…but we do have some of the best trackers-”

“For someone that’s been missing for weeks? Thanks, but they’re going to be more useless than anyone that’s looking right now.” Rinne spat, glaring.

“Oh…Well I can help if-”

“No, you just focus on your work. You’ve got several big jobs coming up, right? Don’t worry yourself with me.”

Hiiro frowned. “But how can I? You’re my brother, of course I’m going to worry about you Nii-san.”

“Just don’t. I can handle it by myself.”

Hiiro challenged him firmly, “And what if I said that I want to help not only because I’m worried about you, but I also miss Shiina-san? You’re not the only one that wants him to be found, Nii-san. Both me and Hinata-kun, Kohaku-san and Himeru-san, and even more!”

“Then why isn’t anyone doing anything?” Rinne yelled, angrily.

Niki looked back and forth between them, uneasy as they argued. He meowed.

Hiiro didn’t falter. “Nii-san, I think you’re the one that isn’t doing anything.”

Rinne’s eyes widened.

“You keep busying yourself with searching on no leads, with no help. In fact, you refuse any help. Shiina-san isn’t a guy who wants you to ruin yourself like this over him.”

Niki flicked his ear. Otouto-kun is right. Rinne-kun…

“He’d want you to keep on living. Just because people aren’t actively doing anything, doesn’t mean we’re doing nothing at all. Kohaku-san said he asked his family for help. Himeru-san’s been talking with Ibanyan and they’ve been working together. I even heard that Kanata-senpai asked his followers for help, and even when Hiyori-senpai walks his dog with Sazanami-senpai, they keep an eye out.”

Rinne didn’t say anything, staring at Hiiro.

“Everyone is still doing something, but at the same time, everyone is still living.”

Hiiro smiled. “Because that’s what Shiina-san would want, right?”

Rinne still didn’t say anything, his eyes betraying nothing.

Hiiro stood up from his seat, petting Niki one more time. “I’ve gotta run back for practice with Alkaloid. Please check your messages, Nii-san. And Mochi-san! It was so nice to see you again. I hope Nii-san is treating you well.” Hiiro bowed, and exited the apartment.

Rinne sat there in silence, his face covered with his hands. Niki meowed, rubbing himself against him. Rinne-kun…Otouto-kun’s right. Please…stop obsessively trying to find any sign of me…

Niki meowed again, pawing at Rinne. Rinne lifted his head, painfully smiling. “Sorry you had to hear all that, Mochi-Kyun. Kind of ruined your appetite, huh?”

Niki meowed, licking his hand.

“Haha. Me too.” Rinne slowly pushed his chair back, standing up. “Well? We’ve got…work to do…” He held his arm out.

Niki flicked his ear, crawling up the arm and perching on Rinne’s shoulders. Are you really still going to search after that…

Niki watched as Rinne searched an area nearby the apartment, his movement sluggish and slower than usual. Only an hour has passed before they’re suddenly caught in a summer storm, a downpour coming out of nowhere.

Rinne didn’t have the foresight to check the weather or wear a jacket, so he grabbed Niki and stuffed him down his shirt. He ran back to the apartment as fast as he could.

As soon as they’re back through that door, a puddle of water pooling underneath Rinne’s feet, Rinne drops to his knees. He stares at the floor, not making any attempt to move.

Niki wiggled out of his shirt, meowing up at Rinne. Rinne didn’t look at him, still staring at the floor.

Niki shook himself, water flying everywhere. He ran over to where he kept towels, jumping up and grabbing the corner of one with his mouth. He tugged, dragging it over to Rinne.

Rinne still didn’t move, barely registering Niki.

Niki meowed loudly, pawing at Rinne. He held the towel up in his mouth.

Rinne finally moved, slowly grabbing the towel. He grabbed Niki, first drying him until his fur was fluffy and puffed out. He then slowly dried himself, wiping his hair.

When they were all dried, he dropped the towel on the puddle, carrying Niki over to the couch. He sat down, Niki in his lap.

Niki meowed, purring against Rinne’s hand. He walked a circle, before stretching himself out on Rinne’s lap.

Rinne laughed slowly, pain unhidden. He ran a hand slowly through Niki’s fur, combing it with his fingers. “You know, you really are just like Niki. You’re always eating so much, always trying to get others to eat…Haha, even your fur is the same color as his hair. And your eyes. Maybe we should’ve called you Niki Junior.”

Niki purred, closing his eyes in content.

Rinne continued, his voice starting to break. “If I told him you looked like him though, he’d be all cute and deny it like ‘no I do not look like that cat!’”

Niki felt something wet hitting him. He looked up to see Rinne shaking, tears falling.

Rinne finally, finally breaks down, tears flooding out as sobs wracked his body. “Mochi, I miss Niki. What if he’s gone for good?”

“We haven’t found any signs of him at all for so long, it’s like he’s vanished completely. We’ve been searching for him for weeks, even with the authorities…” Rinne hiccuped, his face a mess of tears and mucus.

“Not even a body has been recovered, can you believe it? We should be happy about that… and yet…it’s still nothing…” Rinne laughed painfully between sobs, hugging Niki to his chest. Niki meowed, purring, trying to do anything to comfort him.

“What do we do, Mochi? Do we go public with it? We’ve kept it private because we’re idols and should keep things like this private…but with media coverage we’d have more help…” Rinne choked out. “No, they’ll just make a spectacle of it for headlines. They won’t care about him at all.”

Niki reached up, trying to lick the tears trailing down Rinne’s jaw.

Rinne sobbed, hugging him tight. “Mochi, what am I going to do? I said I’d make him happy and full…That I’d never let him go hungry again…” Rinne sniffed, coughing.

“But look at me- All I’m doing is looking for someone with no traces left anywhere.” Rinne took in a deep breath, squeezing Niki.

Niki continued his purring, his licking, anything.

Rinne’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Did he hate it? Did he hate it all that much? Did he run away because he couldn’t take it anymore?”

Niki licked, and licked, and licked. No Rinne-kun…No…That’s not true…

“Mochi, the day he ran off, he made us our favorites. All three of us. And we didn’t even notice because we were so distracted by all the work…” Rinne sobbed, his entire body shaking.

Rinne-kun…

Niki’s heart was broken, shattered beyond repair. Why was he stuck like this? What cruel joke was all of this, making him experience this?

He hated it, he hated it, he hated it.

“We all ignored him…I ignored him for our work. He stepped out at some point and didn’t come back…Mochi, did he really fall into a ditch and starve?” Rinne laughed through sobs, painfully.

“I said a really awful thing, Mochi. I should know better than anyone else that his condition comes before everything, I’ve lived with it for so long! Why did I do that?! Why did I tell him to shut up, why did I not listen to him?!”

Niki didn’t stop licking, purring the loudest he could.

“It was so small, but who knows what happened to him. He could be going through awful horrible things, and it’s all my fault Mochi…” Rinne hiccuped, his sobs echoing throughout the apartment.

“I’m never going to get to say sorry…At this point, I’ll never see him again..Mochi…Mochi, I’m such a fucking stupid BASTARD!” Rinne sobbed loudly, all of his emotions pooling out, finally breaking free.

Niki didn’t stop, still trying to comfort him. He rubbed himself up against Rinne, meowing. <Rinne-kun….It’s okay…I’m right here, I’m okay…I’m just a cat…>

His words of comfort didn’t work, him only being able to meow.

Rinne sobbed, his tremors steadily slowing. “Mochi, I loved him…No, I still love him. Even if he’s gone, I’ll still love him. He was my savior, and I promised to make him happy.”

Niki purred, going back to licking tears off of his face. Rinne-kun…

Slowly, Rinne’s sobs quieted down to a sniffle, exhaustion finally taking over. His eyes fluttered, sleep taking over. “I’m so stupid Mochi…I’m a good for nothing bastard…” Rinne mumbled softly, his tears reduced to small trickles.

Niki purred and continued to lick, until finally, Rinne closed his eyes, softly breathing as he fell asleep.

Niki wiggled out of Rinne’s hold, grabbing the corner of a blanket with his mouth. With some work, he’s able to awkwardly pull it over Rinne.

Niki jumped down, walking towards the front door.

He can’t do this anymore. He really can’t.

He’ll beg anything, pray to anything, hell, even sign a deal with a devil if it meant he could go back to normal.

Niki felt a chill up his spine, an invisible force beckoning him outside. He twitched his ear in annoyance. Of course the magic waited until everything was awful.

Niki paced around, before launching himself up, managing to push the door handle down. It was still unlocked from when they entered earlier, Rinne not bothering to lock it.

The door swung open from the force, just wide enough for Niki to squeeze out.

He could still hear the downpour, and smell the rain, but he knew he had to follow that force before he lost it.

Niki took one last look at Rinne, fast asleep on the couch. I’m sorry Rinne-kun. I’ll fix this.

Niki slipped out, running off into the rain.

He doesn’t know where he’s running to, just following that invisible force pulling him along a thread. He runs down streets, across crosswalks, through parks, his paws ached, his legs were sore, his fur was soaked, but he kept running.

He doesn’t know how long or how far he’s ran, but as he turned a corner, he spotted bright blue eyes watching him.

The cat from so long ago, the one that he turned into.

The cat turned around, running off.

<You…Turn me back! Please!> Niki yowled, chasing after it.

Niki’s so focused on chasing the cat, that he doesn’t notice where it ran off to.

And doesn’t see the car coming straight at him.

And all he saw in those last few seconds was bright blue eyes, watching him.

Niki felt a force slam against his ribs, his entire world going black.

Niki ached everywhere. He also felt…mutiple rough textures against him? Weird…

Niki slowly opened his eyes, to find himself face-to-face with a small orange cat. It licked his face, then jumped off of him.

Niki blinked his eyes, trying to clear up his blurry vision.

He was in…an alleyway? And was surrounded by a bunch of cats…that explained the rough textures, they were licking his skin.

Hold on. Skin?

Niki slowly sat up, and the cats scattered, jumping into garbage bins and ducking into cracks. He stared down at himself.

No way.

As far as he could tell, he was human again. He wore the same thing he wore that day so long ago, and didn’t have a tail, nor whiskers. He was human.

He was human!

He could cry- No. He had more important things to do.

Niki painfully pushed himself up to his feet, everything still hurting. It really did feel like he was hit by a car.

But no matter how much pain he was in, he knew he had to move. No matter how his head was spinning, nor how dark spots were dancing in his vision.

He had to get home.

Rinne was waiting.

Rinne-kun…

Niki’s barely able to make it out of the alley, only to collapse on the street.

He can hear muffled voices and yells of people calling for help, before everything went dark again.

Niki slowly opened his eyes to find a white ceiling, the sharp smell of antiseptic and disinfectants. He’s always hated hospitals.

Tubes were attached to him, pumping something into him. A heart rate monitor beeped steadily next to him.

How long was I out…?

Niki looked to one side, seeing flowers on a table and several cards. A box of snacks. A teddy bear.

Niki blinked, feeling something in his hand. He looked to his other side slowly.

Rinne sat in a chair pulled up next to Niki’s bed, asleep. One of his hands was tightly holding Niki’s.

Niki tried to move, but everything ached. He mustered all his strength to squeeze Rinne’s hand back.

Rinne stirred, slowly lifting his head. He froze, eyes wide.

Niki gave him a tired smile. He opened his mouth, his voice barely coming out. Maybe being a cat for so long left his actual body in some sort of limbo?

“R..inne..kun…” He rasped out.

Tears welled up in Rinne’s eyes. He carefully helped Niki sit up, Niki wincing in pain. “Niki…”

“R…Rinne…Kun…” Niki choked out, tears pooling in his own eyes. “I’m…Sorry…”

The dam broke, Rinne pulling Niki carefully into a hug, squeezing a little too tight for comfort but that didn’t matter. He started bawling, hiccuping, sobbing.

“I’m sorry Niki, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry-” Rinne sobbed, mumbling out apology after apology.

Rinne-kun…don’t apologize…

Niki couldn’t do anything but also silently cry, his entire body shaking as he was held tight.

I’m back…

They cried for thirty straight minutes when the door opened, Kohaku and Himeru freezing at the entrance with convenience store bags in their hands. The bags promptly fall to the floor as the two of them join the huddle, also sobbing.

Kohaku wailed, fists balled up as he held Niki’s hospital gown tight. Himeru couldn’t hide the tears that flooded out, some of his makeup running. And of course Rinne cried the hardest, their loud leader, a mess of tears and snot.

I’m home, everyone…

Niki smiled through his silent tears, surrounded by the people he loved.

When Niki collapsed on the road, a friendly passerby quickly called for help and he was rushed to the hospital. There, authorities were able to confirm his identity and transfer him to the special ES-run hospital for privacy.

Niki was out for three whole days, Rinne and the other two running over as soon as they received a call from the producer when Niki was transferred.

All three of them had stayed there the whole time, Himeru and Kohaku taking two chairs on the other side of the room while Rinne pulled one up next to Niki.

The flowers and other things were all gifts dropped off by other idols and producers, and other ES-affiliated people that were privy to Niki’s disappearance.

Niki is held at the hospital for another two weeks, his energy and strength slowly returning to his body. The doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him, simply leaving it to signs of a small coma.

Was he really in a coma? Niki felt like it wasn’t as simple as that.

Throughout his entire stay at the hospital, Rinne refused to leave. In fact, he clung to Niki like his life depended on it, like if he ever let go, Niki would disappear again.

While his strength returned, Niki’s voice took longer. He opted to communicate with a notepad, writing down what he wanted to say.

Strangely, he didn’t need it with Rinne. Rinne somehow knew everything he wanted to say, just by his expression. Just crazy things that happen because you’ve lived with someone for so long, Niki supposed.

Niki gets visited by many people while he’s stuck in the hospital. All of Alkaloid drops by with a bunch of cookies for him, Hiiro visits again with the twins, his Circle friends, the people he talks with in the halls, even his co-workers at Cinnamon and his manager.

Hiiro visited often by himself, too. Talking with Rinne, talking with Niki, giving them treats he snuck in, telling them how his day was going.

It made Niki laugh, seeing how embarrassed Rinne was by the constant affection.

Niki also gets visited by a detective, some official-looking people, and a therapist. They questioned him about his disappearance, trying to figure out what happened and if there was a case to clear up.

Unfortunately, Niki had no idea how to explain it. And he didn’t know how ‘I got hit by a car and turned into a cat’ would be taken, so he always answered vaguely or that he didn’t know or couldn’t remember.

Eventually, they gave up and concluded he had amnesia and/or went through something so traumatic he erased that entire month from his memory.

Niki didn’t like how distraught Rinne looked from that conclusion, and wanted so badly to explain how everything actually was…but…well…it was too far-fetched.

On the public side of things, Ibara and Himeru took care of everything. With Rinne basically out of commission, Himeru was the one looking for jobs for him and Kohaku, big enough to attract all the attention of their fans onto them. With that, and a dropped statement in a stream that Niki was on an impulsive trip abroad for ingredients (as he has done several times), and Rinne was working under an NDA on a secret project, they were easily able to throw the public off of realizing that anything was wrong.

Niki was surprised to see that the live that they were planning so long ago was still on their list, just postponed. They couldn’t have a live with one bee missing, after all.

When Niki was finally discharged, he opted to stay at his apartment while his voice recovered. He laughed to himself on seeing the poorly-hidden claw marks in the bathroom door.

The most ironic thing, to Niki, is that he ends up helping the other bees post up lost cat posters all around his neighborhood. Haha, they really did get attached to little Mochi~

It honestly was funny to Niki, seeing how crushed his unitmates were. Not that he could say anything, there’s no way they’d believe him, and they’d think he’s playing a cruel joke.

He knows when to read the room!

Niki followed them as they checked various shelters and alleys, already knowing they’d have no luck.

Niki swiped through recipes on his phone, making notes with his finger. He scribbled down an adjustment to one.

“Niki~~~”

Niki saved the edited recipe, moving it to another folder.

“Niki~~~”

Niki sighed, reaching to put his phone on the nightstand. He looked down at the red mass that held him tight, fluffy hair tickling Niki’s neck.

“What, Rinne-kun.”

Rinne lifted his head up, eyes lighting up. His face was bright, no dark circles under his eyes. “You weren’t paying attention to me~ Give your beloved Rinne-kun attention right now!”

Niki laughed, ruffling his hair. “Okay. You have my full attention.”

Rinne grinned, pushing himself up and leaving ticklish kisses all over Niki’s face, Niki giggling.

Oh yeah, those started. The kisses.

They started with Niki suddenly grabbing a quiet Rinne who clung to him as if not wanting to let go of him. Niki doesn’t know what made him do it, he just felt like doing it. So he kissed him.

So what of kisses were only for after marriage? Well, let’s just say, if the person you loved suddenly disappeared for a month with no words, you’d want to cherish every single moment you have back with them and can’t wait any longer.

That’s what Niki thinks is the reason Rinne doesn’t fight it anymore, anyways.

And Niki in general has been accepting affection more, seeing it truly as it is. He’s seen Rinne at his worst, he knows truly how deep that love went.

And maybe one day he would respond in full to a proposal. He’s always had a feeling they’ve had a relationship that went beyond a legal document and official recognition.

Niki doesn’t need that to know that he wants to be there, able to cook delicious food for Rinne no matter what life throws at them, how things change.

And maybe the other two, too. He wouldn’t mind having them in that future, a weird little dysfunctional family that called itself a hive.

Another thing that Niki’s noticed after returning was that…all three have been nicer to him? They’ve been offering to help him cook more, and appreciative of his cooking more.

And Niki…He himself has been making an effort to participate more in their work talk, asking them for help and relying on them more when he needed it.

Healing goes two ways, and they all made mistakes.

Niki was even surprised one day after a long shift at the cafe by all three of them cooking for him for once. He couldn’t help the tears that flowed out while he ate, even if it was burnt and tasted like crap. They tried their best for him, and that’s what really mattered.

Niki looked at Rinne, who returned to cuddling and nuzzling him. His mind wandered back to that Rinne from a while ago, who was so depressed, so hopeless, eyebags and losing weight as he searched so desperately for Niki.

Niki smiled, burying himself into Rinne’s hold, nuzzling him back. Rinne squeezed him, smiling.

“What’s up?”

“Just thinking. You never told me anything about that cat you guys were looking for a while back.”

Rinne’s face fell. Niki squeezed him back, waiting.

“That was Mochi-kun, a little guy Kohaku-chan found next to your broken phone-” Rinne paused, his voice quieting as if he didn’t know whether he should bring it up or not.

“Ah. My phone…I don’t know how it got there, or what my phone has to do with that…but why don’t you tell me about the cat?”

Rinne buried his face into Niki’s chest, mumbling. “He really was like you, haha. A small thing that could eat so much. His fur was gray like your hair too. And kinda long, with the same silkiness."

Niki laughed softly. Oh if only you knew.

Niki carded his hands through Rinne’s hair gently. “Are you comparing me to a cat?”

“He really was like you, Niki~kyun~! Even the eyes…it’s like if you were turned into a cat!”

Niki laughed at the irony of how on the mark Rinne was. “Well? Tell me more.”

“He got a little lonely in Kohaku-chan’s dorm, so Merumeru took him in. And then those two hoisted him onto me. And I…well honestly, I didn’t want him at first. But those two were so stubborn.”

Niki smiled, nodding.”And you got attached?”

Rinne buried his face again, squeezing Niki. “Mmhm.”

Niki smiled sadly, stroking his hair. I’m sorry, Rinne-kun. I’m sorry I let you suffer for that long. You, Himeru-kun, Kohaku-chan. All of you.

I’m sorry I even wavered, that I even considered being okay with staying as a cat forever.

Rinne took a deep breath, lifting his head. His eyes met Niki’s. “He really helped me a lot.”

“He did?”

“Yeah. Kinda grounded me, haha.” Rinne breathed in deeply, taking in Niki’s scent.

Niki doesn’t need to ask, because he knows just how true that was.

“I see why you guys are looking for him, even though it’s been several months.”

Rinne nodded. “Maybe he’s happy out there? I hope he is…He was a street cat at first, so maybe he got tired of being a pet. Kohaku-chan did say he tried to escape several times.”

Niki smiled. “Sounds like a handful.”

“Yep. But I guess I was so distracted…I woke up to a call from Anzu-chan and ran to the hospital without checking on anything else. He probably slipped out when I wasn’t paying attention.”

Niki felt a little silly, nuzzling Rinne. “Maybe he helped you find me. Maybe he’s the one that found me?”

Rinne laughed, “That’s ridiculous, Niki~kyun. How can a cat do that?”

Niki shrugged. “There’s many mysteries in this world that can’t be explained.”

“Haha. I guess. I just wish I could see him one more time. Wish I could tell him ‘thank you’.”

Niki rubbed Rinne on the head. “Yeah?”

“And I wish you could meet him. He really is the spitting image of you, Niki~!” Rinne squeezed him tight, nuzzling him back.

Niki laughed as he was attacked by the mass of affection. He wiggled himself free, before grabbing Rinne’s face and pulling him in, leaving a soft peck on the lips. He pulled back, smiling. “Whatever you say, Rinne-kun. I’m sure he’d be glad to know that you’re happy.”

“Marry me?” Rinne smiled back, eyes soft and full of affection.

Niki laughed, squeezing his face. “Still not legal. Try again when it is~”

“Tch. Isn’t it enough that I love you?” Rinne pouted.

“And I do too~ But what’s the point if we can’t get legal recognition~?”

“I love you, and you love me. Isn’t that enough of a point?” Rinne pouted harder.

Niki laughed, cupping his face. “You stupid man, you’re stuck with me forever even without a legally binding contract. Isn’t that something stronger than something so simple as marriage?”

Rinne pouted even harder. “Still, it’s a public declaration that you are mine.”

Niki giggled. “Wow~ Possessive much? At that point you should just put a collar on me like a cat or something.”

“Well~ If that’s whatever Niki~kyun’s into, I wouldn’t judge~”

Niki whacked him lightly, laughing. “Ew gross, not at all! Get your weird fantasies out of here!”

Rinne pulled him in, leaving ticklish kisses over his face again. “You’re the one that started it~”

“And you’re the one that made it weird!”

They laughed together, legs tangling as they cuddled. Rinne hummed, “Okay, but you would make such a cute cat Niki~ Maybe not exactly like Mochi~kyun. You’d probably be more spoiled than Mochi~kyun. And way fatter. From how much you eat.”

Niki rolled his eyes. “If I suddenly turned into a cat, would you still love me?”

“You would be the most spoiled cat ever. I’d feed you the finest steaks and cook you meals better than any cat food brand.”

Niki snickered, knowing that those weren’t an exaggeration. “Wait…is that why we were missing frozen steaks from the fridge? You cooked them all for the cat?!”

“Hey, I ate some too! The cat didn’t get everything!”

Niki felt so warm, so loved.

“And yet you won’t cook any for me?!”

“Why would I cook them for you when you cook things better than steak all the time?”

Notes:

bro i need to stop writing at 3 am SKULL

i hope u liked it
pls comment your thoughts i will gladly tell you what goes on in my head
happy new year this is my new year new rinky

also sorry niki i hit you with a car twice?? but its all okay?? so were all good

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