Archive of Our Own

“Stay put,” Kanato had said as he and the rest left Zeffiro in search for a way to bring Hibari back to his human form after a magical mishap regarding the jewel they successfully retrieved. “We left food that we think you can eat out on the counter, given the fact that… well, you’ve turned into a cat that probably has a human diet. In any case, we’ll be back here in a jiffy so don’t you dare run out!”

However, Kanato did not take into account that curiosity will always kill the cat.

Hibari jumps down from the roof of a convenience store as he earns odd looks from a few passersby. Well, he doesn’t blame them. They must think that someone was cruel enough to dye the fur of a cat purple, but did not care enough to help out.

It was a little refreshing, actually, to be wandering the streets in this form. This way, he’s even more flexible than before and has no qualms jumping from high places! If he had to be honest, though, he never expected to turn into a cat of all things, much less retrieve a magical jewel.

Akira did mention that the client specifically told them not to touch the jewel with their bare hands, but because Hibari wanted to inspect it carefully and removing his gloves meant less chances of the jewel from slipping out of his hands, he had touched it with his bare fingers and poof: he was a cat. For all his effort of not dropping the jewel, it fell out of his hands anyway the moment he turned into a cat. So much for that.

…He realizes he’s caused a lot of trouble today, huh.

With a stretch as he inwardly laughs to himself, Hibari thinks it’s time to go back to Zeffiro. He’s had enough time to explore the streets, and even though it’s a bit of a daunting task to go back in this cat body of his, he’s become familiar enough to know where Zeffiro is like the back of his hand.

Unfortunately for him, the weather is not on his side today as he feels the first drop of rain on his muzzle. With a startled yelp, Hibari immediately seeks shelter underneath the convenience store he just jumped down from, getting caught in the rain anyway. He curses to himself, which sounded a lot like a disgruntled hiss, as he watches the rain pour down like there’s no tomorrow.

Someone runs into the shade of the convenience store like he did, all drenched from head to toe. This person was definitely someone who didn’t make it out of the rain in time. “Of all the days…” Hibari’s ears perk up at the familiar voice as he looks up from the ground and startles at the sight before him. It’s Akina, looking mildly miffed as he glares right up at the rain. “I guess visiting Zeffiro is a bust.”

He was going to visit?! Hibari thinks as he inwardly cringes. Good thing the rain stopped him and Hibari was out on a walk then, otherwise he would have been alone with Akina… as a cat. He didn’t want that. He wanted to talk with Akina, after all!

With all his floundering around, Hibari startles once again when he sees Akina looking down at him. “Aw, little kitty, you’re all soaked.” He crouches down and smiles a little. “You must be cold.” In fact, Hibari is cold. The chill is settling in, but he pays it no mind because the more pressing matter was, of course, the fact that he was a cat, and that he was probably going to be scolded by both Kanato and Akira if they found out he wasn’t in Zeffiro right now. Akina looks a little amused. “Your fur color is a little strange.”

Hibari laughs to himself because of course it was, he isn’t your usual stray cat, then yelps as Akina runs a gentle hand through his wet fur. …This isn’t fair, he thinks with all the pettiness he can muster as Akina continues on without knowing a single thing. This isn’t fair! At all! Why am I a cat right now?! And why does this feel pretty good?! He bemoans in his thoughts as a purr begins rumbling in his throat.

“Doesn’t feel like you’ve been dyed in that color.” All too soon, Akina brings his hand back to inspect it. Hibari almost whines at the loss of contact. Almost. “No dye residue either.” He looks thoughtfully at Hibari as he hums. Suddenly, he stands up. “Don’t move, kitty.” He then scrambles inside the convenience store, leaving wet tracks in his wake.

This leaves Hibari some time to think about whatever the hell that was. Curse this stupid cat body and its cat tendencies. He sullenly looks out at the rain. It’s not like he can literally brave the storm and get to Zeffiro safe and sound, for what awaits in the end might just actually be his doom… it was that, but he also didn’t find the idea of getting drenched more and more very appealing.

The sliding doors of the convenience store opens again and Hibari shivers from the cold wind coming from the air conditioning. Akina is back with an umbrella in hand and a grin on his face. “Are you ready, kitty?” Ready for what, Hibari wants to ask if he had the ability to speak in this form, but instead yelps in surprise as Akina picks him up in one arm with practiced ease. He creates a makeshift carrier with his jacket and places Hibari within, opening up the umbrella he just bought. “Mayuyu told me not to bring home any strays even if they’re pretty cute, but this is an urgent situation, right? You’re cold and alone, plus it doesn’t seem like the rain is gonna let up soon.” Akina looks down at Hibari, his grin still there. “You’re coming home with me for a bit!”

Hibari’s eyes widen in panic as he paws at Akina’s jacket, but it’s too late—Akina has already ventured into the rain as he unsuspectingly kidnaps Hibari into his home. He inwardly groans, dreading the moment he’ll turn back and face the combined wrath of Kanato and Akira. At least being wrapped up like this in Akina’s jacket makes for a comfortable and enjoyable ride.

(Seraph is the first one to arrive back in Zeffiro, finished with his tasks at Room 4S. Ever the avid cat lover, he’s holding several cat toys as he hums a tune, excited to play with Hibari-turned-cat. “Hiba, I’m back,” he calls out with a smile, looking around Zeffiro as he approaches the counter where they last left Hibari.

The food on the counter is untouched. Seraph frowns, immediately noticing that something is off. He drops the cat toys on a nearby table as he walks around Zeffiro. “Hibari?” He looks under every nook and cranny, and the worry he feels increases tenfold when the rain starts pouring down. He quickly returns to the main space and lets out a groan. “Kanato literally told him to stay put, and that we—or me, actually. He definitely meant me—would be back as soon as possible.” Seraph runs a hand over his face as he brings his phone out to contact the other two.

“Sera? What’s up? How was the animal shelter?” Kanato is the one that picks up first, and the hustle and bustle that can be heard from his end meant that he was still getting ready for his meeting.

“Bad news,” Seraph quickly says as he forlornly plays with one of the cat toys he brought back. He was so excited, too. “Hibari’s gone.”

Kanato immediately groans, and Akira soon follows after. “I join the call and this is the first thing I hear…” Seraph can imagine Akira massaging his temples. “No traces or anything?”

“None.” Seraph sighs. He’s looked out every window and the rooftop, even tried tracking down any clue that could possibly be found from the main entrance, but it may have been washed away from the rain already. “Hiba has become more elusive as a cat, it seems.”)

Hibari has no idea what he’s going to do now.

Akina opens the door to his apartment, leaving his wet shoes by the genkan. He shivers a bit before he makes a beeline for his heater, sighing in relief once the heat seeps into his wet clothes. “Sorry kitty, hope you weren’t too cold.” He pats Hibari’s little head as he gently sets his jacket down along with Hibari. He sneezes. “Oh, geez. I better take a shower before I get sick and then prepare some food for you guys after. In the meantime, kitty, meet my other two cats!” With that, Akina scrambles toward the bathroom, almost slipping on his drenched socks.

Hibari inwardly lets out a sigh. Well, this was just great. How was he supposed to get back to Zeffiro now? He looks around and spots Akina’s cats. They stare at him, a little curious, but they are more hostile than anything. He wonders if he can understand their meowing and decides to try getting a reaction from them, but unfortunately, despite having the body of a cat his mind was still that of a human’s, so Hibari couldn’t really make any sense of the growls hurled toward his way. He guesses that they’re pretty mad, though. Perhaps they’re instinctually aware that he’s a fake cat.

His stomach growls, and Hibari dreads what he’s going to eat for later. Opting to ignore what his potential food options are, he decides to have a tour of Akina’s apartment. The layout is easy to remember as he pads through a short hallway. He spots Akina’s bedroom, a separate laundry room, and the area he uses to stream. Reaching the end of the hallway, he finds himself staring at a glass door that opens up to a small veranda. Too bad he can’t reach up and open it, though Hibari isn’t missing much when he sees that the rain hasn’t let up yet.

The door to the bathroom clicks open, making Hibari perk up and wander back into the living room. Akina is back, looking remarkably refreshed as he hangs a towel around his neck. He spots Hibari coming from the hallway and smiles. “Hello there. Were you exploring around?” Akina crouches down when Hibari approaches, giving him chin scratches. A purr easily makes itself known, and Hibari feels embarrassed.

Was he that easy? Does he just really like Akina touching him like this? The answer to those two questions was probably (definitely) a resounding yes, but Hibari has no idea what to do with that information since… he was still a cat, and also because when he turns back into a human anyway, there won’t be a proper reason for him to ask Akina to, uh, pet him, or whatever. That would be too audacious of him, and he already feels a little ashamed for being here in the first place and taking advantage of Akina’s kindness without him knowing.

It’s not like they’re dating, either. The thought makes Hibari sulk, resting his chin on Akina’s fingertips. He doesn’t want to ruin what friendship they have right now, and he doesn’t want Akina to run away. He’s a thief; not a lot of people would want to associate with someone like him, much less be friends, and even less be lovers. He’ll definitely scare Akina off if he confesses. The thought further dampens his mood that even Akina starts to notice.

“Oops, sorry little kitty, you must be pretty cold, huh? Is that why you’re sulky? I’ll grab a towel and dry you off.” Akina moves around Hibari and makes his way through the hallway, entering the laundry room.

Hibari just quietly watches as he shoves his earlier thoughts into the back of his mind. It makes him laugh a little, the surreality of the situation he’s in. Well, so much for not being alone with Akina as a cat. Guess he’ll just go with the flow for now, until he can make a quite literally dashing escape from Akina’s home.

Akina returns with a towel and a clean brush. “After I dry you off, let’s get some dinner. I think it’s pretty late already.” He laughs a bit as he motions for Hibari to follow him to the base of the couch. Hibari does as he’s told and yowls when Akina tugs him closer with the towel. “Sorry, did I surprise you?” Hibari can practically hear the smile on Akina’s face. He’s enjoying himself, and Hibari is here suffering in the body of a cat as the person he likes unknowingly takes care of him. This was impossible.

Akina hums a mindless tune, completely in his element as he ruffles Hibari’s fur with the towel. The added repeated motion of the brush going back and forth makes Hibari a little drowsy, settling in between Akina’s feet. He shouldn’t be sleeping just yet, his stomach will complain later, but a short nap should be fine, right?

“No sleeping,” Akina softly chides as he takes the towel back, and Hibari feels extremely frazzled both physically and mentally. “Let’s get you all something to eat. I gotta figure out your diet too, kitty.” He playfully boops Hibari’s nose as he makes his way to the kitchen, with all the cats, including Hibari, following him.

There were two designated bowls for Akina’s two other cats, which were then promptly filled with cat food. Hibari takes a curious sniff, but he blanches at the smell and scurries off when the cats hiss at him. He looks up and finds Akina with a small frown on his face. “Looks like my cats don’t like you. Are you okay?” Akina scratches a bit at his head. “And it seems like you don’t like cat food. Are you on a raw diet?”

At the mention of raw meat, Hibari immediately frowns as much as he can express through his muzzle and meows. Akina notices this and laughs. “I’m gonna guess that you don’t like raw food. Do you understand what I’m saying?” Hibari freezes, but Akina doesn’t suspect a thing. “Maybe you’ll like some cooked chicken. I think I have some in the freezer, if you don’t mind waiting for it to defreeze and for me to cook it.”

It takes a while for Akina to prepare food that Hibari can at least stomach. It’s a sad, bland chicken that’s shredded for easier consumption, but given his abnormal physical condition, Hibari is grateful for the food. He looks up a bit from his food to see Akina looking out the window worriedly. “It seems like the rain is going to last.” Akina shakes his head before turning back to Hibari with a smile. “Hope you don’t mind staying with me for a while?”

If it was with Akina, then Hibari would stay for as long as he was allowed. Not that there was any other choice right now, anyway, unless Akira somehow managed to track down his location in Akina’s apartment. That would be scary.

All cats satisfied and drowsy, Akina leads his two other cats to their respective cat beds. He comes back once the two are tucked in. “Hey there,” he whispers as he picks Hibari up. “Sorry that you don’t have a bed of your own, and I don’t want you sleeping on the couch either. It’s cold out here once I turn the heater off.” There’s a smile on his face when Hibari looks up. “Hope you don’t mind sharing a bed with me.”

Hibari stiffens in Akina’s hold, effectively purging any sort of drowsiness in him. Sharing a bed? With Akina? Sleeping together? If he weren’t a cat right now, Hibari’s face would be as red as a tomato! He yowls, not wanting to intrude into Akina’s personal space as much as he already has and paws at the arms carrying him, but it’s no use—Akina merely finds his actions endearing and pats his head as they enter the bedroom.

I’m going to die, Hibari bemoans in his thoughts as Akina settles the both of them in bed. His heart is racing, he literally cannot take this. He’s face to face with Akina, who smiles at him, whispers “Good night,” and closes his eyes. Hibari can practically feel his heart in his throat, scooting adamantly away from Akina. There was no way he was going to survive on the same bed as Akina. He groans, paws covering his eyes as he once again thinks, I’m going to die.

Hibari has dubbed this day as “Day 1,” meaning this is the start of the first day he’s spent in Akina’s house until the rest of Voltaction find him or he manages to make his escape and run away.

Yesterday was “Day 0,” and he barely got any sleep because of the very distracting fact that he was on the same bed as Akina. He groans once again at the thought. How was he going to survive this?

The bed creaks and Hibari turns to look back. Akina was rising from his sleep, sitting up on the bed. He rubs his eyes and blinks awake, his eyes landing on Hibari, who has situated himself on the farthest edge of the bed. “Good morning,” Akina greets, his voice hushed and mellow from sleep. Hibari shivers. He was used to an Akina with much more energy, not… this. He thinks it’s cute, and inwardly groans at the thought. Not the right time!

Akina, unaware of Hibari’s internal struggle, frowns a little. “Why are you so far away? You’re practically about to fall off. Did you sleep like this?” He pats on the space beside him, and Hibari awkwardly, stiltedly makes his way next to him. Akina laughs. “Maybe you’re just not used to being close to me.” Hibari will never get used to that. (He wants to, though.) “That’s okay. Plenty of time to get to know each other, right?”

We know each other already, though, Hibari thinks, amused, as his tail swishes. He watches as Akina gradually gains his energy, stretching and yawning. It’s strangely intimate to be in Akina’s bedroom alone like this, and Hibari once again laments the fact that he is a cat. Akina finally gets out of bed and gestures for Hibari to follow him as they head out into the living room.

Akina prepares the usual cat food for his two cats and waits for them to come out from… wherever they are. He then crouches down to Hibari. “Do you like veggies?” He extends his hand, and Hibari, not knowing how to answer, butts his head on the palm of Akina’s hand. “I’ll take that as a maybe.” Akina chuckles as he stands up and checks his refrigerator.

Akina manages to find some cabbages and carrots and proceeds to cut them up and boil them over the stove. Hibari contemplates running away while Akina is distracted, but that leaves a foul taste in his mouth. He doesn’t want Akina to worry, and besides, he doesn’t know his way back from Akina’s apartment and back to Zeffiro in this cat body. He’ll just get lost. Plus, the rain hasn’t gotten any lighter since yesterday, so there’s no point in going outside at all.

Hibari receives a plate of mushed cabbage and carrots. He gratefully eats, because at least he’s still somewhat getting human food instead of cat food. He hopes Akina never gets the bright idea to give him cat food in the duration of his stay. Maybe he should reveal that he’s actually Hibari-turned-cat, or something. Not that he has any idea how to do that or how to make Akina believe him, but at least it would be a load off his shoulders if he did.

Once all the cats have gathered and polished off their plates, Akina immediately scoops Hibari off the ground. “Time for a bath, kitty! Who knows how long you’ve been on the streets?”

Not long! Hibari screeches in his mind as he and Akina head toward the bathroom. He’s only been a street cat for a few hours, so he should be clean! Besides, he took a bath yesterday before he was catnapped, so surely he didn’t need one right away? Then again, Akina did not know about his predicament at all, so it was only natural for him to make Hibari take a bath.

While Hibari’s trying to think of an escape plan, Akina gently puts him down in the bathtub and grabs the shower handle in anticipation, turning the shower knobs so that the water was warm and just right. Looking around, Hibari had to accept that there was no escape in sight, and he feels as though Akina was prepared given the fact that he had to deal with two other cats as well. Resigned to his fate, Hibari lets himself get doused in water and scrubbed clean with cat shampoo.

Akina laughs at him, rinsing away the suds and making sure none of it gets in his eyes. “It’s a given, but you look like you aren’t used to this at all!” Hibari feels very… pathetic right now. He is, quite literally, a sopping wet cat. Mischievously, he shakes out some of the water, and that makes Akina exclaim in surprise before he laughs again. “Stop! You’re gonna get me wet too!”

Putting the shower handle back to its right place, Akina finally finishes and grabs a clean towel from the wrack. He wraps it around Hibari and carries him out of the tub. “You feeling all clean now?” Hibari can’t exactly put into words what he felt, but he just knows that taking a bath as a cat was a very weird experience. He meows instead, and that makes Akina boop his nose.

Just like yesterday, Akina situates himself and Hibari against the couch, armed with a brush, but this time he grabs a pet hair dryer near them. He turns it on, startling all three cats with the sound, and directs the warm air at Hibari. It’s pleasant, and Hibari practically wants to melt onto the floor. Akina notices and chuckles a little as he brushes out Hibari’s fur, and that makes him want to melt into a puddle even more. “You can sleep now, if you want,” Akina says, soft and gentle, so Hibari does as a warm hand instead of the brush’s bristles lulls him to sleep.

Hibari does not know how much time passed while he was asleep. He assumes that Akina got some work done while the rain continued to pour down since none of them could go to the office in that weather. By the time Akina wakes him up, it’s gotten darker and he assumes it’s time for dinner.

“Hi there, sleepyhead.” Akina smiles, fond and amused, as he gestures toward the plate. There’s some mushed sweet potato this time and Hibari cleans his plate as usual. “You eat really well, don’t you?” Akina praises him with a scratch to his chin, and Hibari, rather predictably, starts purring at the touch. He feels unusually relaxed, and he realizes that this is the first time in a while that he’s gotten a break from all the missions and projects he’s done over the past few weeks. Seems like he really needed a change of pace, even if said change of pace was turning into a cat and suddenly living with the person you like for a bit.

Once all their plates are polished off, Akina takes his two other cats back to their respectful beds. He comes back for Hibari and gently picks him up. “Sleepy again?” He murmurs with a yawn. “Let’s go to bed.” Hibari squirms in his hold, but Akina merely pets him to calm him down as they enter the bedroom once more. It is infuriating that Hibari can’t do anything the moment Akina touches him. Unfair.

Akina settles into his blanket, and Hibari once again firmly stays far away. Sensing eyes on him, he looks up and sees Akina staring at him with a frown. “You’re so far, kitty,” he says softly as he pats the space beside him like he did earlier this morning. “Come here?” Hibari has no choice in the matter when Akina looks and says something cute like that, so he awkwardly settles nearer. This does not satisfy Akina, however. “Still too far.”

The next thing Akina does leaves Hibari choking on his breath. He wraps an arm around Hibari and pulls him closer to his chest. It’s warm, entirely too warm, and Hibari holds his breath lest he disturbs Akina who is far too pleased by this predicament, all unaware of Hibari’s inner turmoil. “Good night,” he says, soft from sleep, and Hibari stiffens because Akina is so close, he can hear his heartbeat, for goodness sake!

Hibari whines, trying to wriggle out of this situation, but Akina merely pulls him closer. Hibari cannot breathe. He can’t, this is just too much. Stifling a groan, he rests his head over Akina’s heart. It’s a soft sound, but it’s something that Hibari can hear clearly. Thump, thump, thump. The sound calms him down, but the situation right now was far too surreal for Hibari to just sleep and doze away. He shuts his eyes tight as he thinks, I’m going to die, for another night in a row.

It’s officially “Day 2,” and Hibari feels like he’s going to die from lack of sleep.

They’re both out of bed already, but sleeping right next to Akina felt too much of a hurdle and so he stayed up without a wink of sleep. It was just too much for him, too, when Akina woke up, blinking the sleep away, and smiled at him and said, “Good morning,” as he was in Akina’s arms.

Hibari slumps next to the couch. This was impossible.

“Hey there.” Akina scoops him up and sits on the couch with Hibari resting on his lap. Looking up at the ceiling as though that would help, he once again thinks, this was impossible. “You look like you haven’t had enough sleep. Were you that uncomfortable next to me?” Hibari desperately wants to shake his head: in fact, it was too comfortable, and now he has to spend his days knowing the warmth of being so close to Akina without actually being that close. Instead of expressing all that, however, he just paws at Akina’s hand that was playing with his fur. “You can sleep again if you’re feeling too sleepy.”

On Akina’s lap? Hibari feels incredulous at the suggestion, so he vows to stay awake or even jump off, but the hand running through his fur makes it difficult. He takes a peek behind him and sees Akina on his phone. It seems like he’s texting someone. Hibari just looks straight ahead so that he doesn’t bother Akina. There’s some laughter and giggles, so he guesses that what they’re talking about is something funny.

Well, that is, until Hibari is pulled close to Akina’s face and suddenly a picture is snapped of the two of them. He blinks in surprise and squints at the screen. Wow, he’s one purple cat. Because he’s also one curious cat, he checks out who Akina is talking to. The moment he reads the name, however, he feels himself go pale… if that was even possible when he’s a cat right now.

kanatoMAN: it’s been raining a lot lately :(
hopefully u and ur cats r safe akina san!!!
what have u been up to lately?

akinya3: catching up on work lol
oh i also found this cat a few days ago!!!
[Image Attached]

kanatoMAN: ???????????
akina san
where did u find this cat….

akinya3: i was on my way to zeffiro the other day
got caught in the rain tho :p so i stayed under a convenience store for a while
found him hiding out from the rain too so i took him in!!!
i was thinking of getting him to a shelter once the rain stopped pouring
but it’s almost been 3 days
and i kinda wanna take him in for real now

Hibari looks up at Akina in shock. He was going to take him to a cat shelter once the rain was gone? The very thought made him shiver.

“You’re one very purple cat, aren’t you?” Akina comments as he pats Hibari’s head. It’s like he just read Hibari’s mind, but nevermind that. He looks back at Akina’s phone.

kanatoMAN: NO
DONT TAKE HIM TO THE SHELTER

akinya3: so u agree that i should take him in???

kanatoMAN: NO!!!!!!

akinya3: what :(
are u telling me to abandon him kanato….

kanatoMAN: NOT THAT EITHER 😭😭😭
akina san. this is going to sound very strange
especially over text
but ya gotta promise to believe me before i say anything

akinya3: sure????

kanatoMAN: u dont sound very sure
but i’ll take it
okay
so uhh
…….
that cat u just took in
that’s hibari.

Akina suddenly laughs at that. Hibari cringes at the message. Yeah, that looks weird. If he didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought Kanato went crazy or something.

akinya3: is it because hes purple 😭😭😭

kanatoMAN: WELL
HES A PURPLE CAT YEAH
BUT THAT’S HIBA!!!!!
u gotta believe me akina san we’ve been searching where hes been these past TWO DAYS
actually im coming over. this has been way long overdue

akinya3: why in the world are u self inviting urself into my home omg

kanatoMAN: pleeeeease 🥺

akinya3: fine go ahead 😭

kanatoMAN: yay!!!!
okay hiba if ure reading this stay put. not like u have anywhere else to go but
STAY PUT!!!!

Akina furrows his eyebrows as Kanato goes offline. He looks down at Hibari and gently places him down on the floor. “So,” he says slowly, doubt evident in his eyes. “Kanato says you’re Hibari.” This was something he doesn’t know how to respond to, so Hibari, not wanting to lie anymore, nods his head slowly, not wanting to startle Akina. This only makes the worry lines on Akina’s face deepen. “I have no idea if you understood what I said or just coincidentally nodded.”

Hibari wants to radiate the energy of him sighing as much as he can, but he nods again anyway, just so that Akina gets an answer. Akina looks as though he’s going to get a headache. “Okay, ‘Hiba.’ We’re going to get some answers, and Kanato might lose his mind when he gets here. Me too, actually.” Hibari snorts, and he doesn’t know what that sounds like, but it makes Akina grin nonetheless.

It doesn’t take long for Kanato to knock on Akina’s door. Hibari wonders if he sped through the rain, rushing to get over to Akina’s home. “Akina-san!” He looks disheveled, as though he actually ran instead of taking a car. “Where’s Hiba?”

“A good afternoon to you, too, Kanato.” Akina flicks his forehead, and Kanato sheepishly smiles, realizing that he’s been a little rude. “Look, are you really sure this kitty here is Hibari? I know he’s purple and all, but…”

“‘Kitty,’ huh.” Kanato grimaces as he excuses himself and enters Akina’s apartment, leaving his boots by the genkan. He looks around and spots Hibari, immediately grabbing him by the scruff. “Finally found you. Do you know how hard it was to track down one cat? What were you even thinking, wandering around the streets like that?” Hibari puts his paws together to gesture that he’s sorry. The incredulous image makes Kanato laugh his grimace away. “Seriously, don’t make us worry like that again!”

“Don’t hold him up like that for long,” Akina scolds as he grabs Hibari from Kanato’s hold before gently placing him down between the two of them. “Okay, since you’re here now, mind explaining?”

Kanato sighs, ruffling his own hair. “This is going to sound weird, Akina-san.”

Akina just laughs and waves at him in dismissal. “You already said that in text.”

“But it’s weird!” Kanato shakes his head. “Well, okay. We were on a mission to retrieve a jewel for a client.” The word “steal” goes over their heads, not wanting to talk about their not so legal dealings with someone who was just a civilian. Akina catches on because he’s sharp like that, and mercifully lets it pass. “One of their instructions was to not touch it bare handed. We did successfully retrieve it, but, well…”

“This happened anyway.” Akina gestures at Hibari who was sitting by their feet. “Why?”

Kanato nudges Hibari with his sock cladded foot. “Because he’s an idiot and touched it with his bare hands. Turning into a cat was the side effect of touching the jewel with no protection at all.” He sighs, a hand to his hip.

Akina crosses his arms with a frown. “Something like this doesn’t happen everyday, you know?”

Kanato smiles, though his eyebrows are still furrowed. “Yeah, well, we’re also banking on the fact that we’ve got co-workers who deal with magic and whatnot to make you believe us, so…”

At this, Akina lets out a chuckle. “You’re not wrong,” he agrees pretty easily, which makes Kanato and Hibari sigh in relief. “Okay. Let’s say I believe you. How do we get Hibari back to being human?”

The grimace from earlier returns, but there’s a pink flush to Kanato’s cheeks now. Hibari easily recognizes his embarrassment and immediately paws at his foot in concern. “So, uhm, we talked to the client, and she’s pretty much a crazy cat lady, but she’s really sweet when we met her! And she’s a magical one, given the fact that she knows about that jewel, and, uh—”

“—Kanato, you’re rambling.” Akina gently puts him back on track with an amused smile on his face. “What did she say?”

“Oops. Sorry. It’s just—the solution to this problem is really embarrassing to say out loud, so. What can I do?” Kanato shrugs with a helpless smile. “Uhm… she said that the only way to bring Hiba back to human was… ugh,” he holds a hand up to his face. “‘True love’s kiss.’”

Both Akina and Hibari blink in surprise, and blink again at the incredulity of the statement. “Excuse me?” Akina says, and Hibari meows at the same time to basically say the exact same thing.

“You heard me!” Kanato throws his hands up in the air in exasperation. “She didn’t elaborate more on the matter since the answer was already straightforward enough, so we’re just rolling with the punches right now.”

“That’s corny,” Akina comments, his voice quivering with laughter. “Are you sure that’s what she said?”

“I am a hundred percent sure of this, Akina-san. We asked again for clarification, and she said the same thing without anything to add.” Kanato sighs. “I think even Akira got a recording of that meeting. He didn’t look very pleased.”

“Okay…” Akina says slowly. “How are we gonna find someone like that for Hibari?”

Kanato and Hibari glance at each other then back to Akina. Hibari scratches his ankle as a warning. Kanato hisses at the sting before once again nudging Hibari with his foot. “We aren’t going to consider that as our course of action. The three of us are currently finding other ways to bring Hiba back, but it’s our back up plan in case we don’t find any other alternatives.”

Akina frowns. “That doesn’t sound very efficient, Kanato. Are you going to take Hibari back, then? For research and whatnot?”

“Oh, no. I think leaving him in your perfectly capable hands is better than having him lounge around with three people who don’t know how to take care of a cat.” Kanato pauses. “Okay, make that two. Sera was pretty disappointed when Hiba ran away, after all, but you’re the more experienced one here, Akina-san. We trust you, and Hiba does, too.”

Akina sighs in relief. “Alright then. I was pretty worried if you were gonna take him back. Who knows what you were going to feed him?” Kanato scoffs goodnaturedly and playfully punches Akina’s shoulder. That makes him laugh. “Okay then. I’ll take care of Hiba while you guys do what you have to do. Just make it quick, okay? I don’t think being a cat for so long would be any good for a human.”

“Roger.” Kanato gives Akina a salute before crouching down to give Hibari a glare. “Look, we’ll know immediately if you did something, so you better be on your best behavior, okay?” Hibari merely rolls his eyes and presses a paw to Kanato’s mouth to shut him up.

“What good is threatening a cat gonna do, Kanato?” Akina laughs as he picks Hibari up from the floor. “Get going! You’re busy!”

Kanato sighs as he stands up, zips up his boots, and exits the apartment, but not before staring at Hibari and giving him an “I’m watching you” gesture as the door closes, taking with him the noise that temporarily invaded Akina’s apartment.

Hibari looks up at Akina, who looks as though he’s trying to process everything. With a sigh, Akina goes straight for the couch and lies face first down on the seat. Surprised, Hibari jumps away from Akina’s arms to check up on him, and the expression on Akina’s face once he turns to the side is very much one of regret. “Hiba,” he says emphatically. “I catnapped you!” Hibari snorts in amusement, but Akina doesn’t catch the noise and continues to whine. “And I’ve been calling you kitty for the past two days! Why didn’t you tell me?!” Hibari tries to look as though he’s raising an eyebrow, wondering if Akina’s seriously worried about that and meows out loud before booping his nose playfully.

Akina continues to lament through the day, even as he’s feeding everyone their food for dinner. “I would’ve fed you cat food at one point, Hibari.” There is horror in Akina’s expression. “Glad I decided to stick to vaguely human food, aren’t you?” He aggressively pats Hibari’s head, who yowls as he eats a vegetable broth with mushed sweet potatoes and cabbage that was as equally as sad and bland as the chicken he ate on the day Akina took him in.

Hibari looks up as Akina pads his way back to him after tucking his two other cats into bed. He looks a little awkward. “You know, I’ve been picking you up and everything, but are you fine with that? It feels a little awkward now that I know you’re Hiba.” Hibari wants to laugh at how differently Akina is acting now, so he paws his foot and nods, giving him permission. Akina smiles at him gratefully and scoops him up the floor, making his way to the bedroom.

Once Akina settles in, he lies awake for a while, staring at the ceiling as Hibari cautiously gets close to Akina’s face. “Oh man. Were you uncomfortable or anything when I asked you to come closer?” Akina cringes as he turns to face Hibari. “That must be why you were so far away the first time. I’m sorry.” Hibari shakes his head to indicate that Akina didn’t need to apologize, but he doesn’t know how that message was gonna get across, so he just pats Akina’s forehead with his paw. “Are you trying to comfort me? Thanks.” Akina giggles a bit, the volume subdued from sleep. “Oh, uhm… if it’s okay with you, Hiba, can you sleep next to me, like the other night? You can gesture no if you don’t want to. I know this is awkward for you.”

The look Akina is giving Hibari is painfully hopeful if not a little lonely. He looks up at the ceiling for guidance once again, but gets nothing in return. If it’s to make Akina happy, then he guesses he’ll do pretty much anything in his power. Instead of affirming it with a gesture, Hibari merely settles next to Akina, and he hears a breath of relief. “Thank you,” Akina softly says as he loosely wraps his arms around Hibari. “Good night,” he whispers, and promptly closes his eyes. Meanwhile, Hibari feels like he’s being set on fire. There was no way out, and Hibari didn’t want to disturb Akina’s sleep. With a quiet groan, he covers his eyes with his paws as he falls asleep to Akina’s heartbeat.

It’s “Day 3” and Hibari wakes up to his face (muzzle?) pressed against the column of Akina’s neck. He startles awake and immediately pushes himself away. Honestly, how in the world did he get all the way there? Feeling way too embarrassed these past few days, he tries to give space between the two of them as much as he can without disturbing Akina’s sleep. He looks around and spots the clock as it reads nine in the morning.

It takes Akina exactly thirty minutes to rouse from his sleep, blinking away the lingering drowsiness to look at Hibari. He smiles. “Hi, Hiba,” he greets, and Hibari’s heart feels like it’s going to go through the roof at this point. With a yawn, Akina sits up and stretches his arms out before finally getting out of bed. His hair is sticking out in a way that it shouldn’t be, and Hibari has the inexplicable urge to fix it. It truly is unfortunate that Hibari is a cat right now, it is such a shame. “Let’s get going.” He gestures for Hibari to follow, so he does.

The rain has significantly gotten better as compared to the past few days. Akina takes notice of it. “You know, I was actually gonna bring you to a shelter once the rain lightened up.” Aghast at the fact that it’s being brought up again, Hibari looks up at Akina, who smiles at him mischievously. “Good thing Kanato came here just in time and explained your situation.” He scratches Hibari’s head. “Come on, let’s get you something to eat.”

This time, Hibari is granted some boiled eggs. It’s still incredibly bland, but at least his stomach won’t be crying out in pain from hunger or food poisoning. Akina finally manages to catch his expression of pain whenever he’s eating and laughs at him. “Hey, not my fault you’re a cat! Once you turn into a human, you can cook whatever you want to your heart’s content!”

It’s a slow day today, Hibari notices as Akina sits in front of the couch and gestures for him to approach. Hibari does after he’s finished eating, and immediately he’s brought to Akina’s lap. He tenses, practically feeling his heart in his throat again, and only relaxes once Akina’s hands go through his fur. This is truly not fair, how can he go back to living life normally when he now knows the touch of Akina’s hands? Hibari sighs, a little bitter. More fuel for his hopeless pining, he guesses.

He doesn’t want to get used to the feeling of Akina’s warmth by his side, but it’s difficult when he knows what it feels like now. He knows the sound of Akina’s heart, and it’s just—it’s so unfair. Hibari buries his head against his paws, trying to will the thoughts away, but it’s no use, he knows too much and now he can’t go back to feeling the same.

Time passes by quickly, and Hibari is only aware that it’s some time in the afternoon right now, judging from the color of the sun. Akina has not made a move to stand up from where he’s sitting, mindlessly scrolling for a while on his phone. Perhaps he, too, finds this situation as a quick reprieve from his usual activities. Well, until Akina grimaces at something in his phone, puts it down on the couch, heaves one big sigh, and finally moves to stand up as he carries Hibari with him. “Sorry, gotta work for a bit.”

What catches Hibari completely off guard is when Akina brings him close and rubs him nose to nose. He’s about to yowl when suddenly, a poof of pink smoke engulfs the both of them. This makes both Hibari and Akina yelp, but just as suddenly, Hibari’s back to being human and crushing Akina with his full weight and height, and Akina wraps his arms around his neck in order to grab ahold of something to break his fall. In all the scuffle, Hibari even manages to quite literally kiss Akina on the lips because of their initially close position.

The smoke clears and Hibari immediately scrambles up to give themselves space. He’s wide-eyed and feels out of his element, but Akina’s underneath him and equally wide-eyed. He’s so beautiful that it hurts. “Uhm.” Hibari blinks as his lips stretch into an awkward grin, ignoring the obvious heat creeping up his cheeks. “Hi?”

Akina’s eyes widen before his face erupts into a dark shade of red, his hand reaching up to touch his own lips. With a mortified squeak, he lets go of Hibari and scrambles toward the bathroom and locks the door with a bang.

Hibari’s head hits the cold hard floor with a painful thud. He hisses, “Ow—Akinya, wait!” He rubs his chin to soothe the pain and goes after Akina, stopping just short of the bathroom door and knocking on it. “Akinya—Akina-san,” he calls out to him, voice a little weak. “Guess the door isn’t going to budge, huh?” No response. “Can we talk about it, at least?”

It’s silent for a few seconds, and then finally: “...Okay.” It’s muffled by the door, but Akina’s response rings loud and clear in Hibari’s ears. He sighs in relief as he presses his forehead against the door. “What’s there to talk about, anyway?”

“Lots of things,” Hibari says with a laugh. “Firstly, uhm… you kissed me, I guess. A cat kiss? Something like that. Why?”

Akina groans from inside the bathroom. Hibari guesses that he’s embarrassed. “Sorry,” he says. “It’s out of habit. I do that with my cats all the time and, well, you were a cat, so…”

“Just that?” Hibari can’t help but feel a little disappointed. He starts drawing circles on the door to distract himself from the feeling.

“I—” Akina starts before he pauses. “—I wouldn’t… say just that.”

Hibari stops as abruptly as he started. “What do you mean?”

“My turn to ask a question!” Akina says loudly to cut through Hibari’s voice. “What about you?” He weakly asks, further muffled by the door in between them. “Why did… ‘true love’s kiss’ work for you?”

Hibari laughs again, defeated in many ways. “I think we both know why.”

“I want to hear it anyway,” is Akina’s immediate reply.

Hibari sighs and nods, his forehead sliding against the door. “...I like you, Akina-san.” His voice is quiet, so quiet that he hopes Akina can hear him through the door. “All throughout my stay with you, these past three days…” He laughs. It’s a bright, tinkling sound. “Made me like you even more.” He feels a little embarrassed; he can practically hear the obvious adoration in his voice. “Though I completely understand if—uh, well, if you don’t wanna associate yourself with me anymore since, after all, I’m a thief.” When Hibari laughs again, it’s a little self-deprecating.

There’s no response for a while, so Hibari reluctantly pulls away from the door. However, the door is yanked open so violently that he can’t help but fall forward a little, losing his balance to an angry looking Akina. “When in the world did I care about you being a thief?” His voice is snappy and biting that Hibari blinks in surprise and disbelief as he looks up. “I hang out with you because you’re you, Hibari! I care about you, I like you for you! I never once thought otherwise!” Akina brings his hands up to Hibari’s face. “What about you, Hibari? What do you want from me?”

“You, Akina-san,” Hibari immediately says, though with how emotional he feels right now, it might as well have sounded more of a croak. He’s dumbfounded and stupefied as he brings his hands over the ones cupping his face. “I like you too, so, so much,” he whispers again, gold eyes finding impossibly bright blue ones.

Akina’s face finally softens and he immediately stumbles into Hibari’s arms. He laughs a bit; it’s a flustered sound that has Hibari’s heart clenching because of it. “Sorry—feels like all the energy I had earlier just escaped. My knees are shaking.”

Hibari chuckles as he guides them gently down the floor. It’s an awkward situation all around as they’re stuck in the middle of the doorway to the bathroom, but Hibari does not care about that at all. Akina’s in his arms and that’s what matters. “It’s okay. I was pretty stupid, wasn’t I?”

Akina snorts. “For sure.” He pats Hibari’s back. “I never once worried about that. Why do you?”

“It’s hard to let go of something like that.” Hibari grimaces. “I grew up that way, you know? Now, though, I’m just trying to live the life I want with everyone else.” He tightens his arms around Akina. “I just… don’t want the people in my life to be afraid anymore.”

Akina pulls back a bit to look at Hibari. He must look like a mess, but Akina doesn’t say anything and simply smiles at him. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I think you’re pretty reliable. I’m happy that we met, Hiba.”

Hibari feels pretty indescribable right now. Overwhelmed, more like. “Akina-san, can I kiss you?” He blurts out, voice wobbly.

Akina turns pink at the suggestion, and he finally looks away from Hibari. “We just did that earlier, no?”

Hibari frowns as he brings his hands to Akina’s cheeks, gently guiding him back face to face. “I don’t wanna count that. It was so unromantic.” He pouts, and that earns him a surprised laugh from Akina. “Please? Let me kiss you?”

Akina stares at him for a bit before he sighs, relenting with pink cheeks. “Fine. You know, for someone who was just a cat earlier, you’re such a big dog.”

Hibari laughs, loud and bright. “I get that a lot,” he says, and then he finally kisses Akina like he’s wanted to for so long.

It’s a slow, tentative action, given the fact that the two people right now were both inexperienced in romance. They laugh and giggle into the kiss as they decide to meet in the middle after some enthusiastic pecks. Still so slow, still so tentative, but it’s just right for the both of them and Hibari wouldn’t trade this for anything else in the world.

They part, and Hibari feels as though he just ran a whole marathon. He looks up at Akina with shining eyes. “Date me?”

Akina looks at him with equally shining eyes as he laughs and presses another kiss to Hibari’s lips. “Of course.”

(Akina is in Zeffiro as he chows down on some curry. Some sauce gets smudged near the corner of his mouth and he grimaces. He wordlessly holds up his hand.

Hibari, always behind the counter, notices Akina’s hand and immediately places his chin on Akina’s palm as he rests the silver platter he was holding on his lap.

Akina looks up in surprise, embarrassment settling in his cheeks as he furrows his eyebrows. “What are you doing?”

Hibari looks back at him with a raised eyebrow. “Were you not…?” Realization dawns him as he widens his eyes, his face flushing pink. “Oh, ugh, sorry Akinya, I got used to just nudging your hand with my head when I was a cat, so I…”

“You’re so embarrassing,” Akina grumbles quietly, but ultimately doesn’t retract his hand. He instead cups Hibari’s cheek and rubs it. Hibari wordlessly nuzzles his palm, as though it was a natural reaction.

Beside Akina, Kanato grimaces at whatever they’re doing. “Ugh, Hiba, you’re so gross. Akina-san, why are you indulging him?”

Akina glances at Kanato before looking back at Hibari. “Well,” he gestures at Hibari with his free hand. “Isn’t he cute?”

Hibari smiles at him as he agrees lovingly, “I am.”

Kanato bemoans into his curry. “You guys are gross!”)