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It all started with a rainy day.
It had been a flash storm, coming in quickly and unpredictably.
The rain was pouring down, leaving Sakura to quickly find shelter before he could get any more soaked.
He darted beneath the nearest overhang — a narrow awning outside a closed corner shop — and clicked his tongue under his breath. His hair was already dripping, water sliding down the side of his face and soaking into the collar of his jacket.
"Seriously..."
The storm hadn't been in the forecast. Not that he checked. But still.
Rain hammered against the pavement hard enough to blur the streetlights. The world beyond the awning turned silver and distorted, like someone had dragged a wet brush over the city.
That was when he heard it.
A small, sharp sound beneath the noise of the storm.
He frowned.
There it was again.
It definitely was not the rain.
Sakura leaned slightly to the side, peering down the alley beside the shop.
Two glowing eyes blinked back at him.
"...You've got to be kidding me."
The cat was half-hidden behind a stack of plastic crates, fur plastered flat from the rain. Black and white. One ear slightly torn. It looked small like that. Smaller than it probably was.
It wasn't running.
Just staring at him.
Water dripped from its whiskers.
The wind shifted, pushing rain further into the alley.
The cat flinched.
Sakura exhaled sharply through his nose.
"Don't look at me like that."
The cat did not look away.
For a second, he considered ignoring it.
It wasn't his problem.
Strays survived storms all the time.
Probably.
Another gust of wind sent rain splashing harder against the crates. The cat shrank back, paws slipping slightly on the wet ground.
Sakura's jaw tightened.
"Damn it."
He stepped out from under the awning before he could think better of it, crossing the short distance into the alley in three quick strides. Rain soaked through him instantly.
The cat didn't run.
It just watched him approach with those unblinking eyes.
"Move," he muttered, crouching down.
He reached forward carefully, expecting claws.
They never came.
The cat let him slide one hand under its stomach and the other behind its shoulders.
It was lighter than he expected.
And warmer.
"...Tch."
He pulled it against his chest and stepped back under the awning.
The cat did not struggle.
Didn't hiss.
Didn't scratch.
It simply tucked its head against his jacket like it had been waiting for this exact outcome.
Sakura stood there, soaked, holding a stray cat in the middle of a storm.
"Just until the storm is over," he told it.
The cat blinked slowly.
Rain continued to pound against the street, but under the awning, it was quieter now.
The cat shifted slightly, pressing closer into the dry space beneath his jacket.
Sakura adjusted his grip without thinking.
"...You're heavy," he muttered.
The cat started purring.
He went very still.
The vibration was faint at first.
Then steady.
He looked down at it like it had personally betrayed him.
"You're not supposed to do that."
The purring continued.
Outside, thunder rolled faintly in the distance.
Sakura leaned back against the brick wall, still holding the cat, and stared out at the rain.
He wasn't sure how long he stood there.
Long enough for the storm to soften.
Long enough for the streets to empty.
Long enough for the cat to fall asleep in his arms.
When the rain finally slowed to a drizzle, Sakura glanced down.
The cat's paws were curled into the fabric of his jacket.
Like it wasn't planning on leaving.
"...You're annoying," he said quietly.
He adjusted his jacket, pulling it slightly closed around the small body tucked against him.
Then he stepped back out into the damp street.
The cat didn't wake up.
And Sakura didn't put it down.
Once he got home, he shut the door with his foot and stood there for a second, water dripping onto the floor.
The cat was still tucked against his chest.
"...You're getting everything wet," he muttered.
The cat didn't move.
Sakura sighed and shifted it onto one arm so he could grab the old towel hanging near the sink. It wasn't exactly soft anymore, but it was dry.
He crouched down and set the cat on the floor.
It immediately stepped back toward him.
"Stay," he said.
It ignored him and pressed against his leg instead.
"Unbelievable."
He knelt again and started drying it off properly, rubbing the towel over its back and sides. The cat endured it with surprising patience, eyes half-lidded, tail flicking lazily.
When he reached the torn ear, he slowed without thinking.
"...You've been in fights too, huh?"
The cat blinked at him.
He looked away first.
After a few more passes with the towel, the fur fluffed slightly instead of lying flat. It looked less like a drowned rat and more like an actual cat.
"Good enough," he muttered.
Only then did he realise he was still soaked.
He dragged the towel over his own hair quickly, shivering as cold air bit into his damp clothes. His apartment was small — one main room, thin walls, and absolutely no working heater.
He changed into dry clothes as fast as possible, fingers stiff from the cold. The cat watched from the centre of the room, sitting neatly like it owned the place.
When he finished, it walked over.
Straight back to him.
"You're not subtle."
Once Sakura sat down, it climbed into his arms before he could protest.
"...You've got to be kidding me."
Still, he didn't push it away.
He grabbed the worn blanket from his bed and sat down against the wall, pulling the fabric around himself. The cat immediately burrowed into the space between his chest and the blanket like it had done this a hundred times before.
Warmth slowly seeped through the thin layers.
Sakura exhaled.
The shivering eased, just a little.
The cat circled once, then settled with its head tucked under his chin.
The room was quiet except for the faint sound of rain still tapping against the window.
"You can stay here, just for the night," Sakura said softly.
The cat purred in response.
He went still again.
The sound was louder this time in the small room, steady and constant.
It vibrated against his chest.
He adjusted the blanket slightly, making sure the cat was fully covered.
"I'm not keeping you," he added.
The cat pressed closer.
Sakura stared at the opposite wall, jaw tight — but he didn't move it away.
After a few minutes, his hand lifted on its own and rested lightly against the cat's back.
Just to keep it steady.
The purring didn't stop.
And for the first time that night, the apartment didn't feel as cold.
Waking up to find a cat staring directly at you is a weird feeling.
The cat was likely hungry, but Sakura didn't have any food to give it, what did cats eat anyway?
He sighed before getting up, "I don't have any food, but I guess I can get you something from town before you leave."
He slipped on his Furin jacket before heading outside, with the cat promptly following him from behind.
He was surprised when the cat didn't just go off on its own but rather stuck by him, when he sped up the cat sped up, when he stopped it did the same.
The cat won't follow him all the way to school would it?
When he reached the shopping district he made a stop at Café Pothos, maybe Kotoha would know what cats eat.
When he reached the shopping district he made a stop at Café Pothos, maybe Kotoha would know what cats eat.
The bell above the door rang as he stepped inside.
So did a second, lighter sound behind him.
He didn't turn around.
He already knew.
A few customers near the window looked down.
"Is that your cat?" someone asked.
"No."
The cat walked in like it had been there before and stopped beside him.
Behind the counter, Kotoha looked up.
Her gaze shifted from Sakura to the floor beside him.
"...You brought a cat."
"I didn't," he said. "It followed me."
The cat sat.
Calm. Still.
Kotoha leaned slightly over the counter. "You know it looks just like you"
He ignored that.
"What do cats eat?"
She blinked. "You don't know?"
"No."
A pause.
Then, "You fed it nothing?"
"It showed up last night."
Kotoha sighed softly and disappeared into the back for a moment. When she returned, she held a small container.
"Plain chicken. No seasoning. That's fine for now."
She set it down on the counter.
The cat's ears twitched.
Sakura crouched, placed the container on the floor a short distance away, and stepped back.
The cat approached carefully.
A few seconds later, it started eating.
Sakura straightened.
"After this, it's done," he said. "I've got school."
Kotoha rested her chin on her hand. "How about you take it to school, I bet the boys would get a kick out of it."
He didn't answer.
The cat finished, licked its paw once, then looked up at him.
There was a beat of silence.
"Okay," Sakura said. "You ate."
He turned toward the door.
The cat followed.
It kept following Sakura no matter what, until he finally ended up at school.
"You can't be here. You're not supposed to follow me all the way to school. I told you yesterday it was just for one night," he muttered under his breath.
The cat looked up at him.
"Meow."
"...That's not a real response."
By some miracle, the halls were empty. Half day. No one needed to show up for another hour.
He slipped into the classroom and shut the door quietly behind him.
The cat walked in too.
"Unbelievable."
He crouched and pointed toward the door. "Out."
The cat sat down.
Footsteps sounded in the hallway.
Sakura stiffened.
They were getting closer.
He scanned the room once, fast, then grabbed the cat without thinking and shoved it inside his jacket, zipping it just enough so it wouldn't fall out.
It squirmed once.
"Stay still," he hissed quietly.
The door slid open.
Sugishita.
He stepped inside without a word.
His eyes landed on Sakura immediately.
Then on the very obvious lump moving slightly under his jacket.
A pause.
"...What's that."
"Nothing."
The lump shifted.
Sakura pressed a hand against it.
Sugishita stared a second longer.
Then, apparently deciding it wasn't worth the effort, he walked to his seat, sat down, rested his head on the desk, and closed his eyes.
He must've been on the roof earlier.
Sakura waited and counted to five.
Sugishita's breathing evened out. He was asleep.
Sakura exhaled slowly and unzipped his jacket just enough for air.
Two eyes blinked up at him from inside the fabric.
"It's time to go," he whispered. "Now."
The cat pushed its head out slightly instead.
"No."
It made a soft sound and settled deeper against his shirt.
"You can't stay here."
The cat blinked. With no movement toward the door.
He glanced back at Sugishita, still asleep.
If anyone else showed up—
The cat shifted again, then stilled, curling into the warmth of his jacket.
It started purring, low and steady.
Sakura froze.
"...Don't do that."
The purring didn't stop.
He looked toward the door again.
More footsteps in the distance this time meaning more students arriving.
He looked down at the cat tucked inside his jacket.
Then back at the door.
"...You're causing problems."
The cat nudged lightly against his chest.
Sakura closed his eyes briefly.
"...Fine. But you stay quiet."
The purring continued.
He adjusted his jacket slightly so it wouldn't be obvious.
Right as more voices filled the hallway outside.
This was a disaster.
And somehow, the cat looked completely calm about it.
The door was swung wide open, it was Nirei and Suo. "So that's how I get all that information. Oh hey Sakura....?"
Nirei's sentence trailed off, clearly seeing the large bump moving about in Sakura's jacket.. "What are you hiding Sakura?"
"Shit, was it that obvious!"
"So your admitting it, also yeah I think that huge bump is a big giveaway."
"I'm not hiding anything."
Suddenly, his jacket was lifted up, unvealing the cat, Sakura didn't notice Suo get behind him before it was too late.
"What do we have here Sakura?"
"Oh my god, it's so cute, it looks just like you, is it yours?"
Sakura's face flushed at the attention, "Shut up! It does not look like me 'cause I'm not a cat. Also it ain't mine, the thing just won't stop following me."
"Then why were you trying to hide it?"
Sakura just now realised there was no real point in hiding it as it was a stray, it could do whatever it wanted.
"I don't know, I just heard footsteps and since it probably isn't allowed here I just hid it."
"It sounds like Sakura cares about the little cat." Suo chuckled at Sakura's denial, he could tell the cat at the very least had taken a liking to Sakura.
Nirei, ever the opportunist, reached his hand out to the cat, letting it sniff it before he went on to pet it.
"So Sakura, you got a name for it yet?"
"No..."
Suo jumped in, pitching the idea to name it little Sakura, which was quick to be rejected.
"Why don't we leave it to a class vote once everyone gets here."
"What a splendid idea Nirei."
Sakura stared at them.
“No.”
“Yes,” Nirei said immediately. “We’re absolutely voting.”
“We are not.”
Beside him, Suo smiled like this was the best thing that had happened all week. “Democracy is important, Sakura.”
“It’s a stray.”
“Correction,” Suo said lightly, crouching to the cat’s level, “it’s your stray.”
“It’s not mine.”
The cat, traitor that it was, stepped out of Sakura’s open jacket and sat directly on his desk.
Like it had claimed the territory.
Nirei’s eyes practically sparkled. “It really does look like you, though.”
“It does not.”
More footsteps filled the hallway. Voices. The rest of the class arriving.
Nirei straightened. “Too late. The public will decide.”
“You’re not serious.”
The door slid open again. A few classmates stepped in mid-conversation, then froze.
Silence.
“…Is that a cat?”
On Sakura’s desk, the cat flicked its tail once.
Every head turned toward him.
“It’s not mine,” he said immediately.
“Sure,” someone muttered.
Within seconds, half the class had gathered around his desk. Not too close — just enough to look.
The cat didn’t flinch.
It just sat there calmly, as if intending this to happen.
Nirei clapped his hands together. “Alright! Since it apparently refuses to leave and Sakura has no name for it—”
“It doesn't need one.”
“—we’re voting.”
Hands shot up immediately.
Sakura looked like he was reconsidering every life decision that led to this moment.
“No ridiculous names,” he warned.
“Too late,” Suo said pleasantly.
Suggestions started flying.
“Storm!”
“Oreo!"
“Othello!”
“Mini-Sakura!”
“Absolutely not, just name it Kuroshiro and now we are done.” Sakura snapped.
"Pffft, what a simple name."
However, the cat after hearing this, stood up and rub its head against Sakura's chest, ignoring everyone else.
The room went quiet again.
Suo tilted his head. “It seems the cat has chosen.”
Sakura looked down at it.
It blinked up at him.
“…Don’t start,” he muttered.
Nirei grinned. “Looks like the vote’s unanimous.”
“For what?” Sakura demanded.
Suo’s smile widened slightly. “That it’s yours and its name is Kuroshiro.”
Sakura opened his mouth to argue—
The cat began purring.
Loudly.
Right in the middle of the classroom.
A few people laughed.
Sakura closed his mouth.
Looked at the door.
Looked at the windows.
Looked back down at the cat now curled comfortably in his lap.
“…You’re causing problems,” he muttered.
The cat didn’t move.
It just stayed there.
Like it wasn’t going anywhere, and it wasn't, not anytime soon at the very least.
Kuroshiro was now Sakura's cat, just how the cat intended.