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"Mama, look! A kitty cat!" Anya said as she stood beside the window.
"Oh, how cute," Yor replied as she came beside Anya and looked out the window. Night had fallen, but Yor could still easily see a white cat sitting neatly on the ground outside. Its fur was radiant, as if glowing, and its golden eyes were bright, even from this distance. It seemed to meet Yor's gaze and she felt her heart flutter a moment. "What a beautiful cat…" she said without thinking.
"Yeah, she really is!" Anya beamed. "I've seen her the past few days!"
"'She'? How do you know she's a girl?"
Anya was silent a moment as tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Um, gut feeling?"
Yor chuckled quietly; when she'd been young, she had thought most cats were girls too. "I wonder if it— she lives around here."
"Maybe we could adopt her…" Anya said, and somewhere behind her Bond huffed in response. "Ah, look!"
Yor glanced out the window saw the cat stretching. It cast one more look at Yor and Anya, as if actually seeing them, and then vanished into the shadows. Yor blinked; wait, vanished?
"Huh? Where did she go?" she wondered out loud.
Anya's eyes were wide in shock. "W-W-Was that a g-g-ghost?" she stammered.
"No, no, I'm sure it's nothing like that." Yor gently touched Anya's shoulder. "It's dark out, so I'm sure it just jumped into some bushes. Cats are fast creatures, you know."
However, even Yor doubted her own words. Bright as that cat's fur had been, surely she would've seen it dash away. As an assassin, she had excellent night vision, and nothing escaped her notice. Anya didn't seemed convinced either and muttered, "Papa would say the same thing."
In an unfortunate coincidence, Anya's break from school had coincided with Loid's business trip. The field of psychology was always evolving, he had explained to Yor and Anya, so these presentations were important to attend so that he could continue to learn how to best treat his patients.
"Grown-ups still need to study?" Anya had exclaimed with both disgust and shock.
And Loid had smiled ruefully and patted Anya's head. "Being an adult doesn't mean you stop learning."
"Ugh, you sound like Mr. Henderson," Anya had grumbled, and Yor could not help but laugh.
"Maybe the cat will be back tomorrow night," Yor said to Anya. "But right now, it's bedtime for you."
Anya's eyes sparkled. "I could do a stake-out, just like Bondman!"
"As long as you don't neglect your homework…"
With a solid plan for tomorrow, Anya wasn't as fussy as usual while she prepared for bed. Yor, however, decided to stay up a little longer and read the cookbook Camilla had given her. She wanted to get better at cooking as soon as possible so that Anya would smile at her cooking the way she did at Loid's. Yet Yor couldn't concentrate on the words on the page, and she kept glancing at the window. Although she had raised Yuri after their parents' passing, she'd never imagined becoming a mother, especially with her other profession. But she loved Anya and Loid as much as she loved Yuri, and it hurt keeping secrets from them. Anya in particular was so innocent, even still believing in ghosts, and Yor would do anything to protect that smile. She dirtied her hands so that no one else had to.
She shut her book and smiled. Right now, the best thing she could do was set a good example for Anya and go to bed at a reasonable time herself. Thus she stood and began to head toward her bedroom, but on a whim she instead looked out the window, and heard a sudden meow.
"Huh?" she exclaimed, but saw nothing outside. That meow had sounded so close, though, too close. "It's late, little kitty, so you should go home now," she said out loud, and immediately felt foolish.
Maybe she was just imagining things. She hadn't had a mission in a while, so she did feel a little restless. When she heard nothing else, she shrugged her shoulders and headed toward her bedroom.
That night, she dreamed of Anya following a white cat.
"This is boring," Anya said the following day, sitting at the same window she had seen that white cat last night, and a blank notebook lay open on her lap.
"Well, stake-outs usually aren't very exciting," Yor replied, sitting beside Anya. Personally, she found it relaxing to sit at the window and simply watch the world go by. "You have to be patient, and even then nothing might happen."
"But when Bondman does a stake-out, the bad guys always gather and start talking about their evil plans!"
"Real life isn't quite so simple…" Yor said; that certainly would make finding her targets easier, though.
Anya tapped her chin with her pencil, pursing her lips in thought. "Mama, have you ever been on a stake-out?"
"Um…" Yor hesitated, as an assassin, she had certainly lain in wait for her targets, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. But as that usually ended in a bloody mess, she couldn't very well tell Anya that. "Not really," she said with an awkward laugh, and briefly she wondered what made Anya's eyes go wide. "So this is a new experience for me too."
"It's a boring experi-whatever, that's what," Anya pouted.
"Anya!" Yor tried to scold, but Anya's pouting face was so cute she couldn't stop herself from smiling anyway.
Much to Yor's surprise, Anya giggled as she returned her attention to the window. She rested her elbows on the window sill and her chin in her hands, and soon Bond came beside her to sit with her. He gave her arm a gentle nudge with his nose, and she stared at him for a surprisingly tense moment before letting out a deep sigh. "No, nothing," she said. "But thanks for trying."
Yor chuckled. "If only Bond could see the future. Maybe he'd be able to tell you where that cat might appear next."
Anya gave Yor a look of such intense shock that Yor worried she had said something offensive, but then Anya laughed nervously. "N-No way, this isn't TV!" she stammered as she stood. "A-Anyway, if that cat really is a ghost, then she might only appear at night! So right now, we should ask our neighbors if they've seen anything strange!"
A stray cat wasn't that strange, Yor thought to herself, but seeing the pleading look on Anya's face, she kept that comment to herself. Thus she smiled as she laid her hand on Anya's hair and said, "That's a good idea. Be sure to bring your notebook so you can take notes like a proper detective!"
"Yippee!" Anya exclaimed brightly.
Thus Yor and Anya left their apartment with Bond. Anya smiled widely, holding her notebook proudly and tucking a pencil behind her ear. As they came to the entrance of their apartment complex, they spotted a young woman they recognized as their neighbor from two doors down.
"Hello there, young lady!" Anya greeted in what Yor assumed was supposed to be a gruff detective's voice. "May I ask you a few questions?"
The woman giggled. "Anya, was it? Sure, what do you want to know?"
Anya cleared her throat for effect and took her pencil from behind her ear. "What do you know about cats?"
"Cats?" the woman repeated in surprise. "Well, they're cute and cuddly, and their fur is just the softest…" she said, and Anya nodded in agreement.
"Um, what Anya means is, have you seen or heard any cats around here recently?" Yor added quickly, and maybe it was just her imagination, but Bond looked a little jealous too.
"Oh, I have actually!" the woman said. "The past few nights, I've heard a cat meowing! Maybe one of our neighbors got a new cat!"
"But this kitty was outside!" Anya said. "Me and Mama saw it out the window!"
"Then maybe it's a stray." The woman smiled grimly. "I'd adopt it, but my sister is allergic."
"And then the kitty disappeared!"
The woman laughed again. "Well, cats are faster than you think!"
"No, I mean—" Anya began to protest, but the woman looked at her watch and gasped.
"Oh, I need to leave now!" she said. "Take care, you two!"
Anya frowned as the woman headed outside. "But I really did see the kitty disappear…"
Yor touched Anya's shoulder. "Let's keep asking around, and I'm sure we'll find the truth."
Unfortunately, the people outside didn't have much more information that Anya wanted to hear.
"There have been more stray cats 'round lately," said an old man. "But ain't no one been able to catch them. That ain't good for the birds, let me tell you what."
"Well, there was that one house full of cats not too far from here," a mother said, tapping her chin. "But no one's lived there for decades."
"Meowing at night?" said a middle-aged woman dubiously. "That's not so strange. What are you asking me for?"
"Ghosts aren't real!" proudly proclaimed a little boy. "Hey, can I pet your dog?"
By evening Yor and Anya sat on a park bench to rest, and Bond rested his head on Anya's lap as she stared intently at her single page of notes. Interviewing people was hard work, Yor thought, and the way Anya scowled now worried her. Nor had they actually seen any stray cats, and Anya had fallen unusually silent. Her shoulders quaked slightly, as if she was holding back tears.
"We did learn a little bit," Yor said, breaking the silence. "Other people have heard meowing at night, even if they hadn't actually seen the cat themselves."
"Maybe ghosts only show themselves to people who believe," Anya muttered with a pout.
Yor pursed her lips. That seemed like leap in logic. Why was Anya so obsessed with the idea of that cat being a ghost? Ghosts weren't real, after all. Still that white cat had disappeared so suddenly, and Yor couldn't quite shake that uneasy feeling.
Anya looked up at Yor with that same pleading look in her large green eyes. "Mama did see that white kitty cat too last night, right…?"
"Of course I did," Yor said with a smile. "And if it is someone's lost pet, we won't rest until we get it home."
"Home…" Anya repeated, her voice soft, and Bond nudged her small hand with his large nose.
"Speaking of which, let's head home now too," Yor said as she stood and offered her hand to Anya. "I'm sure you're hungry, so I'll make dinner."
Anya tried valiantly not to shudder as she accepted Yor's hand. Yor missed Loid's cooking too, but he had left her lists of recipes he instructed her to follow exactly, and it had worked well enough for her these past few days.
After night fell, Anya sat at that same window again in her pajamas, and with such a patient focus that Yor hadn't thought her capable of. (Yor also wondered if she imagined the glare that Anya shot her.) An open notebook again lay across Anya's lap, and she gripped her pencil so tightly Yor worried it would snap in two. Bond sat beside Anya a while, but eventually he left to sleep in his usual corner.
And still that cat didn't appear.
"Bondman would never give up on a stake-out," Anya said to herself, still as a statue. "He'd wait all night for the perfect moment to strike…"
Yor bit her lip; Loid would've had Anya in bed an hour ago. But she hadn't seen Anya this determined since earning her most recent Stella, so maybe it wouldn't hurt to indulge her a little longer…? Yor let out a heavy sigh. Being a parent was hard work, and she had a renewed appreciation for Loid. He had raised Anya alone for so long, and Yor wanted to support them as best she could as wife and mother.
"Anya, how are you feeling?" she asked as she came beside Anya, but was shocked to discover Anya had fallen asleep! Holding back a giggle, she took Anya into her arms and carried her to bed. This would be their little secret, Yor thought to herself.
Anya didn't stir at all as Yor laid her on her bed and pulled the sheets over her, and her expression was blissfully peaceful. With a careful smile Yor patted her head and whispered, "Good night, Anya."
With Anya in bed, Yor returned to the living room to turn off the remaining lights. On a whim she glanced out the window and froze. That white cat had returned.
It stared, its golden eyes reflecting the moonlight. Yor tensed, unable to look away, and the cat's tail swung carefully. It was watching something - her, perhaps? But as high up as their apartment was, that cat couldn't have been able to see her so clearly. Did it simply regard her as a curiosity, or as prey?
In stories, ghosts were sometimes said to possess their victims. But ghosts weren't real, she told herself.
She blinked, and the cat was gone. Maybe she was just imagining things. All this talk of ghosts was making her jumpy, and with Loid gone for now, it was up to her to protect Anya. She flexed and closed her fingers, recalling the weight of her poisoned needles. For now, things were peaceful, but that could change at a moment's notice.
Yor cast one last glance out the window, and saw nothing but night. She thus retired to bed, trying to ignore that feeling of unease.
The next morning, Anya declared her desire to go to the library.
"We're dealing with lots of questions, but not enough answers," she said, trying to sound sagely. "So we need more answers, and the best place to find answers is in books! And the best place to find books is a library!"
Yor smiled. "Your father would be happy to hear you say that."
Yet Anya let out heavy sigh. "Still, spending my break reading books? And I can't even show off to sy-on boy how smart I've gotten…"
"You two will be friends someday, I'm sure of it," Yor said. "Like myself and his mother."
Anya bit her thumbnail. "I won't lose to Mama's friendship scheme. But first, we've got a mystery to solve!"
And thus the two of them left for the library. It was in the center of the city, not far from their apartment complex. Yor herself had only visited it a few times prior; Yuri had frequented it more often as part of his studies. Seeing him so engrossed in books had made it easier for Yor to endure the loneliness of her secret occupation. Wherever Anya's studies took her, Yor hoped to support her just as well.
"Now remember, Anya," Yor said as they reached the library, "many people here are studying, so we have to be quiet."
"Right!" Anya nodded determinately. "When it's quiet, it's easier to hear secret information!"
Well, she wasn't wrong about that, Yor thought to herself, and Anya giggled.
The library was two stories tall and predominately glass, allowing for much natural light and creating a welcoming feeling. As they entered, Anya immediately dashed to the information desk and asked, "Where are your cat books?"
"My, what an adorable girl you are," the librarian said with a smile. "We do have many books about cats for children."
"Cats, huh?" said a young man nearby. "You know, that remains me of a story I heard about a place not far from here. Apparently its owners left it to their cats and the cats' caretaker when they passed."
"Wow…" Anya exclaimed, wide-eyed. "A whole house of cats…"
"Well, it was a long time ago, though," the man added.
"Now, Anya, remember what we came here for," Yor said.
"Right, books!"
The librarian chuckled. "Right this way, miss."
They found the children's non-fiction section quickly enough, and the librarian showed Anya a number of books with detailed drawings and photographs of various cats. Anya eagerly accepted them all, and Yor helped her carry them to a quiet study table. Seated, Anya opened the thinnest book among the pile, and Yor picked one at random to read as well. How this would help Anya's "ghost cat" investigation, Yor wasn't quite sure, but any kind of learning was good.
As they read, Yor occasionally glanced at Anya out of the corner of her eye, and Anya's lips were pursed in deep thought as she stared at the book before her, open to a page of a mother cat and her kittens. Yor smiled; it was nice to see Anya focused so much on learning something new.
Yet Anya frowned as she flipped through the pages. "There's nothing about ghost kitties in here," she muttered.
"Well, no. That'd be a different subject," Yor replied, her voice equally quiet.
"Hmph," Anya pouted, and she choose another book from the pile to read instead.
They read a little while longer in silence, but truth be told, Yor was mostly just looking the pictures of adorable cats. (One in particular reminded her of Yuri, she thought and stifled a laugh, and Anya gave her an odd look.) However, Anya's shoulders began to slump, and more than once she sighed heavily.
Suddenly she stood. "Let's ask for ghost books instead!" she exclaimed in a hushed whisper.
"All right," Yor said with a nod. "But let's return these books first - we want to be polite patrons, after all."
They carried the cat books to the return desk, and then made their way back to the information desk, where the librarian from before greeted them with another smile. "Oh, hello again. Back for more books?"
Anya nodded. "I want ghost books this time!"
"Well then, ghost stories for children are in our picture—"
"No, not stories! Real life ghosts!"
The librarian gave Anya a puzzled look. "W-Well, I believe we might have a few books about paranormal hoaxes—"
"No, it's not a hoax!" Anya said sharply, her small hands balling into fists. "I need something real…!"
"But—"
"I'm not being silly!" Anya wailed suddenly, startling Yor, and her eyes watered. "I'm not stupid… I'm not…!"
"Anya!" Yor scolded. "What's gotten into you?" To the librarian, she said, "I'm so sorry!"
The librarian's eyes were wide. "But I didn't say…"
Yor took Anya's hand. "Let's go home now, Anya. You might feel better after some lunch."
Anya only nodded numbly, and said nothing.
Thus a heavy air lingered over them as they walked home, and Anya's hand in Yor's trembled. She didn't cry, but her eyes were still puffy and bloodshot. Yor bit her lip, trying to make sense of what happened earlier. What had set Anya off? Had she really been so hurt by the librarian's misunderstanding? What had Yor missed?
"Everyone thinks I'm stupid," Anya said suddenly, her voice small. "But I'm not, really."
"I know," Yor said gently. "And I'm sure the librarian knows that too. She was just confused by your questions."
"But she thought…" Anya chewed her lip and sighed again. "No, never mind."
Bond greeted them happily when they returned home, but that did little to raise Anya's spirits.
Anya's mood hadn't improved by the time night fell, and not even an episode of Bondman managed to cheer her up. Instead, she stared wistfully out the window where she had first seen that strange cat, and remained unusually silent. Yor was silent as well, unsure. She'd never seen Anya so withdrawn. What would Loid do in this situation?
Maybe cats reminded Anya of her late mother? Neither Anya nor Loid ever spoke of her, and Yor had never seen a photograph of her either. But Loid had also said he and Anya never had a pet before Bond. So why was Anya so fixated on the idea of a ghost cat?
Yor clenched her hand over her chest. Maybe if she really was Anya's mother, she'd truly be able to understand Anya. Maybe an assassin who was better at killing people than cooking wasn't fit to be a mother. But Loid and Anya had chosen her for a reason. She had to at least try.
"Anya," she said carefully, approaching Anya at the window. "That cat might not show tonight, so maybe you should get in your pajamas and—"
"Mama saw the cat last night," Anya muttered sharply. "But you didn't tell me."
Yor froze. Anya couldn't have known that, she'd been asleep. "Well, I couldn't be sure—"
"You think I'm stupid too, just like everyone else!" Anya cried as she turned away from the window, and her eyes watered. "But it's true! There really is a ghost cat out there! I can hear—!"
"Hear what, Anya?" Yor pressed gently, although her heart was anything but.
Anya slapped her hands over her mouth, her shoulders quaking. She shot another glance out the window, and then, much to Yor's shock, dashed toward the door and fled the apartment.
Stunned, all Yor could do a moment was remain still. "Anya…" she said uselessly. However, a faint meow jolted her from her stupor, and she dashed outside the apartment as well. This late, she saw none of their neighbors, and she was both relieved and disappointed. None would've seen Anya leave, but she had no one to ask for help.
Once she was outside the apartment complex, surrounded by night, she saw no signs of Anya. She glanced around frantically, hoping to see a flash of familiar pink, but nothing. Her breathing quickened and she clenched her shaking hands together; yes, the city was relatively safe, but night was still no time for a little girl to be wandering about! What if Anya was lost? Hurt?
What if she hadn't actually left the apartment building? But what if she had? What if she never came back? What if Yor never found her?
Yor tried to inhale a deep breath to calm herself. Anya was a resourceful girl. She'd been so brave during the bus hijacking incident. But she had also broken down afterwards, being a normal, scared little girl. And the hurt on her face when she realized Yor had kept a secret from her had felt like a knife to Yor's own heart.
"Oh, Anya…" Yor said, her eyes aching. "I'm so sorry…"
"Meow."
Yor looked down, and a white cat sat at her feet. It was almost transparent, but the depths of its golden eyes seemed endless. It stood and meowed again, as if waiting for something.
"Did you take Anya?" Yor said, squaring her shoulders. In any other situation, she might've felt foolish speaking to a cat, but Anya's safety was at stake now. "Please, help me find her!"
The cat meowed and ran and Yor followed, her determination renewed. The cat was fast, but every time Yor was about to lose sight of it, it would stop and wait for her to catch up before dashing again. It led her down the streets and while there were still a handful of other people out and about at this time, they only stared strangely at Yor as she dashed past, but no one tried to stop her. She didn't care if anyone thought her odd now. This strange cat was her only lead to Anya, and she'd follow it into hell to rescue Anya if she had to.
Soon enough the tall buildings gave way to taller trees, and the lack of streetlights didn't deter Yor. The forest was dense, but as an assassin, she could find her path in such darkness, and besides that, that strange cat seemed to glow. Had Anya really come this way? And if so, how had she managed to already get this far ahead of Yor? Maybe she was walking into a trap, and she was unarmed. However, she still had her brutal, unfeminine strength, she thought grimly.
Suddenly a ruined manor appeared before her, and she came to a halt. She frowned; she had heard of an abandoned manor nearby, and neighbors often complained of daredevils loitering about. This was absolutely no place for children! The white cat stood at the entrance, beckoning Yor with a careful swipe of its tail, and Yor strode forward to enter.
Much to her surprise, a chorus of meows greeted her. Countless cats played and pounced, unaware of their derelict surroundings. Their fur ranged with white to ginger to black to calico, and like the white cat they all appeared partly transparent. Yor stood in place, dumbfounded, and in the center of all the curious cats was Anya, clapping and laughing happily.
"You're all so cute!" she exclaimed. "I was right, I was right…!"
"Anya!" Yor cried out, startling Anya. With fear in her eyes, Anya slowed looked up at Yor as Yor came closer, and she let out a squeak of surprise when Yor dropped to knees and embraced her tightly.
"M-Mama?" Anya stammered.
"Please don't ever scare like that again," Yor said as she released Anya with a relieved sigh. "I'm sorry, Anya. I didn't mean to make you feel stupid. I know you're a bright girl."
Anya's expression lightened and she spread her arms wide. "Look at the all the kitties, Mama! Remember what that person in the library said? That a long time ago, someone left their home to their kitty cats!"
"Right, to the cats and their caretakers…" Yor smiled, glancing around at the cats. "But are they really ghosts…?"
Anya nodded smugly. "They were happy, but lonely too, so that's why they stuck around. They wanted one more person to play with!"
Yor chuckled. "You really do have a way with animals, don't you? It's almost like you can read their minds."
"T-That's just silly!" Anya said with a stilted laugh. "A-Anyway, the kitties chose me to play with them!"
"All right, but remember that it is late, and it's important to get a good night's sleep."
"You sound like Papa now…" Anya mumbled, but the smile returned to her face as a black cat poked her foot with its tiny paw.
Although Anya could not actually pet the cats, her smile was still bright as she and the cats chased each other playfully around the foyer. It was an endearing, if slightly strange sight, Yor thought as she watched. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined getting involved with a ghostly mystery like this! And best of all, the ghosts turned out to be friendly. It was certainly preferable to assassination.
If only things would always be this peaceful, then there would be no need for the Thorn Princess. But until then, Yor still had secrets to keep from those she loved.
One by one the cats began to vanish, until only the white cat that had started this whole mess remained. Yor came beside Anya, and the white cat watched them closely as Anya rubbed her eyes with her sleeve. "It's time, isn't it?" she said with a weak smile. "But I had a lot of fun too! I won't forget you, I promise!"
The cat meowed, its eyes bright in the moonlight, and it pranced away into the shadows, vanishing just as suddenly as it had appeared in their lives.
"Well, mystery solved, I suppose," Yor said. "Anya?"
"The kitties just wanted one more person to play with them," Anya said again as she smiled at Yor. "But Papa won't believe me, will he?"
"Mm, probably not." Yor could just imagine the doubtful look on Loid's face if Anya started going on about ghost cats. "So it'll be our little secret for now. But maybe someday you'll be able to tell him."
Anya put her hands on her hips and her smile grew smug. "Thus ends Ghost Hunter Anya's first case!"
Yor could not help but smile; Anya wouldn't be able to keep this secret from Loid for very long. But even if Yor backed up Anya's claims, would anyone believe them? Truly, there were mysteries yet to be solved in this world.
"Welcome home, Papa!" Anya exclaimed as Loid stepped through the front door.
"It's good to see you two again," Loid replied as he removed his coat. "Were you good while I was gone?"
Anya nodded. "I played with lots of kitties! Right, Mama?"
"Yes, you did." Yor smiled. "Why don't you show him some of the drawings you did?"
Loid raised an eyebrow as Anya gave him a bundle of papers, but he too smiled as he examined her crayon drawings. "I didn't realize we had so many cats around here. Very cute, Anya."
Anya beamed proudly. "Of course! I learned a lot about kitties!"
"Speaking of which, your break from school ends tomorrow, right?" Loid's smile didn't waver. "Did you complete all of your homework?"