Chapter Text
"Thank you, you are a beautiful audience!" The young man in a black leather jacket bowed while lowering his guitar.
He heard a few claps before they fade back to the busy sound of people roaming around the town's plaza. The small crowd of people surrounding him dispersed and left him to himself.
"That was a great performance I would have to say. I'll stick around in case my fans want an autograph from me," the man shifted his sunglasses to the rim of his nose and smiled.
He stood there for a whole 5 minutes before he realized no one was approaching him. His fans must be shy then. Don't worry he'll be back with another street performance in a few more days and they will be able to get his autograph then.
He took a glance at the small jar on the ground and picked it up. The side of the jar had the words 'tips' written on it and the inside was the money he received from today's beautiful performance. There wasn't much. He noticed it right away, but it didn't bother him since this was what he typically got. What did bothered him was the excess pile of CDs that no one picked up. Why was that? Did his audience failed to see the 'free' sign next to the CDs? Did he write it too small? He picked up the homemade sign and studied it. No it looked big enough. Also how could they miss the glittery blue fonts on his CD cover? He worked hard to make his name stand out.
"Heh," no worries. He'll just increase the font size and switch the cover paper texture to give out a shiny halo effect. It'll look so attractive, they will surely notice it. His audience will be so pleased.
He took the money out of his tip jar and counted them. $17.43. A little less than last gig, but it didn't faze him. He stuffed the money into his wallet and began to pack up his equipments. In a few minutes he was all set with his messenger bag and guitar case on his back. He carefully untangled his name tag "Karamatsu" (also decorated in glittery blue) from his messenger bag and brushed himself off.
Okay, time to grab lunch and head home.
It was lunch time and the plaza was busier than ever. After grabbing himself a sandwich, he found himself trapped in the crowd. He felt people bumping against him and they almost made him dropped his sandwich! But what worried him the most was his guitar. He had to escape from this swarm soon. He wormed his way out and was out of breath by the time he freed himself.
"Hi sir, would you care to foster a cat?"
Karamatsu looked up in surprise to see a pretty young girl smiling at him. Her beauty left him stunned for a while.
"Excuse me?" He stammered.
"Please we are in need of people to volunteer to foster cats at their home as they transition for adoption," she looked at him with urgent and pleading eyes. Karamatsu swallowed. He was finding it hard to say no to those eyes.
"You just have to offer a place for the animal to stay until they are adopted. Our organization will provide you will all the food, mediation, and supplies. We just need volunteers to take care of the cat or kitten for a duration of time. So what do you say?" She pushes her clipboard towards him.
The action broke Karamatsu's daze. He looked down at the application in front of him. A cat, huh? He never had a cat before nor did he particularly paid much attention to them throughout his life. They were… cute? That's about all he can say about them.
He glanced at the girl again. It looks like they are really in short on people. It was also the first time in a long while since someone noticed him and reached out to him, even if it was for his help. If it was something that he can do, why couldn't he? He was in his early twenties, he finished college, and although his degree didn't get him a good job, he still manage some other part time jobs and was able to support himself so he wouldn't have to rely on his parents. He was able to support himself and if he can foster a cat for a while, he could do it. It was no problem for him.
"Alright then."
"Really? You want to foster one of our cats?" the girl's eyes widen in anticipation.
"Yes, please give me the details."
The rest of her expression was filled with joy and gratitude and that made Karamatsu smiled. He felt really good about himself right now. Not the the one he had to force himself to feel good about himself, like he had to convince himself that he is fine as he was. Right now he felt genuinely good and happy about himself.