The Curious Case of a Cat in the Daytime (maybe)

[windbreak]

It began, as Yosuke so often did, with a late-night text.

YO
Guess what i heard!
That bookstore in Okina from that one time, they moved locations so there's gonna be a biiiig sale on
U said u didn't have plans this weekend right? Wanna come with??
I swear i wont even try to tell people were on a date
PLZ???
plz

And that, with a little more back and forth wheedling, was that.

But the appointed time came and went like the watery sunlight on the steps of Yasoinaba Station, and Yosuke was nowhere to be found. In itself, this wasn't unusual. The unusual part was the lack of mildly hysterical phone call complaining about wild bears and bemoaning his lot in life to accompany it.

Only about twenty minutes later did a battered-looking yellow bike finally squeak mournfully into the parking lot, carrying an equally harried-looking figure - who, for once in his life, seemed to be pedalling at a sensible speed. How bizarre.

Comments

[meatatarian]

Chie had only agreed to this because Yosuke was being incredibly obnoxious about this, and agreeing would shut him up. Her parents were already asleep, and her phone kept chiming to signal the SMS, and like hell she was going to get in trouble again because of Yosuke's late night messages. Her pillow could only mute the sounds so much, but it was better than outright turning her phone off or putting it on silent. Despite how annoying it was, she didn't much like cutting off that means of communication these days.

... maybe she could coerce some steak from his wallet. Y'know, for the inconvenience.

She had bought herself a bag of dried beef on the way there, because like hell she was completely skipping lunch. But, by the time Yosuke actually arrived, the bag was long since empty and in the trash, and Chie was waiting, hands in her jacket pockets, looking somewhat annoyed. "Jeez, can't even give a girl a phone call when you're late? No wonder you don't get dates."

But, the fact that he was moving at a more reasonable pace made her pause. She waited until he was completely stopped, and then-- "Shouldn't you be hurrying if you're late?"

Totally her version of being concerned. Totally.

LOOK I TAGGED YOU BACK now you get nothing else for a year

[windbreak]

Adding to the list of uncharacteristic behaviour as Yosuke finally squeaked to a halt nearby was his failure to whine even a little bit at her comment. He seemed reluctant to look her in the eye, but catching a glimpse of his expression would reveal the look of a person who'd seen the face of hell - or at least the side of a wall, if the faint bruising was anything to go by. "I was hurrying, I was hurrying," he mumbled hopelessly. "Let's just leave it at that..."

But no sooner had he begun to breathe a sigh of relief than it caught in his throat, and he froze. "Oh god, it's here."

The ominous sign he'd just spotted out of the corner of his eye? The twitch of a furry ginger tail, a little ways behind the closest trash can.

wow WOOOOW

[meatatarian]

Admittedly, the bruising was a little concerning. At the same time, it wasn't as surprising as it could be. This was Yosuke, after all. He'd crashed his bicycle right into a trash can before. Still, Chie frowned at the bruising, tipping her head in confusion. "What happened to your face?"

... unfortunately, whatever it was that Yosuke saw that panicked him like that, Chie never saw it. Even so, she turned to look, trying to find something, anything that had him reacting that way.

"What are you even looking at? There's nothing here."

[windbreak]

Her movement was enough to startle him out of whatever pit of terror he'd been about to drop into. He shook his head, finally relaxing his shoulders. "Right! Of course there's nothing here." Still averting his gaze, he swung his leg over and hopped down onto the asphalt. "Okay, lemme just find the lock, and we can -"

That exact moment was the cue for the offending (and offended) cat to rocket out from behind the bin, claws out and reaching for Yosuke's closest arm.

[meatatarian]

Uh huh. That answer was completely convincing. Momentarily, Chie had to wonder if maybe the bruising on her friend's face had something to do with impacting a wall or falling off his bike, which could maybe cause a concussion or something. As Yosuke got off of his bicycle, she gave him a skeptical look. "Hey, you never answered my question."

But, she probably wouldn't get a solid answer just yet. That cat leapt out, claws ablaze, and Chie let out a startled noise. It wasn't a scream. Shut up. "What--!?"

[windbreak]

If it was any consolation to Chie, her yelp of surprise was a bit tricky to tell apart from Yosuke's in that eternal split second. He flinched back, but his reflexes had already failed him. The cat caught the side of his shirt sleeve and grimly dug in, its hind legs comically swaying below. Comical to anyone except the unfortunate young man who was being used as a scratching post, anyway.

Gritting his teeth, Yosuke batted at the cat with his other hand, to little effect. Ugh, and it had to be heavier than its size and traces of kitten fuzz suggested, too. "Ow - dammit, take a hint -"

Nope, answer time was going to be postponed for a little while longer, unless anybody stepped in to help. Sorry, Chie.

[meatatarian]

Yeah, it would have been hilarious, honestly, if Chie had been less startled by it. She stood for a moment, blinking in surprise at the sight before her, like it was something on one of those weird comedy shows where they prank people in public. Idly, she wondered if she should look around for cameras.

But, enough was enough. Chie set her jaw and took a step forward, reaching out at the first opportunity and trying to grab the cat by the scruff of it's neck. She may have been more of a dog person than a cat person, but clearly Yosuke had done something to this animal to make it attack like that. ... either that, or it had rabies, but.

"What the hell did you do!?"

[windbreak]

"What do you mean, what did I do!?" Yosuke snapped back, because defending his integrity was definitely a worthwhile use of his time while there was an angry cat stuck to his shirt.

But it seemed that the cat was too hellbent on gutting its target to notice her stepping up behind it, because it barely resisted. Only when it found its hind legs scrabbling at empty air rather than Yosuke's leg did it think to turn its ginger head, giving her an impressively sullen look.

Still smarting, Yosuke shot the animal a glare from what he could only hope was now out of clawing distance. "Well?" he demanded, unable not to sound a little giddy. "Get it out of your system yet? Or was four times not enough!?"

The cat meowed.

[meatatarian]

"Well, you must have pissed it off somehow!" Because seriously, a cat wouldn't just attack out of nowhere, right? Chie 'hmph'ed, glancing down at the cat currently being held midair by the back of it's neck. At least the thing had the decency to look upset, as much as a cat could look like it felt bad about something. Still, Chie held it where it couldn't attack again.

Yosuke's comment, though, made her frown again. Huh. So, was that why he'd been late? "So wait, you're telling me this cat chased you down this whole way?" It was... kind of funny, in some respects, but jeez. The cameras could come out any time now.

[windbreak]

No, dammit, no, let's not bring the cameras out. Practically flinching, Yosuke waved an agitated hand. "Dude, how is it my fault this thing is psychotic!? I didn't even hit it!"

"Mrowl," said the cat, at least as indignant as he was.

[meatatarian]

Well, this was clearly a prank show, so she was half expecting them to, okay? Chie huffed at the blatant dismissal, kind of working the cat into a gentler hold than by the scruff of it's neck. If it would let her without clawing her, anyway.

"Look, cats don't just go around attacking people! You had to do something!"

[windbreak]

"You're not even listening to me now, are y-...!?"

But then he cut himself off, wide-eyed - because the instant Chie loosened her grip on its neck, the cat saw an opportunity to try and launch itself through the air again.

[meatatarian]

"Wh-- hey!"

Nope. If the cat was going to be like that, Chie wasn't having any of it. Her reflexes were sharp, so the instant the cat tried to make a move, her hand grabbed back at the scruff of it's neck again. And this time, she opted to hold it in the air by only that handful of scruff, giving it a Look.

"I've had just about enough of this. Chill out, or I'm stuffing you in a backpack."

[windbreak]

At a safe distance, Yosuke watched the animal squirm for several long moments before he could convince himself it was safe to emerge from behind his bike and settle down again - relatively speaking, because he wasn't sure his heart rate was ever going to return to normal.

"Would a backpack be such a bad idea?" he suggested, trying not to sound as petulant as he felt. "If we keep screwing around with it out here, we're going to miss the next train too."

And whose fault would that be? Everyone's but Yosuke's, of course.

[meatatarian]

Ugh, what was she going to do with this cat... A backpack wasn't even really a feasible idea, because not only did she not bring one, it would mean that either their trip would be cancelled or they'd have to bring it along. And Chie wasn't about to carry a backpack full of angry cat for who knows how long.

"No way. We'd have to take care of it if we did that." Chie shook her head, frowning down at the cat again. What to do...

"Okay. This is your fault, so... go buy a peace offering or something. Get a can of tuna or whatever. Just hurry!"

[windbreak]

Yosuke almost flinched. "Dammit, I already said -"

"Meow," said the cat, murder glittering in its round green eyes.

Immediately shutting up, Yosuke glanced down to check his watch; the fact that the movement put his wrist in between the cat's claws and his face was a complete coincidence. About twenty minutes, if the train wasn't delayed... That seemed a little far for Junes, but he couldn't be sure that the corner store carried anything a damn fleaball would be interested in. Urgh, part of him was so tempted to abandon today's plans entirely and go hide in a closet.

"Eheheh, heh... be right back," he mumbled. Then, without bothering to unlock his bike again, he dashed out of sight. Maybe some distance would stymie the feeling of Chie's glare boring clean through his head.