He finds it not too far off from his apartment.

He's wary at first, silently awaiting the inevitable. But it's wet and bedraggled, the rain having only stopped an hour before, and its smallness makes him think Sakura and the piteous way it gazes up at him Mikoshiba, and it's not really a choice at all, not with the way his stomach lurches at the thought of leaving it in this alleyway, alone and helpless.

Nozaki takes it home.

X

The inevitable happens. Nozaki sighs and rifles through his drawers, lips twitching when he finds a box of Hello Kitty band-aids, courtesy of Sakura's trip to the store the last time Mikoshiba was whining over a paper cut and Nozaki was out of plain brown ones.

"How appropriate," he murmurs, and gingerly applies it to his cheek.

X

Nozaki greets Sakura as best he can hours later—there's no excuse for poor manners, he thinks, not even in a situation like this.

Sakura shrieks when she sees him. Past experience tells him her eyes are most likely comically wide.

"Nozaki-kun," Sakura's voice is pitched higher than ever, "Nozaki-kun, there's—there's a cat, Nozaki-kun! On your face!"

"Yes," he says calmly. "Would you like to come in?"

X

"It was really nice of you to take it home, Nozaki-kun," Sakura says, bandaging his face, box of Hello Kitty band-aids empty beside her. Her cheeks are faintly flushed; she must still be exerted from detaching the cat, he thinks, eying the hellion curled up in Sakura's lap. It appears it is only Nozaki who's hated. "Especially since you don't have the best of luck with cats! Does this really happen every time?"

Nozaki thinks about it. "Yes," he says, failing to think of one instance where it hadn't. He winces in memory of all the claw marks he's received over the years while Sakura's eyes start to sparkle.

"Oh, Nozaki-kun!" She clasps her hands to her chest, beaming.

Nozaki frowns, thinking it unusual for Sakura to take such happiness in the misfortune of others. He chalks it up to Seo's bad influence. Even the kindest of souls can be corrupted by evil.

X

"Are you really going to keep it?" Sakura asks while they're taking a break from the manga, Mikoshiba having arrived some time ago. He's cooing at the kitten in question, watching it bat at a piece of string being held out of reach, and Nozaki thinks, once again, the resemblance is uncanny. "Not to say you wouldn't be a wonderful pet owner, Nozaki-kun...it's just...um..."

"Cats hate you," Mikoshiba says, not even looking up. Sakura pales but nods.

"Have you even named it, Nozaki-kun?"

"Not yet." His lips purse in thought. He looks at the cat for some time, considering every aspect of its personality so far. The perfect name hits him like a lightning bolt and he nods, satisfied. "I've got it." Mikoshiba and Sakura look at him expectantly and Nozaki smiles, sure he's thought of the best possible name. "Mamiko," he says, making them both fall over.

"Do you even know if it's a girl!?" they yell in unison.

Nozaki shrugs, not seeing why that matters. "It's a textbook tsundere like Mamiko," he enthuses, still excited to share his reasoning despite their lackluster reactions, "and will no doubt warm up to me in time! Also it's remarkably like Mikoshiba."

Mikoshiba's face catches fire. "What...what's that supposed to mean!? I'm not a cat, okay? Or Mamiko!"

He ignores the kitten pawing at his leg, whining for attention; Nozaki and Sakura look at each other knowingly.

"Just like Mikorin," Sakura says in a stage whisper, grinning at successfully flustering Mikoshiba further.

X

Mamiko the cat proves to be worth keeping, providing Nozaki with an unexpected well of inspiration.

Still, he wishes the kitten's tsundere heart would melt already, if only so he isn't forced to keep a steady stock of band-aids in his apartment.