"Oh, it's so cute!"
"It's so soft!"
"It's a she!"
"Look at those markings!"
"Pretty..."
"Hey! What's all the commotion about?"
"Oh, sempai!"
The group of girls that had been huddled in the center of the room scattered back to their places. The third year that had just walked in stared expectantly at the remaining two girls. Without hesitation, they parted to reveal the cause of all the ruckus.
It was a cat. A kitten, to be more precise. It was white, with brown markings on its face, tail, and chest.
"A cat? Did you find it roaming around?"
"No. It was here when we arrived, sleeping on the desk."
"Oh. It's cute."
The cat, sensing it was being admired again, clawed at the newcomer for attention. She ignored it.
"We aren't sure what to do with it. It's obviously a stray, but I'd feel bad throwing it back out there."
Miffed that it was being ignored, the cat started meowing and nudging the hand that rested on the desk.
"None of you can take it home?"
"No. We, uh, thought about keeping it in here, actually. If we could."
"Umm. We'd have to ask Leader about that."
"Do you think she'll let us?"
"Ah, maybe. I've never heard her say she hates cats, and it isn't against the rules or anything, I thi-OW!"
Fed up with the lack of attention, the cat drew its claws and attacked the offending hand. The third year bit back a curse as blood started leaking from the scratch.
"You little! You better not have rabies or something!"
She grabbed at it, missing as the cat jumped onto her shirt. Startled, she fell back into the desk behind her. Without faltering the cat clawed up to her shoulder and jumped again, this time onto a second year. The girl screamed in surprise and flailed her arms, causing the animal to fall to the ground. Once its feet hit the floor, it bolted.
"Grab it! Grab it!"
"It's trying to get out!"
"Close the doors! Quick!"
"It's going for the cabinets!"
"Don't let it climb up!"
"Got it! Calm down kitt-Ow!"
"Why'd you drop it!"
"It cut me!"
"Oh, it's just a scratch! Stop whining and get it!"
"Eek!"
"It jumped!"
"Catch it!"
"No way!"
"The table! It's under the table!"
"I'm not grabbing it!"
"It's hissing at me!"
"Surround it!"
"Ah! Wait, no! Don't go yet!"
"Ow!"
"Don't let it escape! Agh!"
"No no no no no! Back off!"
"It scratched me!"
"Yow! My knee!"
"There's too many people!"
"Never mind that! Try and corner it!"
"Aaaaaah!"
"Hey! Watch where you're running!"
"That little monster! Chase it over here!"
"Ha! Got you now you little beast AGH! It bit me!"
"Just put a band-aid on it!"
"Someone find a box or something we can put it in!"
"On it!"
"We can toss stuff at it!"
"Throwing books isn't going to help!"
"Ow hey!"
"Didn't we just say it wouldn't help? And who were you aiming for? Us or the cat?"
"Found a box! Anyone know how to make a trap?"
"Just climb onto a desk and we'll chase it to you! Then you can drop that box over it!"
"Problem! It got up the cabinets!"
"I'll get it!"
"Wait, you can't climb on that!"
"It's fine! Wagh!"
"Ah! Hurry! Lift the cabinet off her!"
"The cat! The cat got into the office!"
"Who left the door open?"
None of the girls noticed the back door opening, or their Leader blinking rapidly for a good thirty seconds before closing the door again. The young woman stared at the door, half convinced she had the wrong room. A quick check ensured that she did not.
"What in the world...is going on in there?" She could hear screaming and wild stomping as people ran around the room. Things were falling, or being thrown, with alarming frequency, and she heard more than a few people cry out in pain. Breathing in deeply, she steeled her nerves and opened the door again to step into the room.
Almost instantly, a small white and brown blur latched onto her leg. Shocked, she barely had time to look down before the thing clambered up to her stomach. Her eyes met greyish blue eyes, and both froze.
It was a cat.
...
It was a cat.
She grabbed it by the scruff of its neck and brought it to face level for examination. It tensed at her touch, glaring at her as they stared each other down. The students all stopped to watch in relieved amazement.
"I don't know what's going on here, but please tell me you did not wreck the room because of...this." she asked her judges without looking away from the animal, who was still glaring. Silence reigned, most of the girls beginning to shift guiltily. Annoyed, she gave up the contest and cradled the cat to her chest. The little thing struggled for all of ten seconds before giving in and making itself comfortable in her arms.
She examined the room with dread, noticing the now empty cabinet, the pile of items that used to be in the aforementioned cabinet, and stray books, pens, pencils, erasers, and bags littering every part of the room. The desks were in disarray, and all the tables had been pushed up against the wall. The counter top was a complete mess, whatever piles of paper that had been there now scattered or decorating the floor.
"Um, well, you see, it was, we were." The student who tried to explain couldn't find the words to describe what had happened. "It startled us." she finished lamely, dropping her shoulders and looking shamefully at the floor.
Rina sighed. It took all her energy and several deep breaths to remain calm."Can we just, clean the room, please?" She absentmindedly rubbed the kitten's head, eliciting a contented purr.
"Oh uh, yeah! Right. Um, I think we're gonna need more band-aids." Several girls, she now realized, were sporting bright red welts. "And we need to take Kaori to the nurse's office." Said girl laughed nervously.
She really didn't want to deal with this right now. "Fine. I'll take Arukawa-san to the nurse's office, and the rest of you can clean up this mess." A chorus of "yes ma'am"s echoed from the girls. After relocating the kitten to her shoulder, she wrapped an arm around the injured student's waist, and helped her limp up to the nurse's office.
~Nurse's Office
"Um, Captain?"
"Hm?"
"Why is there a kitten hiding underneath your desk?" The student on duty poked her head out of the office, unsure of what to do.
Pausing in her reading, Ai lowered the chart she had been examining. "A kitten?"
"Mmhmm. I have no idea how it could have gotten in here."
Let's go take a look then." the Captain replied. Crouching in front of her desk, she spotted the intruder. "Well now, aren't you a cute little thing? How'd you get in here, I wonder?" She picked up the gray furred cat, holding it at arm's length to study it. The end of its paws, half of its face, and a nearly star shaped patch on its stomach were all a lighter shade than the rest of its fur. Looking into its blue eyes, she was vaguely reminded of someone.
It squirmed in her hold, trying to convey its disapproval over the way it was being held. Snorting, she draped it over one arm and turned to the student. "Let's see if we can get some milk for the girl."
"Okay! Are you going to keep it?" the girl asked excitedly.
"We'll see. For now, let's just get her fed." She tickled the cat's chin, much to its approval. "If not, I'm sure my little sister wouldn't mind taking her."
The front door opened, halting their movements. Rina poked her head in.
"Excuse me. I've got an injured student." Opening the door all the way, the judge leader helped the victim limp in. The student nurse instantly ran to take over, all thoughts of the animal forgotten in the face of her duties.
"You find a cat too?" Ai asked, spotting the other woman's passenger. The kitten lounged on her shoulder, tail wrapped around her neck. Taking a quick look at its surroundings, the cat met her stare, then flicked its tail at her and went back to sleep.
"Don't tell me you have one too." Rina shook her head. Her student being taken care of, she took a seat on an empty bed near her nurse counterpart and grumbled."I hope you had an easier time than my judges did."
"Your judges were bested by a kitten?" The nurse snickered. "Now that's hard to imagine. They're usually a calm bunch."
She sighed. "I have no idea what happened. The room was a mess when I walked in." She put the cat down on the bed and watched it rub itself against her in protest. "From what I saw, it looked like this little fiend had a fun time messing with the girls."
Ai let out a loud laugh as she imagined that debacle. No doubt it had been utterly chaotic. Watching the cat attempt to get attention, she put her own passenger next to it, curious as to how the two would interact. The two animals stared at each other cautiously. Mere seconds later the white one made the first move, pouncing on the gray one to play.
"What are you going to do with it?" The older woman asked after catching the amused look in the Rina's eyes.
"The kitten? I don't know." The judge smiled as the gray kitten, tired of being played with, ran to Ai for safety. Her own little monster wasn't about to let its new friend escape so easily, and gave chase. "Persistent little thing, isn't she?" she commented wryly. "I don't think we're allowed to keep them in the dorm areas, but I doubt the Kaicho would make a fuss if we kept it as an on-campus pet."
"Haha. You can use her to keep your students in line." Ai smirked at the huff she received. "I wouldn't mind keeping little Rin. She's cute."
"...You're naming her Rin. Why?" she asked suspiciously.
The nurse grabbed the running kitten and held her up. "She looks just like you!"
Rina gave her an unamused look. "Right."
"And you, little "fiend," shall be named...Yuu. Can't have two of me running around, right?"
"You're seriously going to name them like that?"
"You have anything better?"
"Well, no. But."
"Hear that you two? She approves!"
"I didn't say that!"
Ai snickered and moved to pet the newly dubbed Yuu. The kitten, however, was still annoyed at the loss of its partner, and jumped into Rina's lap. Settling, she proceeded to alternate her stare between her out of reach playmate and the woman who had stolen her.
"Fine, fine. I get it. You want Rin back. Human Rin, you hold onto her while I look for some milk." Ai dropped the cat onto the other woman's lap, then headed to the back room. The judge followed, glaring at her back while the two kittens settled themselves comfortably in her arms.
"It's Rina."
The front office fell silent for a few moments.
"...Why do I feel like they completely forgot about us?" Kaori spoke up.
"I think we stopped existing the moment your Leader sat down." the other girl rolled her eyes.
"Yeah."
"..."
"..."
"Those were cute kittens though."
"Don't be fooled. Yuu is evil."
"...How exactly did you get hurt?"
"Oh. Umm. The cabinet kinda, fell on me, when I was, ah, climbing it. To get the Fiend."
"You're...kidding. Right?
"Aha. Ha. No."
"Wow."
"...Can we just finish?"
~END~
Just a short one I was inspired to write when I saw the volume 15 had Ai and Rina cat versions on the inside front flap. Also inspired a fanart for this. Took me forever to finish. Lesson learned? Clean your scanner regularly, or be cursed to hours of editing dust spots off your pictures. As usual, any errors spotted, just forward them to me in some way if they bug you enough.