Young, eight-year-old Kaori sat huddled in the corner of the playground.
Eyes down at the ground, of course. There were so many other children around him, and he didn’t want to make eye contact with them.
“Kaori!” called out a girl’s voice.
Kaori raised his head slightly, but didn’t look up fully. He already knew it was his cousin, Hina.
“Play with us! C’mon, you can’t possibly like that corner!”
“I’m good, no thanks.”
Hina huffed and sighed. “Okay, fine, but join a game at some point. By the end of the recess period, you at least have to play with one other person.”
What was she, his mother?
Oh, wait, his own mother never acted like that - she never cared.
“Okay,” Kaori lied. He didn’t feel like doing anything.
Hina said, “Good, that’s a promise,” and left.
There was a teeny-tiny forest that was near the playground. The fence bordering off from it was broken down. Teachers usually had to guard it so kids wouldn’t go in the forest. There was nothing dangerous there and it was easy to get out of, since it was so small.
Kaori didn’t go there, ever, since he was a good kid. But there was a flicker of movement, and a tiny white-and-black flur that looked like a thin tail.
Those teachers wouldn’t even glance at quiet, huddled-up Kaori. They were actually farther from the fence then they should’ve been, and were paying no mind to the children.
The eight-year-old stood up and quietly darted over to the forest, lurking in and out of the shadows cast by the sun, the tall slides and monkey bars, and the school building near the playground.
He wasn’t going to go too far. He just needed to find that thing.
And he found it after just a couple steps and a maneuver around a tree.
There sat a tiny black-and-white kitten with its blue collar ripped and tattered. It’s eyes were a light green, shining like emeralds.
Kaori, excited but cautious, took a step towards the cat. It took one step back.
He crouched down to meet the cat’s level - although he was still bigger than it, but less intimidating. He stuck out one hand and motioned for the cat to come over. It was a domestic cat, so he figured it should recognize these motions from its previous owner.
The cat still slinked back. Kaori dropped on all fours, feeling like an idiot, but determined to get this cat near him. He motioned again for the cat to come near.
The kitten relaxed just slightly and cautiously stepped toward Kaori, who stuck out one hand. He mimicked putting a paw to his palm, and the kitten did as it was shown. It’s soft fur brushed Kaori’s skin.
He didn’t feel scared or alone here. He could make eye contact with this cat - well, for a couple seconds, but that was still something.
Kaori scratched behind the cat’s ear. The kitten purred and sat down. Who would abandon a cat like this, anyway? Or maybe the owner was looking for their poor pet.
When Kaori was petting its back, he felt paper of the collar. He pulled a post-it from the collar.
Don’t want this thing anymore. Kill it or just take it somewhere else, I don’t care.
Those words were terribly familiar to Kaori. It’d appeared him and this cat had gone through something similar.
Kaori ripped up the note. If nobody would take care of the kitten, he would, then.
“Sorry, I know how it feels,” he whispered, even though the cat probably wouldn’t understand him.
But he could feel some sort of connection with this animal. He felt safe and sound. This cat didn’t question or force him to do anything. He didn’t have to get a reply from the cat like you did with people. Heck, they didn’t have to talk. They could just sit in silence and enjoy each other’s presence.
Just like he used to do with his brother…
Kaori pushed those thoughts away and said, “Why don’t I name you? How about…Kaoru? It’s a similar spelling to mine, although pronounced different. You know, kow-ru and Ka-yo-ri don’t sound much alike. But it sounds nice, right?” Kaori also didn’t know the cat’s gender, and he’d met both males and females named “Kaoru.”
The cat mewed in pleasure.
Kaori smiled.
“Kaoru it is then.”
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