This child named Rei, how dare he lift me up with his wet hands. Don't touch me! EW, don't hold me under your dripping arm! I refuse to smell like wet fur!
"I told ya, I wasn't scared!! I-I just thought I saw a bug and didn't wanna squish it! So I-I tumbled back, is all!"
"Hm~ Roy, you hear that~? Hehehe, he says he wanted to save a bug from his stompin'."
"YOU? Haha~! Come on, Rei! You don't gotta be so weird about it. Just say it: the kitty scared you~"
"ROY YOU DAMN-!"
"Meow-chu!"
...
That's right, THAT'S RIGHT! This POOR DRENCHED kitten is sneezing! Definitely not on purpose! So stop arguing and-!
"Do cats...sneeze like that? Saria?"
"Dunno. This is the first in the village. Rei found it hurt and unconscious at the forest's edge when he was cleaning up after the adults who went hunting."
"...Well, I like it. Even with its ugly, weird sneeze."
GAH! No! Stop hugging! Put me down!
"We should tell Doctor Spleen it woke up."
"Doctor Spleen said it just needs to rest. Probably doesn't need to check it again, right?"
"Rei, you just wanna take it home! Stop rushing and listen to Roy, if you care about its health!"
"...Fine."
Hm~ So their names are Roy, Rei and...Saria? Tsk. Why's her name the only one that's different?
Mrah, more importantly: these three are in a love triangle. She has a crush on Roy, But Rei blushes when she talks. Roy...how does he feel? He just smiles at both of them. Does he have a crush on them both or something? Weird. Just choose.
If only I had popcorn...
We walked into a hut much cleaner than the rest. Hm, if these huts were built by the three piggies, this one belonged to the clean-freak piggy. It's so spotless inside that I'm impressed. Deep within, there's a fat man examining someone. Looks to be one of those hunters the kids were talking about, since he has bloodied weapons on the floor by his bed. He has a gash on his leg-
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
...
...
EW! The doctor's SEWING him while he's awake! Not-uh! I don't wanna be here anymore!
"Hehe, let's just wait for Doctor Spleen to finish stitching Ryan up."
"How many times is he gonna get injured? That fool."
"Rei, be nice. Roy, since Rei's got the kitten, should the two of us help Doctor Spleen? I bet he doesn't like those weapons over there, bloodying up his floor."
Wow! This girl advances like a tiger despite her plain looks! She's not boring at all! Rei doesn't seem to mi- oh, no. He does. His eyes look sad. He's fantastic at hiding it, though.
The young man called Ryan seems to be in his early-mid 20s, and took on a big brother role for the village kids. I dunno how many kids this village has, but he seems to get hurt all the time. The doctor chastised him on the surface, but they seemed close. Like a surrogate dad worried over his foolish son.
Saria and Roy cleaned up for the fat doctor, much to his liking. His name was Doctor Spleen. What's his wife's family name, Professor HEART? Hehehe...
...aw. That wasn't funny at all.
I let the doctor check me while I stared at his every move. He kept holding my paws and swerving them around, was he making sure I didn't have any pain? Well, that falling tree's branch DID hit me somewhere, and it was hurting back then. But not now...
DON'T TELL ME HE JUST WANTS AN EXCUSE TO TOUCH MY PAW PADS!?
Having caught him red-handed, I stare directly at him. He casually moves his eyes away from my paws, and the instant he does, we make eye contact.
He freezes. My large, round eyes gaze into him, as if I can see the raw ugliness hiding within the depths of his soul.
Yes, that's right, you sick pervert.
I know.
Unhand me and stop making this awkward!
"... *Cough* W-Well, he doesn't appear to be injured anywhere. He might have soreness around the limbs from the abrasion on his left fore and hind legs, but it's already passing. His muscles are also tense. I dunno what he fought in that forest all alone, but he's lucky to've survived. He seems to be 6 weeks old?
"MRA!!"
I am NINE weeks old!
"!?"
The pudgy doctor, who'd been facing those kiddos, turned around to stare at me, startled. So did the kids. Nobody expected an adorable baby kitten such as I, to suddenly shout. It scared them. The people of this world get scared so easily, sheesh.
Roy recovered and smiled teasingly at Saria, who'd blushed after an audible yelp escaped her lips. Rei ignored them and walked over to me. He looked like he wanted to know what was wrong. Looking back at me and the Doctor, did he realize...?
"Maybe it was correcting you?"
The room fell silent. Doctor Spleen was about to educate him about how cats aren't that smart when I stared at Rei with surprised eyes.
He understood me!! I suddenly jumped towards him, purring.
Then, I nodded my head.
Doctor SPLEEN's face paled for some reason.
"It-It nodded. Why is a cat...nodding? As if it-it understood?"
Rei counted with his fingers, chanting "this many weeks old?" until I nodded at 9. What a smart boy.
"See? It says it's 9 weeks old. You were wrong, Doctor."
Roy couldn't stop smiling and lifted the kitten off the bed, ignoring my CLEARLY disapproving gaze.
"Hahaha! Cats are awesome! Are all of them this smart?! I kinda wanna keep this one now!"
"ROY YOU DAMN-"
"Relax~ I know it's yours. You already called dibs. I'm just saying I want one now."
DIBS?! You punks decide where my abode will be, my HAVEN away from monsters and the cold, by calling DIBS??
"...So long as you know. If we find another one, though, th-that one'll be yours."
Hm? Rei is blushing? Is this fool embarrassed for overreacting? What an insecure brat. He must be a tsun-tsun.
"Uhh, are you sure cats are THIS smart? It behaves like-like a human."
Four eyes locked onto me. Mrah. I just wanna leave. But I'd rather stay with them than be chased in the forest by Goblins and Minotaurs.
As if on cue, Rei suddenly stole me from Roy's weird nuzzles and heads for the door.
"You're acting as if it being this smart's a problem. You're just jealous that I have a cat now, and you don't."
Oof, was he getting back at her for excluding him? Ahaha... well, at least she's looking at hi- no...more like glaring at him, but...
Roy thanks Doctor SPLEEN for Rei and they leave. Rei keeps snuggling me, blegh. Saria glares at him, and I see her sneaking glances at my butt. Roy seems to enjoy the prickly air between them.
How childish. Just feed me! I have yet to eat for DAYS! FEED ME!!
"You've got a new kitty now, Rei, so...what d'you wanna name it?"
"Hm~ I was thinking of naming it... *Whispers*"
"Huh? Couldn't catch that. Say again?"
"... I wanted to...*Whispers* I-I gotta go think about it!"
With a hop in his step, Rei runs away, still holding me in his arms. He heads to a small campsite, placing me on a stack of feathers and hay, and throws his wet shirt off by the fire. He grabs a handful of berries for me and splits an apple. FOOD!
"Hehe. I was too embarrassed to say anything in front of them, but I have a few names already prepared! I'm sorta proud of 'em! Heh~!
How about 'Meowvin'?"
"PFFFT!"
... MEOWVIN?! If you DARE call me that, I promise your eyeballs will suffer!!
---
