Chapter Text
Yamaguchi couldn’t really understand what the people in the room were saying, but he could feel the tension. The confused child just stayed in the corner, listening to the few people in the room yell and talk in that odd alienated language.
“She’s coming today, how are we supposed to know what she wants this time,” a male yelled, slamming his fist down on the table. The room stilled after hearing his statement, causing Yamaguchi to tilt his head in confusion. His tail wrapped around his left leg and a whimper left his mouth.
He was confused, he didn’t know why they brought him here. He wanted to see the Professor. He didn’t want to be trapped in this small room filled with the stench and waves of anger and stress.
“Guards get the boy and send him to his cell with the others,” the freckled kid was startled at the hand that grabbed his arm, dragging him towards the door. Even though this was a normal occurrence for him, he still fought against the hand. He hissed, scratched, and bit at the limb but it was no use.
“Do you know how much trouble you’ll put me in if I have to hit you unconscious?” The guard hissed back, practically throwing the child down the hall. Yamaguchi wailed, scrambling against the ground. The shiny surface got marked with his claws, as he attempted to run away.
A soft yet firm purr reached his ears, causing them to flatten and his movements to cease. He knew that purr, it was one of his personal guards giving him a warning. She quickly walked over to the two men and bowed a few times, making the other guards scoff.
“Sorry about him, I’ll get him there safely,” his guard bowed one more time, before kneeling down to help calm down the kitten hybrid. Said guard let out a wave of calming purrs, rubbing the child’s ears and back. Yamaguchi immediately fell lax in her arms.
“Y’all are fucking freaks you know that,” the other male spat, kicking both of them with his boot before walking off. Yamaguchi let out a wheeze, his leg blossomed with that cursingly familiar burn. His guard let out a few choppy words he couldn’t quite pick up before she stood.
“Now that’s not a way to treat our poor subjects,” a voice from the hall chuckled. Yamaguchi craned his neck up to see an unfamiliar form. He’s never seen or sensed anyone or anything like this one. The first thing he picked up from them was that aura. Instead of a calming wave that his guard was giving, or the reassuring and sweet smelling atmosphere from Professor. No, hers reeked of superiority and power. He felt like he was supposed to move out of her way.
The two males let out a squeak and ran to the lady. He could feel the same nervousness that he felt when he was in the other room.
Is this the person that they were so scared to meet? Why were they scared of her, her aura may be big but she didn’t hold a threat to him. Well that was how he was feeling. Yet, the child pondered, conflicted and stuck on the human’s judgment.
While he was in his thoughts, he felt a pair arms wrap around him. And soon they were off, a cool breeze hit his face as his guard sped walked down the hall. The yelling from the guards down the corridor became faint, disappearing as they went. Yamaguchi looked around the familiar area, a soft grin graced his face seeing all the others. The eldest seemed to be in distress, rambling to himself as the others watched with the same expression. Fear.
“Did Professor tell you what was going on?” One of the guards asked the crowd. The freckled child knew that one word. Professor. He’d heard the name so many times he kind of just… got it.
“Guys, why is she here, she never comes,” the calming aura around his guard dropped. Being replaced by the same distress everyone else was giving off. Whoever was causing this was the worst person he’d ever not met. He let out a grunt in agreement, nodding to himself.
“What did they need Yamaguchi for?” One of his siblings asked, picking up the smaller kid. Yamaguchi embraced the warm feeling the eldest gave off, purring in satisfaction. The other gave a grin, nuzzling his head on top of his.
“I’m not sure, but I did hear the word surgery so they probably have a plan to do more tests before he ages up again,” His guard explained to the other, sliding down the metal wall. “Why aren’t any of you in the back room, she’s coming here you know that right?”
“Yes, but we were worried about this one,” Yamaguchi squealed and giggled as one of his sisters tickled him, snatching him from the eldest. The child tuned the voices of the others out as he played around with his siblings. It felt nice to do after dealing with those big scary people he didn’t know. It’s like they knew what to do to cheer him up, and he’d always be in their debt for that.
“You should head back before anyone comes by,” he heard someone say, and then they were on the move again. His body being carried by his sister as they ran down the hall. His mind went back to the woman with that strong aura. It was like she was causing all this ruckus, causing guards to flip, making his siblings freak. She’s probably making Professor stressed, and he wasn’t liking it. He was always giving off that stupid, bitter tasting aura of stress, but doing his best to smile and comfort everyone around him. The poor boy felt like crying for him, even though the man would scold him with those harsh glares and purrs.
“Yamaguchi has to learn Japanese soon,” the guard on his left muttered, leaning over to pinch the younger's cheek. The child cocked his head in confusion. That word was always directed towards him, maybe it was a name like the Professor had. Thinking about that made his tail sway and his ears to twitch happily. His happiness seemed to calm them down a bit, leaving them with a quiet, comfortable walk back to their sector.
“So,” the professor muttered, spinning his chair to face the woman standing in his office doorway. “What exactly do you need these kids for now?”
The woman just let out a laugh, airy and soft- yet the dark and heartless undertone was speaking volumes to the older man. The Professor watched as she walked over to his desk, sitting right on top of the pile of sheets he had there. His left ear twitched with irritation, her careless attitude for everyone and everything was starting to piss him off, along with that stupid wave of perfume that seemed to burn his sensitive nose.
“Please get off my desk and sit in a chair, Sayoko,” The way her name left the man's mouth was harsh and dripped with annoyance. It made the guards in the room flinch, and caused Sayoko to grin and clap. How she loved to tease the poor man. Even her first test subject wasn’t as fun to pick on like Professor was. For some reason that just gave him a pass to have the nastiest attitude towards her.
“You know what I’m here for Ichii,” She slammed down the sheet of paper that laid near her rear, pointing to the picture of six certain kids. His blood ran cold hearing his name and seeing what she wanted. “I mainly need the freckled one, but the other younger one can do,”
“They’ve gone through enough, go bother the other labs,” he slumped back into the chair, his voice deflating. Ichii knew he couldn’t win this fight and it nearly tore his heart in two. He was still a test subject, and mere ant under her foot. She could kill him and find another replacement in a second. Him bothering to try and stick up for the kids was practically a missed prayer from God.
“I don’t care,” she laughed, hopping from the desk. She clapped her hands, pointing towards a pile of papers and an odd briefcase. Professor gulped, breaking out in cold sweat as the papers were placed in front of him. “I don’t want to hurt my mere perfect babies in Lab Alpha and Beta, so I’m giving this task to Gamma and Zeta,”
“You’re giving them this?! This isn't even a cat thing anymore-”
Professor stopped mid sentence as the collar began to tighten and give out those pulsed shockwaves to his neck. His form straightened, his ears were ringing, and his mouth frothed. He hadn’t been shocked in a while but he knew this wave was higher than the ones he usually got.
“Ichii I think you’ve forgotten about this whole operation,” Sayoko stalked towards the limp man, she gripped his chin and forced his unfocused eyes onto her own. “I own them, I own you, and nothing you say or do can stop me. This is my project so I do what I want, understand Professor?”
He didn’t answer, just gave her the darkest glare he could muster. Sayoko just let out another giggle and pet his head like he was her little pet. The guards watched in pity but also in interest. One of them found it funny, snickering into the back of his hand. Ichii couldn’t focus on who it was, but that scent told him everything he needed to know. The idiot was just a human who thought he was safe from the wrath of Sayoko.
“Gather the brats, bring them here, we’re starting the operation right away,” Sayoko gave the near unconscious man one more pat before leaving the room. Half the guards followed but a few stayed, making sure the Professor didn’t try anything. He didn’t though, he just weakly shuffled papers around, putting them into place. Like he didn’t get the shit shocked out of him.
Ichii’s eyes landed on a certain folder and bit back a smile. That right there was his- everyone’s ticket out, and those idiots hadn’t noticed it. Which was a blessing since it was out in the open where all of them could see the contents inside. Maybe they wanted to leave too.