Chapter Text
It is outside the school building, close to the dormitory. Kaede and Shuichi had spotted a person with a rather feminine looking appearance. ‘She’ has been kneeling down and looking at the patch of grass. Long, dark brown hair and from the side one can tell that one eye covers the hair. The bangs are long, reaching down to the chest, and the back of the hair is also reaching very far down, right to the middle of the back. The person wears a simple, black dress reaching down to the thighs with long sleeves and a turtleneck. Over that is what looks like a frilly, light green apron which is filled with cat paws on the front. What stands out about this person is also the… Cat ears and cat tail? It may be part of the costume but… They are also moving. It’s very hard to tell if not bizarre.
The person seems busy, the eye wandering around yet one could also hear a light hum and in between some chuckles.
Kaede Akamatsu: “Ah– Look Shuichi, over there! Someone else!”
The person suddenly picks up something, or rather someone… A tiny feline with grey, fluffy fur. The feline shakes itself before being held.
Kaede Akamatsu: “And there are some cats too! So adorable!”
Shuichi Saihara: “Ah– Yeah but she looks busy. We shouldn’t–”
Kaede Akamatsu: “Excuse me, can I pet it!?”
It is too late. Kaede is already fast approaching and is right behind the person. This one turns around upon being called, getting up with the grey cat with rather fluffy and fancy looking fur still in arms. The smile fades and the expression is back to neutral, truly neutral.
???: “If he will let you.”
Kaede Akamatsu: “Such a cute little kitty. Yes you a–”
Yet as Kaede reaches out for the cat’s head it suddenly moves out of the hand’s reach. She tries again but the same thing happens. And it keeps happening, over and over.
Kaede Akamatsu: “Oh c’mon! Just one pet! Pretty please!?”
Shuichi Saihara: “...”
???: “Looks like he isn’t in the mood. Sorry, Izumi can be a little picky.”
Kaede Akamatsu: “Aww man. But it can’t be helped then, right Shuichi?”
Shuichi Saihara: “Ah– Y… Yeah.”
???: “He probably wants his fur to be cleaned anyways. It’s almost ti–”
Cat: “MROW MROW MROW!”
When looking down the two can see a cat suddenly crawling up the person’s leg, then clutching onto the dress with its claws. Upon closer inspection the dress may have seen better days the further down it goes. It looks a little torn apart, not to mention the holes. Yet the one doesn’t mind, only looking down while smiling, then somehow managing to pick the orange cat up with their free arm, then suddenly ???: “I didn’t forget about you Leo, don’t worry.”
Kaede Akamatsu: “Haha, was it just me or did this one nearly meow a melody?”
???: “I wouldn’t be surprised. Leo loves listening to music and sing along to it.”
Kaede Akamatsu: “Oh, you think he would like to listen to me playing piano?”
???: “ Yeah, probably. Or he would attempt playing it himself.”
Leo: “Meow~”
The image of a cat standing on a piano is hilarious. It would probably just hop back and forth, not knowing what it’s doing to begin with. Yet it’s also very adorable too…
Kaede Akamatsu: “Aww, that’s so cute!”
Shuichi Saihara: “How would that work?”
???: “Don’t underestimate cats. They’re smarter than they look. And they know what you’re saying at all times.”
Kaede Akamatsu: “Haha, you really like cats, don’t you?”
???: “What gives that away?”
They respond as their ears wag, their gaze going to the side for a moment with flushed cheeks before they turn back.
???: “I take that you’re Ultimates too?”
Kaede Akamatsu: “Yes, we are! My name is Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist. And this is Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective.”
???: “Ah, nice to meet you. I’m Anja Schneewolf and people call me the Ultimate Cat Mother. You can call me Anja.”
Kaede Akamatsu: “Ah– You are—”
Shuichi Saihara: “You know her?”
Kaede Akamatsu: “Oh, I’ve heard of her before! She’s running this big cat shelter! It’s said that every cat in her care loves her and recovers in no time! In fact every cat in her care turns at least 20 years old! And usually they don’t even look that old!”
Shuichi Saihara: “That’s… Yeah, that’s very impressive actually.”
Anja Schneewolf: “Uhm… It’s no big deal really… Also… Could you use ‘they’? If it’s not too much trouble…”
Shuichi Saihara: “They? … ! Oh, we just assumed— Sorry about that.”
Kaede Akamatsu: “Assumed what?”
A sudden hiss can be heard from one of the cats.
Anja Schneewolf: “Calm down Izumi… It wasn’t on purpose.”
The grey cat suddenly huffs yet goes quiet… Still not looking pleased about being picked up however, dangling in the air.
Shuichi Saihara: “Kaede, I think Anja… Well…”
Kaede Akamtasu: “Anja is– … Ah, wait wait wait, seriously!? Sorry about that! The media’s been using it so–”
Anja Schneewolf: “It’s fine. I usually don’t correct them. I just hoped here maybe… Well…”
Kaede Akamatsu: “I’ll keep it in mind, don’t worry! Though I might still slip up sometimes, hehe…”
Anja Schneewolf: “That’s ok.”
However, before it can continue the meowing becomes louder all of a sudden, more cats echoing through the ears.
Anja Schneewolf: “Sorry, I have to cut this short. It’s feeding time. Oh, and then I also have to brush Izumi’s fur.”
Kaede Akamatsu: “You don’t need any help?”
Anja Schneewolf: “Thanks but they’re all a little picky, especially with strangers. If you excuse me…”
Without another word Anja leaves with the bunch of cats. There’s one, two, three, four, five… No, too many to count. There’s a lot of cats.
Kaede Akamatsu: “I wouldn’t have expected to run into he– I mean them here. I wonder if they would let us adopt one of them.”
Shuichi Saihara: “Kaede, we have something to focus on, don’t we?”
Kaede Akamatsu: “Right, sorry! I was just thinking out loud, hehe~”