Red Strings ¦¦ Chishiya Shuntarou x OC

Fifty-First String

A/N: I just realised that I have a high school AU coming up, so I think I'm going to save some of the scenarios for that fic instead. But also! I know a lot of you said Kurenai would be great as the Queen of Hearts so...maybe I'll do a one shot of what if she chose to stay in Borderland?

Also, also! I am extremely frustrated that Chishiya's birthday and age is not released. Still, doesn't affect the headcanon that I have: Kurenai is two years older than Chishiya.

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This was a complete nightmare for Chishiya.

With their busy schedules, both Kurenai and Chishiya agreed that they would have a date at least once a week. Kurenai planned most of these dates, because she was always the one who had something she wanted to do or try. Chishiya went along with them since he was happy just to see her happy.

But this was a little much.

He never agreed to having Cheshire, yet the cat was living happily in Kurenai's apartment, prancing around like he owned the place. Chishiya did not particularly like the cat, but he tolerated Cheshire's presence as Cheshire tolerated him. He was not exactly subtle with his dislike for the cat either, having kicked him out of the room several times already.

So what possessed Kurenai to think that Chishiya would enjoy a cat café?

Kurenai's eyes were already twinkling when they stood by the door, listening to the barista explain the rules of the café. She was not paying the barista any attention at all, her focus the entire time was on the cats on the other side of the door. Chishiya even had to tap her on the shoulder to get her to sanitise her hands before they could enter.

Once they were let into the café, Kurenai was like a child in a toy store.

She was trying her best not to squeal out in excitement, and she went to the sleeping corner first, peeking into the cat trees and houses. It had only been two minutes, but she already snapped hundreds of photos of the sleeping cats.

Chishiya, on the other hand, was stepping carefully, making sure he did not accidentally trot on a tail or paw. He walked over to a table, sitting down with the little number stand given so the barista knew where to serve their food and drink.

As he expected, most of the patrons were female. There were some guys there too, looking just as disgruntled as Chishiya was feeling. It seemed like they were dragged here too.

Feeling eyes on him, Chishiya frowned a little as he looked to his right. A black cat was perched on top of the table next to him, and it was staring at him. It straightened itself, sitting up, but never taking its eyes off Chishiya. That was exactly how Cheshire would look at him too whenever Chishiya would not let him near Kurenai.

"What are you looking at?"

God, what the hell was he doing? He was talking to a cat!

When the barista came with their food and drink, Chishiya went to get Kurenai. Reluctantly, she abandoned the cat she was playing with and sat at the table. Though, her eyes kept drifting back to the play area, pouting a little when she saw someone else playing with a cat that she liked.

The black cat on the next table jumped off, strolling over to Kurenai and started rubbing its head on her leg. It looked up at Kurenai, and when it seemed like it was not getting her attention, it started to meow at her. Loudly.

"Hello!" Kurenai smiled, finally paying the black cat some attention. "Are you calling for me?"

As soon as her attention was on it, the cat jumped up onto Kurenai's lap and continued meowing at her. Kurenai smiled, stroking its fur and gave it some scratches under the chin. The cat closed its eyes, looking like it was having the time of its life, just enjoying as Kurenai was pampering it.

"It likes you."

"They say animals have a sixth sense," Kurenai smiled, already forgetting about her food as she was scratching the cat with both hands. The cat seemed to be smiling too. "Apparently, they can tell who is a good person and who is bad. Isn't that right? You must know that I love you guys, so that's why you came to me, right? That's why you didn't go to Mr. Grumpy-Pants over there, right?"

"Who's Mr. Grumpy-Pants?"

"Hm? Is that not you? Or are you Mr. I-am-jealous-but-I-won't-admit-it?"

"I am not jealous."

Chishiya was definitely not jealous.

How ridiculous would it be for him to feel jealous because of cats?

"Do you know why I like cats?"

No, he did not.

He always knew that Kurenai was an animal lover, but she never came across as someone who would like pets. In fact, before Cheshire, she never had a pet. Not even a fish or a hamster.

And they never asked the stereotypical questions, the ones you would ask when you first meet someone. It might seem odd to someone else that they never bothered to ask what their favourite colours were, but Chishiya knew that Kurenai liked red simply from observing her daily life. Just as she knew that he liked art without ever asking.

But he never asked her why she liked cats. Nor did he think to ask. He was too busy trying to come up with plans of locking Cheshire out of the bedroom.

"People always say that cats are temperamental but I'd like to think that they are very straightforward," Kurenai said. "If they like you, they'll come to you. If they don't, they'll go away. If you are bothering them, they'll hiss at you to let you know. Simple. But once you've earned their trust, they are the most loving creatures. Much like someone I know."

When they locked eyes, Chishiya frowned slightly. Was she talking about him?

Was she comparing him to a cat?

Kurenai never really defined herself as a cat or dog person like most people, but it was not until she got Cheshire did she understand why she wanted a cat so badly. It was because she already had one in the form of Chishiya.

There was no other animal that could describe Chishiya so well besides a cat. He was very independent, and seemed hard to get along with from most people's first impression. But as someone who had earned his trust, Kurenai could definitely say that he was one of the most loving people in her life, despite the fact that he never knew what love was before.

Some of his behaviours too, like how he loved to put his head on her lap, reminded her of a cat. How he liked to act coy when in fact, he wanted to be shown affection.

"You're saying I'm a cat?"

"Yes I am."

She teased him further, scratching him under the chin like she would a cat. Chishiya entertained her, snapping at her like a cat would when it was uncomfortable.

"What are you if I'm a cat? A puppy?"

A puppy seemed very fitting for Kurenai, now that Chishiya was thinking about it.

The way she would perk up whenever she saw something she liked, how her eyes would twinkle too. And when she got excited about something, if she had a tail, she would definitely be wagging all over the place.

"Excuse you, I wouldn't be a puppy. I'd be the mighty wolf," Kurenai stated. "Right, cutie pie? I'd be a wolf, right?"

The black cat meowed in response, as if agreeing with Kurenai.

"What would you know?" Chishiya mumbled, looking at the cat. God, he was talking to a cat again...

"Aoi would be the puppy," Kurenai said. "He'd be a little Pomeranian puppy, and Toshiaki a Great Dane. Arisu-kun would be another puppy, and Usagi's a rabbit of course. Hikari would be a tiger. Niragi's a Tasmanian Devil because he is a nightmare. Isn't that right? Don't you agree with me, kitty?"

"Actually, you'd be a cougar."

"For your information, I am only two years older than you. I'm not qualified to be a cougar."