MITSUKOU ||Alive AU||

Chapter 24

"Excuse me for a moment."

Kou briefly excused himself before he grabbed Mitsuba's shoulders and pushed them away to a secluded place where no one wouldn't hear them. Although, as Kou guides Mitsuba despite his complaints, Mrs. Mitsuba stares at him in puzzlement. Because in her eyes, the blonde was just pushing air. It almost looked like he was pretending to be a zombie.

"Hm, what an odd kid. Isn't that right, Puppy~?" She cooed at the siamese cat, "Sousuke was an odd one too... Hm, I wonder... Would have they gotten along if he was...?"

She raised her arm and gently rubbed the side of her hand on her eyes. She refused to cry again because she believed that, as an adult, she shouldn't be clinging to the past, she should focus on the present and the future. As a mother, however... Well, even as a mother, she refused to give in to sorrow. Her son wouldn't allow it if he was still here.

But her son isn't here. He's not here to comfort her, watch movies with her, cook warm meals for her, or share sassy comments that would cheer her. He is simply not here. Her dear son, Sousuke Mitsuba, is not here...

"Meow"

The young feline placed two paws on the woman's legs. The cat was confused, it doesn't completely understand human languages and cues. However, the woman was sobbing, trying her best to wipe every tear that stained her face. This was one of the few human behaviours that the cat understood; grief.

"Meow"

Mrs. Mitsuba glanced at the cat. As soon as she averted her attention to the feline, it jumped into her arms, briefly startling her but was still able to catch it.

"Meow"

The cat rubbed its head between the woman's neck and chest, purring softly.

"Meow"

Mrs. Mitsuba took a deep breath, held it in for a few seconds, then slowly exhaled. She does it again, and again. Until her breathing, as well as her heartbeat, steadied.

"Heh, are you perhaps a service animal? You sure know how to calm a lady down," She took a handkerchief out of her pocket, blowing her nose, while skillfully carrying the cat on her other arm. It reminded her of when she used to do chores while carrying baby Sousuke in her arms, "You're quite thin for your size. Here, I have leftover berries and melons."

Once carefully setting the cat back on the ground, she took out a lunchbox from her side bag and removed the lid. The cat gobbled and swallowed the fruits. And Mrs. Mitsuba watched in content.

"You know, you would make a great companion," An imaginary light bulb lit up, "Hmm, companion... Puppy, how would you like to be my pet?"

"Meow~!"

._._._._._._._._.

"YOU HAVE A MOM!?" Kou exclaimed, making a huge gesture with his hands.

"Yeah, of course, I do!" Mitsuba rolled his eyes sarcastically, "Don't you have one?"

"..."

"... Actually let's ignore that," He shook his head, making the right decision to leave the topic behind, "Why does it matter to you anyway?"

Mitsuba patiently waited as he gave Kou the time he needed to think. There was no need to rush, they had time. And Mitsuba wasn't as worried as a couple of weeks ago-it did take a lot of crying and deep thinking to get over his doubts and concerns about which is real and which is fake, but at least now he knows that this is real. That fact was enough to emit a small smile on his face.