Rebels At Their Finest (Block B)

28: Nausea

River had woken up before Akito, and was a little surprised to find that he was still out cold. He was an early riser, always texting her his usual good morning greeting before the sun had even come up, but clearly the early rising, the drama and work was getting to him, because he was still passed out.

River had a bit of a time getting out of bed. Akito had managed to grab her by her waist and hold her to him as he spooned her, his legs curled so her own were almost touching her chest. His iron grip hadn't subsided with sleep, he'd only latched on tighter, making it a fight for her to get up, but eventually, she pulled free without waking him and moved out of the room, towards the kitchen.

Mochi, Akito's fat white cat, crouched on the counter, tail swishing in the air above her, staring down intently at someone on the floor. River, immediately assuming it was a bug or a rat, screeched and grabbed for a shoe. Surprised, Mochi shot up to look at River, and after assessing that she wasn't a monster-sized rat, Mochi returned to staring at the floor. Slowly, River inched across the room, shoe in hand, and glanced at the floor for the critter Mochi was so engrossed with...

Only to find that it was one of her toy neon colored knit mice. River groaned and threw Akito's shoe to the side, uncaring of where it landed, and kicked the mouse across the floor. Mochi meowed and leapt after it, and River moved towards the fridge.

When she opened it, she was greeted by white nothingness. Her stomach growled as she looked at the lacking fridge, and she turned, opening all the cabinets and cupboards in search for any morsel of food. She came up empty handed. "Mochi, why is your owner so dumb?" She asked, and Mochi meowed in reply. "Same, cat, same." She said, petting the cat between her ears. "I think I'm going to run to the store. Would you like to come?" Akito sometimes walked Mochi on a leash. It sounded strange, but the cat liked outside, and if he didn't give her regular walks, she would escape out a window and someone get pregnant or infected with rabies.

It was a sight River had yet to see, Akito walking down the street in his grungy punk clothes with his mellow attitude and easy going air, with his fat white cat on a leash at his side, pink color and tiny jingling bell included. What made it worse was that he called her his princess, and spoke to her the way one would a baby, regardless of whether or not he was in public.

"Let's get your leash, little lady," River said, starting across the room. She was only wearing one of Akito's band shirts, so she grabbed her jeans from his room, making sure she didn't wake him, and walked awkwardly across the apartment as she tried pulling them up in the process of trying to get the leash. It was attached to a harness, which Akito preferred so he wasn't yanking at Princess Mochi's neck. River walked back to the kitchen where Mochi waited patiently, and fastened the harness around the cat.  

Mochi leapt off the counter and led River to the door, where she awkwardly decided not to wear the heels she'd worn to the apartment the night before and try her hardest not to walk funny wearing a pair of Akito's converse. They were far more than too big, but River tied them tight, and decided that it was the best things could get, walking in a way that made her shoes slap the ground as she and the cat left the apartment in search of groceries.

The two walked quietly down the street, Mochi leading the way even though she'd no clue where she was leading River and River knew it. River was impressed, however, when the cat lifted her leg like a dog would to pee on a tree. She accounted the skill to Akito, as the cat was just as weird as her owner, and the two continued until they reached the grocery store.