One Paw at a Time

Paw 1

"Grrrr... Why'd Aohoko make me get her groceries... Can't take a good prank..."

Kaito continues similar ridiculous grumbles with a pout over his face as he carries two plastic shopping bags in each hand, completely filled to the brim with food... and evil f- f- f- finny  things...

It had taken him HOURS to get everything off of her list! Mostly because most of the things off of her list of evil were filled with the evil creatures of the sea. Maybe he really went overboard with that last prank on her.

Kaito grinned mischievously and snickered as he remembered his prank from earlier that day. Even if Aoko hadn't liked it one bit, he thought it was fun. It always was. Though he really wondered if that one prank warranted such horrible torture. He still had homework to do and other nightly extracurricular activities to prepare for! He was a busy man! He didn't have time for getting evil creatures of the sea!

This brought another pout to his face, though it soon disappeared behind another mischievous grin. Oh well~! Hakuba will be back tomorrow... I'll make sure to welcome him with all I've got!  With that thought, his grin grew wider and his steps quicker, eager to drop the evil creatures in the bags at Aoko's house and get things done.

All of a sudden, there were a series of loud bangs from an alley he passed a couple of minutes ago, along with the startled cries of some other passersby. Kaito turned sharply towards the noise, and noticed the people around the area either had hands to their mouths or staring in shock at whatever was there. He went back to that area, dropping the bags of evil beside a building nearby, and pushed through the crowd to see what happened, only to find....

... An injured neko cosplayer?? Well, he was injured, so he had to call for both an ambulance and the police as well. He dialed the emergency number, since everyone else was still too shocked to do anything.

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                                                          ~ ♪♪♪ Ｕ・ｪ・Ｕ人(^･x･^=) ♪♪♪ ~

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Sapphire blue eyes slowly fluttered open to the color white. Everything hurt. His whole body, especially his neck, was pulsating, making the pain even worse than it should. He closed his eyes again, eyebrows furrowed as a raspy groan escaped his lips. A moment later, and the eyes slowly reopened again. This time, his eyes focused and saw that the white he saw before was a white ceiling. Gingerly turning his head, he examined the rest of the room he was in. Beside him was a stand with a see-through bag and a red bag, as well as a very annoying machine that beeped every second, making his head pound harder. He hated that machine already. On the other side of his cot was a small brown table. Everything else in the room was white. So much white. It set his nerves way past the edge. He felt like he was in danger. But that didn't make much sense, did it? After all, this was just a room. He didn't understand, but he felt like something terrible was going to happen if he didn't get away from the white.

He was about to try to get out of the cot when the door opened, revealing a teen with brown hair and bright indigo eyes in a red shirt and jeans, and a taller man in a blue outfit with short, black hair hidden under a blue hat.

Policeman, a word drifted from the black depths of his mind. Person who enforces the laws. Avoid. The thoughts confused him. Nothing else came to mind that would answer his questions and alleviate his confusion, though. His attention was brought back to the two who entered the room when the one in blue-- policeman, he corrected himself-- spoke.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry to disturb your rest, but I have some questions to ask you..." The policeman pulled out a little book and a pencil, his gaze flickering just above the chocolate haired boy's head then actually at his face again. "Do you remember anything about the person who attacked you? Anything at all will help in catching the one who hurt you."

At this the boy's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Attacked me?? He remembered no such thing.. Though, now that he thought about it, he couldn't really remember anything before a few moments ago. He slowly shook his head, drawing a frown from the officer.

"I see... Well, if you remember anything, don't hesitate to tell the doctors or Kuroba-kun here." The police officer gestured to the boy beside him, who gave a cheerful grin and a wave to the boy in the cot. "He's the one who found you lying in the alleyway. Anyways, I'll leave now. I hope you heal quickly. Good bye." The policeman gave a short bow before leaving through the door he came in from. The other boy-- Kuroba – stayed, though. Kuroba bowed deeper than the policeman did, and suddenly a bouquet of flowers appeared on his lap. The boy in the cot jumped a little, making him wince as pain lanced throughout the limbs that moved.

"Oops! Sorry, sorry! Didn't mean to hurt you. My name's Kuroba Kaito! Soon to be the best magician in the world! Do you remember your name?"

The other shook his head slowly again. A flicker of emotion flashed in Kuroba's eyes before it was gone, leaving only the cheerful grin that has been on his face most of their conversation. Was that... Worry? Why would he worry? We're complete strangers... He glanced down, feeling a little flustered at the thought.

"Hmmmmm...."

The smaller boy looked up again to find Kuroba staring intently at his face, causing him to freeze in place. Then the taller boy's face broke out in another grin as he reached out to gently ruffle the other's hair.

"Then how about we use the name Shinichi until you remember your actual name? I used to know somebody with that name, and you look kind of like him... Although he didn't have these things you have on your head."

Kuroba poked the cat ears on the boy's head, causing them to twitch. The smaller boy shot the other a small frown of annoyance, only getting a mischievous and utterly shameless smile in return. He huffed, but a moment later, his face turned thoughtful. He turned over the name in his head. Shinichi... It was a nice name. It just felt... right. He couldn't explain it, but it just seemed to fit right in place in his mind. He found himself slowly nodding, a smile brightening his face.

"Yes... I like that name," a raspy voice broke the silence.