featherbrain ☆ l.jn ☆ ayakashi series | ✔

prologue [one]

The shrill sound of your alarm roused you in the morning, garish and unwelcome. You were awake before the sun, as per usual for the weekdays. Swinging your legs over the edge of the bed, you rubbed at your eyes. There was a sudden soft warmth pushing against your arm.

"Good morning to you too, Tama," you chuckled as your white cat delicately climbed into your lap.

You hadn't even realized that your cat had woken as well, his footsteps too light to register as dipping into the mattress beside you. Tama let out a soft purr as you lightly rubbed behind his ears, rolling onto his back to playfully swat at your hand. You wished you could stay like this forever, but you had to get ready for your day.

As soon as Tama felt you shifting underneath him, he gracefully leapt to the floor, eagerly following you out of your bedroom. He knew exactly what was coming.

In the small kitchen of your equally small apartment, your first course of action after turning the light on was to grab Tama's bowl from the floor. He continued vocalizing his impatience as you scooped his wet food into the bowl. Then nearly tripped you by wrapping his lithe body around your ankles as you shuffled back across the kitchen to set his food bowl down beside his water bowl. As he dug in, you refreshed his water supply before starting on your own breakfast.

You perched yourself on your coffee table, food in hand as you looked out your window, watching the sun rise. Tama had finished eating his food before you'd even prepared yours, and sat on the arm of the couch, head tilted as he observed you. Cats were smart and had their own unique personalities like people, you knew that, but for some reason Tama always reminded you more of a person than a pet. He frequently watched you as you went about your day in the apartment, and you swore he got as invested in your TV shows as you did.

Your food was finished quickly, and the sun was almost fully up, golden rays reflecting off Tama's white fur as his blue irises kept their focus on you.

"If you had opposable thumbs, I'd think you'd be taking notes right now," you remarked to him aloud as you set your empty plate and utensil on the table behind you, making yourself chuckle. "Observations of your subject in her natural habitat."

Tama immediately launched himself into your empty lap, thrusting his head underneath your hand insistently.

"My handsome little scientist, right?" You immediately gave in to his wishes, petting along his soft fur. He gave a short mrow in response, rubbing his head against your hand in a way that almost seemed as if he were nodding to affirm your comment.

☆

Tama let you know exactly how upset he was about you leaving him, tail swishing with displeasure.

"Look, my classes are done at two today, then I've got to work at my parents' shop."

You swore your cat froze for a split second at that information before pushing and rubbing his forehead against any bit of skin he could access. When you'd gotten a cat, you'd read up on every piece of online literature about owning a cat and cat behavior that you could. Tama was scenting you, marking you as his family, his human before you left him for the day. Affectionately, you let him continue this for another moment, happy for the love and companionship your pet brought you.

On reluctant legs, you stood back up, readjusting your bag on your shoulders and reaching for the door handle.

"Bye, Tama. Don't throw any wild parties while I'm gone, okay?"

With that final lighthearted warning, you departed from your apartment.

☆

Almost as soon as you had set foot on the quiet campus of your local community college, you'd been found. A figure rushing at you from the very edge of your periphery caught your attention, and you braced yourself for impact. Arms wrapped around you, enveloping you in a familiar embrace.